Boosting our way soon: Nitrobike (Wii) Preview

Originally planned for release last year, Nitrobike was held back until earlier this year, so they could miss the Holiday Rush and it looks like it has worked. Nitrobike has caught a few peoples attention, so we would take a longer, closer look at it and preview the game. Well still have the full review of the game closer to release.

For the people who haven’t heard of Nitrobike before, it is the spiritual successor to Excitebike 64, developed by the same folks at Left Field. The name Nitrobike comes from the fact that it is pretty much a Bike with a Nitro-Powered Rocket. Preview inside Nitrobike lets you take control of what would generally be an unsafe way of transportation in the real world, but thanks to the wonders of the Wii Remote, the only thing in warms way is the person next to you. Nitrobike is controlled in a similar way to the Nintendo launch game of Excite Truck and in a lot of ways, the game has been likened to Excite Truck as well. Were sure the speed and the general craziness of the racing in the game is the cause for that.

Single-player in the game has several modes. First, there are 3 single player modes: exhibition single race, exhibition series and time trial. This mode allows you to select up to 9 other computer-controlled bots to race against various levels of difficulty. However, the meat of the singleplayer is in the career mode, which spans 9 different types of events, each with 65 challenges. Like in ExciteTruck and other racing games, the higher position you come, the better medal you get and the more of each medal you get unlock the next tier.

The career is not just racing. While yes, in some events you will just be racing, however, there are also other modes. Other modes include Fast Lap which is a time attack, Hoop Havoc in which you must keep hitting checkpoints along the course to keep the time adding up. Elimination mode also features in Nitrobike as well as a Mini Championship or a Best of Three competition. A non-racing race type in the career mode is Trick Attack. Yes, you will be able to do tricks as well as race.

Nitrobike contains a big multiplayer component and yes that, includes online. Firstly, local multiplay is available from the get-go for up to 4 players. Ubisoft has yet to reveal exactly how many players will be able to play online at once, but the game will contain Wifi Connection play. Not only will competitive play be there, but online-enabled leaderboards will also be included. You will also be able to break free from the racing with unlockable minigames. The only one that has been revealed so far is Bowling.

Nitrobike so far looks to have the goods, but we will have to reserve final judgment for when it finally hits Aussie stores on the 7th of Feb 2008. The game is exclusive to Wii and will be available for the budget price of $49.95 which while is a good thing, is also an ominous one.