Mamma Mia!

Hello out there, fellow game fanatics.

This is Far East correspondent "Coal" with my first ever post from Japan.

A warm, "yoroshiku onegaishimasu" to you all.

With the coming release of Nintendo's Mario Kart Wii on Thursday, the gaming community here is on the edge of their collective seat, beaming with anticipation. It's been over four years since the Double Dash installment in Nintendo's famous series met with lukewarm reviews. But this time with the addition of Nintendo's wi-fi connection service, we're being told to expect big things from Mario and his zany pals.

As Shigeru Miyamoto recently stated in an IGN article,

"Mario Kart Wii is, fundamentally, a game that lets you enjoy communication with others. On the surface it looks like a racing game, but it's a product that doesn't have to be about racing at all, so if you connect it to Wi-Fi, it'll feel like the Mario Kart experience just grew by four times. Miis appear, and you can connect to the Mii Contest Channel, and, while connecting to the world was also possible with the DS, this time you will realize the game has become a communication tool that you can play with an even greater sense of connection to the world."

Will it deliver? Only time will tell.

I plan to cover the transpiring events from the local Yamada Denki electronics store in Shizuoka on the morning of the release and bring you exclusive insider information that you can't find at the other gaming sites. Unlike those guys, I refuse to be wined and dined by the big-wigs at Nintendo. I won't sugar-coat anything -- you'll be getting the truth. You'll learn that that's how I operate.

Until then, it's back to my life of drinking alcohol from morning to night while watching reruns of Full House.