Electronic Arts' Wii-exclusive racer, Need for Speed: NITRO hits, hits stores today and here are the first ten minutes of gameplay. 

Color me surprised when, not long after booting up the game, I found that I was actually -- gasp! -- really enjoying myself. A straight-up arcade racer, NITRO has a style unique to the Wii which works incredibly well -- bright colors, and driver-specific graffiti and tags that paint the world as you race by while in first place.

NITRO also gives you the option to use just about any control scheme you could want outside of using the SEGA Saturn controller. The Wii Classic controller, Nuchuck plus Wii remote, and even the GameCube controller are supported. Most interesting, though, is that you can play the game with just the Wii Remote. That's right -- NITRO can be played one-handed, and it actually works pretty well, with the game's boost being tied to a simple shake of the Wii Remote. 

Based on the first ten minutes or so, Need for Speed: NITRO seems like a nice surprise from EA. Instead of simply trying to port over the recent Need for Speed: Shift games, it looked to the strengths of Nintendo's console and seems to succeed in deliver a tight, fun arcade-style racer.  

Check back soon for the a review of Need for Speed: NITRO.