Mario Kart 8 Preview

At this year’s E3 it was hard to even get into the Nintendo booth. The lines were incredibly long, the floor space was too crowded, and you just couldn’t get from one game to another. Fortunately, I was able to play one of the biggest games on the Wii U, and that was mario kart 8. I’m a big fan, so I was pretty excited to get some hands on time. Keep in mind that the version I played at E3 this year was very much a work in progress.

For starters, you have the option of using the Wii U gamepad’s tilt controls or the classic analog and buttons. Being a purist, I had to stick to traditional controls. I found that the tilt controls seemed more or less jumpy, so I thought I should stick with what I understood. Before the game started, of course, you had to choose your character. Personally, I can’t play a Mario Kart game and not be Mario.

When the game has loaded, the first thing you’ll notice is that it’s gorgeous. I can confidently say that this game is easily the best Wii U game to date. It had incredibly vivid colors, the environments seemed alive, and the characters seemed almost straight out of a Pixar movie. Even the articles seemed to have an overhaul – I never thought green turtle shells could look so beautiful.

But the images mean nothing if the gameplay isn’t there. And for the most part it is. There were a lot of features that weren’t available during the E3 demo. For example, in Mario Kart 7 you can collect coins on the track to give your kart a boost, but in the E3 version the coins were there but didn’t provide anything.

what was one of mario kart 8What’s new in: anti-gravity sections. At certain parts of the track, your kart will transform its wheels into jet engines that grab onto the track as it goes upside down and side to side. It was a cool feature and it looked cool, but it didn’t really add anything to the gameplay. Then again, I only saw a couple of hints and this game was just announced this month. I hope Nintendo really goes crazy with this feature because I can see it turning into something really fun and different. It’s a shame that during the E3 version it was rarely shown.

Despite the new features, the gameplay remained basically the same. still the old Mario Kart. You’ll get better items if you’re falling behind, and you’ll probably only get a banana or green turtle shell if you’re in first place. It’s almost as if you are rewarded if you decide to stay behind until the last lap of the race. I feel like they really need to change this somehow.

Basically, if you’ve ever played a Mario Kart game in your life, have you played mario kart 8. It’s unfortunate but true. I mean, if you absolutely love Mario Kartthen you will have a great time. Everyone else might get bored with the limited game. Granted, this is a very early look at the game and more features will surely be added, but for now it’s basically mario kart 7.5.

It’s no secret that the Wii U isn’t performing admirably. What appears to be the case is that the games just aren’t there. I’m pretty sure this game will be a selling system and hopefully in the future Nintendo will add downloadable content to the game’s post release. I think what they will have to do is add more tracks, karts and characters to keep people interested. That is one of the main problems of the Mario Kart franchise; it just gets stale after too long. They have a golden opportunity with the next generation of consoles to change that completely.

Sure, it’s always been undeniably fun, but it’s never been a game to keep you busy. It’s like candy: it’s nice to have once in a while but you don’t want to keep eating it, when something like Zelda or an actual Mario game is a better main course. I look forward to the next iteration of Mario Kart which will add more depth and unlockables for the player to return to. If Nintendo took its time with the Mario Kart games we may have a more absorbing title. I am very optimistic about mario kart 8 and will most likely be a must-have for any Wii U owner, regardless of how hollow the series is.