Unfortunately, it wasn't possible for me to check out Nintendo's upcoming WiFi, but the van did have some WiFi-enabled games on hand for me to play with.

Mario Kart DS plays exactly like you would hope, effortlessly. There's no screwing around with the touch-screen or trying to learn new skill sets, instead Nintendo concentrated on make a solid handheld version of their super popular console racer and from what I saw they succeeded.

Pressed for time, I only played through a single race and it was a ton of fun. The game retains the ability to power-up through drifts so you can turbo out of the turn. You can also wreak wacky havoc with an odd assortment of power-ups and weapons.

I played the demo guy in a little ad-hoc head-to-head (The game supports up to eight players in a local race, but only four via WiFi); unfortunately he play tested the game, so my ass was promptly handed to me. One of the ways he was so easily able to beat me was by using little short cuts in the race track that he had discovered, something he says most of the game's 30 tracks have.

Although it was a local race, demo guy says that WiFi play is almost as seamless. He said he played a game with someone in Europe and Japan with no stutter.

I also check out the much talked about logo creation tool. You basically use the touch screen to draw your own logos for use on your car. The tool looked pretty impressive, though I completely sucked using it, as you can probably see. (That's supposed to be the Kotaku K.)

It looks like Mario Kart is the perfect game to launch WiFi play with, though I was surprised to see that it didn't really seem to mess with the formula much. I suppose that's both a good and a bad thing. The last thing I want is a fast-paced racing game that requires me to blow into the mike, rub the screen and shout commands as I try to race.

Animal Crossing Wild World
I have a little confession to make. Please don't hate me when you hear this... I've never played Animal Crossing. Not once. I've heard of it, I'm aware of its popularity, but I've never experienced it. That being said, it looks like the DS version of the game is going to be well-received. The gameplay (which lives on the bottom screen) features robust graphics and a nice rounded horizon, so as you walk around, it feels like you're living on a tiny planet.

Animal Cross Wild World has more than 1,500 items you can collect or buy and the ability do talk to friends, treasure hunt, fish, catch bugs or talk to virtual neighbors.

The bottom screen is used to display a map, inventory and the like. The idea is to let you play the game without having to break away from live play to tinker with the minutia of the game. WiFi will be used to let you visit other people or have them visit you. Something, that once I play it, I'm sure I will think is super cool.

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