Earlier this year, a rumor was floating around that the Need For Speed franchise may be abandoned by Electronic Arts. It turned out that the rumor was wildly off base, as a full quartet of titles were announced for the franchise a few weeks later. This fall, the Wii will be getting special treatment courtesy of EA Montreal’s Nintendo-exclusive Need For Speed: Nitro.

Out of all of the announced titles, Nitro is the closest to the franchise roots. After picking up the Wii Remote and jumping off the starting line, it was obvious that this was an arcade-inspired racer much like many of its predecessors. Nitro throws realism out the window with the bathwater and the baby, as I quickly learned that fine-tuned driving skills were completely optional. Nitro is all about controlling your consistently-drifting car through the turns, which fills up your Nitro meter if done successfully. This meter can be unloaded at any time, allowing drivers to easily catch opponents or create a huge buffer zone between yourself and those too unskilled to glide across the pavement.

EA Montreal also added a bunch of little numbers to this arcade racer that are worth noting, including the new "screwdriver" control configuration. While all of the standard Wii race-control methods are supported (Wiimote only, remote and nunchuck, etc.), those are all old hat. The "Screwdriver" setup is the new hotness, and is performed by pointing the Wii remote straight at the screen. Here, wrist rotation handles the turning, as subtle movements are captured on-screen by neckbreaking drifts. Although unusual at first, driving a car while pointing is easy to get the hang of. This is even truer if you utilize the Nitro while drifting, a feat that both fills and reduces your meter at the same time.