Despite being one of Nintendo’s highest profile upcoming releases, we’ve actually heard relatively little about Mario Kart Wii so far, other than, that is, scraps of information plucked from a couple of screenshots and scans from magazines. Today, however, a brand new crop of screenshots have found their way onto the Interweb, again revealing new tidbits of the racer’s gameplay details.

These new stills come courtesy of Nintencast, who have inspected them and deduced the following:

• That the new track D.K’s Snowboard Crosss is for the most part situated on a giant half-pipe that is perfect for implementing some of the new stunts included in the game. Indeed, a couple of the screenshots show D.K in the middle of a death-defying somersault along the course’s icy edge.
• Miis will be spectators at the trackside. Just as in Wii Sports, it appears that Nintendo’s create-a-character models will make an appearance alongside Mario Kart’s tracks as avid spectators. Whether they’ll just appear randomly or selected from the player’s Mii Channel isn’t yet clear.
• Regarding Mario Kart Wii’s online mode, it appears that a player’s identity will be displayed above their racer throughout, while motorcycles (Mario Kart’s latest addition) will also be playable over the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.
• Koopa Trooper is a playable character. You can see his beady little eyes poking out from behind Luigi’s marker on the map (first screenshot, second row) and again a clear look at his face in the third still along of the same row.

What are your thoughts on the new details and screenshots? Do you think they are enough of an improvement (if any at all) over Mario Kart: Double Dash?

Mario Kart Wii is released in Japan on April 10, while a European release date has been dated by many retailers as April 25. North American gamers will also be able to get their hands on the latest in the popular racing series in April, although no certain date has been set.