Mario Kart 8 Hands On Preview
During E3 this year I had my hands all over the Wii U controller and played some Mario Kart 8. Patrick Burke, a Nintendo employee stood by our side and showed us exactly what has changed to make the franchise stay fresh. One of the biggest worries every time a Mario Kart game comes out are changes to Mario Kart staple gameplay. We took our brief meeting time to go over what people will identify with as Mario Kart 8.
Mario Kart 8 E3 Trailer
The biggest innovation in Mario Kart 8 is the Kart modifier that will let players grab onto walls and other paths. This makes tracks much more interesting than they have been in the past, allowing split paths on ceilings and walls. We only saw one track with such modifier but basically it works like the glider did in past Mario Kart games. Drive over the path and your kart becomes the ultimate wall grabbing machine.
One of the best things, aside from the new mechanic was just how the game looked. Because Nintendo just jumped to the HD generation with the Wii U it was the first time seeing a Mario Kart game in HD and in 60 fps. The game looked phenomenal. One of the nice things about the Wii U in general is that the Wii U GamePad can have non-needed information, like a map, that can clear up the main screen. This pays off in Mario Kart and leaves the screen available for the player to focus on the road, other enemies and power ups. Don’t believe me? Take a look at some of the screen shots from the game and tell me they don’t look good!
Another new feature announced in Mario Kart 8 is the ability to record and share Mario Kart 8 footage. Mario Kart is known for it’s close wins, blue shell jumps and boosts at the finish line. Now players will be able to record all of their amazing wins, and close calls, and post them up on the Miiverse. No word if the recorded footage will be possible to export to other services like YouTube or anything, but when asked the Nintendo rep said it was not completely out of the question. All of the features are not announced and the game won’t be out until 2014. Anything is possible.
We will make sure to keep an eye out for more Mario Kart 8 information as the time goes by. For everything gaming related, make sure to keep it here on Gamers Heroes.
