Mario Kart 8 preview
At E3 this year it was a struggle to even get into the Nintendo booth. The lines were incredibly long, the floor space was too crowded, and you couldn’t switch from game to game. Fortunately, I was able to play one of the biggest games on Wii U, and that was Mario kart 8. I’m a huge fan so I was pretty excited to get some hands on time. Note that the build I played at E3 this year was a work in progress.
For starters, you have the option of using the Wii U gamepad tilt controls or the classic analog and buttons. Being a purist, I had to stick to the traditional controls. I found the tilt controls seemed more or less jittery so I thought I should stick with my understanding. Before the game started, of course, you had to choose your character. Personally, I can’t play Mario Kart play and not be Mario.
When the game has loaded, the first thing you will notice is that it is beautiful. I can confidently say that this game is easily the most engaging Wii U game to date. It had incredibly vivid colors, the environments seemed vivid, and the characters almost looked like something out of a Pixar movie. Even the items seemed to be renewed. I never thought green turtle shells could look so beautiful.
But the images mean nothing if the game is not there. And for the most part it is. There were many features that were not 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 build E3 the coins were there but didn’t provide anything.
What was one of Mario kart 8New functionalities: antigravity sections. In certain parts of the track, your kart will transform its wheels into jet engines that will grip the track as you go backwards and from side to side. It was a cool feature and it looked great, but it didn’t really add anything to the game. On the other hand, I only saw a couple of tracks and this game was just announced this month. I hope Nintendo really goes crazy with this feature because I could see that it will turn into something really fun and different. It’s a shame that during the construction of E3 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 the first place. It is 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 in some way.
Basically, if you’ve ever played Mario Kart game in your life, have you played Mario kart 8. It is unfortunate but true. I mean if you absolutely love Mario Kart, then you will have a great time. Everyone else could get bored with the limited gameplay. Of course, 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 doesn’t exactly perform admirably. What seems to be the case is that games simply don’t exist. I am very confident that this game will be a systems vendor and hopefully in the future Nintendo will add downloadable content to the subsequent release of the game. I think what they’ll have to do is add more tracks, karts, and characters to keep people interested. That is one of the main problems with the Mario Kart franchise; it just becomes 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 good to have it from time to time, but you don’t want to keep eating it, when something like Zelda or a real Mario game is a better main course. Hope with the next iteration of Mario Kart which will add more depth and unlockables to keep the player coming back. If Nintendo took its time with him Mario Kart games maybe we have a more absorbing title. I am very optimistic about Mario kart 8 And it’s most likely a must-have, regardless of how hollow the series may be for Wii U owners.