Is it me or is the new generation of handheld game systems the best thing ever? Here I am away from my controller, away from my console, and nowhere near a TV screen and yet I am able to steal my friend's star and beat him to the finish line. He is nowhere in the room. There are no free power outlets, or any wires connecting our game experiance.

That is the beauty of wireless, handheld gaming that's as powerful as the last generation of game consoles. With their new, N64-caliber system, Nintendo was able to realize the dream of putting a real Mario Kart game in the palm of our hands. They were also able to do something that was not possible before: take the game online.

Finally, after more than a decade of bringing joyful addiction to gamers' homes, Mario Kart could now be played at any time and at any location. Go somewhere with a WiFi connection (McDonald's is the most common, but other restaurants like Panera Bread offer WiFi as well) and you can play against gamers from all over the world. It's not like online gaming on a console where getting into a game is as easy as clicking an open race or starting your own. But it's a start, and it's got thousands of gamers hanging out at the Golden Arches – with or without the urge for a Big Mac.