I did play quite a bit of Mario Kart Wii and discovered that most of the depth came from the bikes, specifically one of the bikes that seemingly controlled terribly. It had the weirdest of the drifting mechanics, but could take turns on a dime and was fast, way faster than the rest of the bikes.
Instead of snaking, you'd constantly pop wheelies, but I just didn't like it. It wasn't quite as deep as snaking and though it encouraged analysis of the tracks, I don't think it allowed for quite as many options. In any event, I did play through the entire game and took on many of the staff ghosts. It just wasn't for me. For what it's worth, I think Mario Kart 7 is the better game (compared to Wii).
In any event, yes, options are a long time coming to the Mario Kart series and quite frankly, seven entries deep it shouldn't have to be requested.


