Nintendo has announced that its frantic shell-flinging racer, Mario Kart Wii, will see its long-awaited US release on April 27th. The game will include the "intuitive" Wii Wheel, otherwise described as a large hunk of plastic capable of housing your Wii remote. We envision it being less useful for the actual game and better suited to the imaginary car we'll be driving everywhere, complete with lip-powered puttering and unexpected honking to annoy the coworkers at the office.

Once you stick Mario Kart Wii into your console, you'll be able to compete with up to 11 other drivers online across 32 courses (half of them recycled from previous games). You can also expect to encounter Mii integration, 10 battle arenas, alternate controller support and a festering hatred for blue shells.

Full story: joystiq.com