Ahh, the college days… Sniffing markers, all-nighters, and 4 AM Mario Kart races on the N64. I’ve got to hand it to CCS… packing 5 students in a tiny dorm room sure made it easy to make friends on the tracks… and enemies.

As we begin a new feature on CDf, we plan on examining those things we Designers do when we’re not… designering.

The least of which is the rampant addiction to video games almost all designers have. And rightfully so: many of our classmates have gone on to work for companies in the game industry doing design, Alias & Maya, and sketching. While the current gen of consoles has its fair share of graphically divine games the best times can often be had with the simple pleasures (read: shooting green shells at Princess Peach).

Recently, I had a chance to play around with Mario Kart Wii.

Mario Kart returns for the Wii next week with an all-new control scheme, the inclusion of motorcycles, and online play. Which, if you’re a designer, you understand that we’re virulent unsocial people who would rather interact over the interwebs than in person. Personally, I’m a complete Mario Kart addict, owning all of the games (especially the top-notch DS version). The simplicity in racing is there, with the undeniably Nintendo-injected flavor of Mario and crew.

The variety of tracks is incredible this time around… 32 in all, including 16 from previous Mario kart games re-mastered for the (slight) graphical increase in the the Wii. The memorable sounds and tunes are all there, and are distinctly Mario. The variety of karts is down from the DS version, but the bikes more than make up for it.

The real innovation is the control scheme. The Wiimote plugs into an infamous Nintendo plastic shell (which the big N meticulously designed well). The size is close to that of an actual go-kart wheel and feels fine, albeit a little small. The game can be played without the wheel, but that would take away from the only real innovation in the game that sets it apart from most other racers.

For $50, you really can’t go wrong with this game. It isn’t the best Mario Kart game ever made, but it sure does work for the nights when my buddies will be over, slamming a few brews, and challenging each other to races into the early hours of the morning.

So, do you play games? Do you have any favorites?