E3 2013: Mario Kart 8 Impressions

As surely as the sun rises, there will be a Mario Kart game on a new Nintendo console.

However this isn’t at all a bad thing, with each new console, each new Mario Kart game – Nintendo makes their definitive Mario Kart. That’s according to Hideki Konno, who says each new Mario Kart is his favourite as they’re allowed to make each one better.

And better it is, Mario Kart 8 looks a whole like Mario Kart 7, feels a whole lot like Mario Kart Wii, but as if they smashed them both together. The controls a certainly tight like Mario Kart 7 and the drifting has been changed to be closer to 7 than it’s Wii brother. The loose and floaty motion controls of Mario Kart Wii have been tuned here.

You can play with Motion Controls on both the Wii U GamePad and the Wii Remote, but only if you wish. The GamePad is used primarily in this demo at least as a horn. However the HUD display is likely not finished.

The big new feature of this Mario Kart, however, is the anti gravity tracks, karts and bikes. Tracks will twist and turn and then you’re driving on the roof. Your karts wheels will flip out Back to the Future style and your kart is now a hovercar. The handling is notably different during the anti gravity segments and one touch from a competitor will spin both of you out.

Three tracks were on offer here at the E3 demo, each of them featuring the anti-gravity feature. We’re not sure if classic tracks will be retrofitted with the new feature however we do know some classic tracks will reappear.

The game will also have a huge online presence, while not every feature was discussed, Mario Kart TV was. It will allow you to post (video) highlights, which are automatically generated from a full replay to Miiverse.

We were also given the chance to asked Hideki Konno to ask one question about the game, we asked did they ever think any characters from outside the Mario universe could be included on the roster or even third party characters.

Konno told us he ‘can’t answer that yet’.  Well it’s not a no.