One of the more more unexpected surprises at this year’s E3 was the announcement of Nitrobike during the UbiSoft press conference. Nitrobike is developed by Left Field Productions, who long-time Nintendo fans will remember as part of the much-vaunted “Dream Team" of second party developers during the Nintendo 64 era, delivering games like Excitebike 64 and Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside to sports-hungry Nintendo fans. With the vague echo of Excitebike 64 in its title, Nitrobike promises to deliver a “fun and fast-paced" take on the sport of Motocross to Wii.

Nitrobike is controlled with the Wii remote held sideways in the “classic" position, using tilt to steer left and right and the 1 and 2 buttons to accelerate and hit the brakes. The game will feature 10 Player races across a variety of locales with an emphasis of big jumps and nitro-fuelled speed boosts. The game promises 20 diverse levels of turbo-charged racing action from a smoldering forest fire, to a beach level, to the urban corridors of a big city. Nitrobike will also feature 4 player split-screen multiplayer as well as an online mode to race against friends.

To go along with the over-the-top action, the graphics feature exaggerated motion-blur during speed boosts, and an extreme fisheye effect during big jumps. The racing action looks to be speedy and hectic. The soundtrack appears chock full of fist-pumping heavy metal to match the extreme sports vibe that should delight fans of leather pants and men in mascara.

The premise of tilt control and online racing sounds promising and Left Field has a great track record with motocross games, from the underappreciated Excitebike 64 to 2004’s MTX Mototrax. We’ll find out whether or not Nitrobike delivers this Holiday season.