I better not beat around the bush - this plays exactly like Wave Race 64. Although that's not really a bad thing...

I was able to do barrel rolls, reverse-riding and diving into shortcuts right away. In fact, it seemed a bit easier to do, especially with the extremely comfortable stick.

The characters don't have helmets (out of the ones I saw) - that's nice, they look a bit better.

But, the real graphical gratuity is in the course effects. When it was raining, you could see every raindrop hit the water.

Old courses seem to be making a return... that's okay, I guess, as long as they add lots of new ones. There was a modified version of Drake Lake, with more 'islands' to get in your way, and an opportunity for a bridge-dive shortcut.

It has a 4-player mode, so it'll likely have even more staying power than the original. Now, we just need lots and lots of courses....