That said, it's not exactly the best fit for the Wii either, and this might be the reason we haven't seen developers attempt to tackle a racing sim for the console earlier than now. Ferrari Challenge has a control scheme that is far better suited to your traditional pad set up, and when you mix the controls with the motions of the Wii remote, it just doesn't feel as precise as it needs to be, especially considering the difficulty of keeping a sim style racing car on the track.

There are two control schemes available though, so besides the basic remote set up that plays out in a similar fashion to Mario Kart, you can opt to use the nunchuk to control your steering, and the buttons of the remote are used to control your braking and acceleration. This second option is far better, and more accessible than the often times unreliable motion control set up.

However, the controls aren't the only problem I have with the title. While I appreciate the in-cockpit view, and the amount of work that obviously went into detailing the interior of these vehicles, and making them all stand apart from one another, it's hardly ideal when it comes to viewing the track, with so much of the screen space being taken up by wasted space (especially the top part). It's really difficult to see upcoming turns unless you can predict them, and even with the guideline for turning set to on, it's still a chore to make the proper turns for your first time out. You can always opt to change the view, but if you prefer an in-cockpit angle for your racers, then you'll have some serious trouble with this one.

Secondly, as far as sim racing titles go, there's not a whole lot of content here. Sure, it's a game relegated to one specific car maker, but with about 50 different vehicles to select from within the brand, it doesn't carry the weight or variety that something like Gran Turismo or Forza possess. Also, the visuals aren't particularly great, and really feel like a PS2-lite title, which is a shame since we know the Wii can pump out some interesting, bright, and fairly decent stuff when the hardware is really put to the test. Obviously I don't expect it to stack up to the PS3 version of the game, but I've definitely seen better visuals on the system before.

There's a fair amount of racing to be had, and the track designs and layouts are pretty solid stuff, even if they feel a little unforgiving at first. There's a few events that seem to carry on for too long, and it can be a bit easy to blow past your opposition too early, leaving the rest of the race feeling a bit boring. The actual presentation of the cars and menu design really does a solid job of nailing down that Ferrari feel, and even if the visuals aren't that solid, I'll give the design team props for infusing the game with the property license at every chance they got. I wish the music selection were better though, with nothing really standing out for me, and nothing that I would care to listen to over and over again.

All together, Ferrari Challenge on the Wii is definitely in a league of it's own, but that lack of competition isn't really a great thing. The controls are challenging when using the motion set up, and while the analog control is better, it's still not on par with a standard game pad set-up. The visuals could have been spruced up a bit more, and the audio feels bland as well. If you're a major fan of the Ferrari style, then you might get a kick out of seeing how many different Ferrari vehicles are represented here, but this isn't the idea version of the game to check out, and I can't see it appealing to anyone that's never delved into a sim racing title before.