Gaming There Will Be Blue Shells: Mario Kart (8 Deluxe)

Someone asked if there were any trailers for Mario Kart, there are some on IGN.com

 

Mario Kart Wii's Battle Mode.

(from IGN.com)

March 14, 2008 - Nintendo's long-anticipated follow-up to Double Dash!!, Mario Kart Wii, has nearly arrived. It's set to debut April 10, 11, 24 and 27 in Japan, Europe, Australia and America respectively, and it will come to the Big N's latest console complete with an online component. A 12-player online battle mode is amongst a host of online features included in the package. We've been previewing Kart's single-player mode for the past week, but we finally took some time to play around with the offline portion of the game's battle mode ? the online bit isn't functioning in our pre-release builds ? and we're happy to report that, yes, it looks and plays like all of the Kart battle offerings before it, which is good news.

The offline portion of Kart Wii's battle mode can be played by four players via a split-screen view, which has remained the standard through the years. Up to eight additional CPU-controlled characters, however, can populate four-player matches, which creates a very frenzied multiplayer configuration. Alternatively, one player can test their skills against 11 AI-powered opponents, which is what we chose to do for the purposes of this preview and in our included video footage, as it best represents the experience that will be played and seen online. Characters are separated into red and blue teams and there doesn't appear to be any means to modify the team structure. Thus, in online matches with 12 players, battles will always be divided into two teams of six.

Gamers will be able to quickly jump into the battle mode, choosing from 12 initial Mushroom Kingdom characters (more are opened up throughout the single-player mode), from Mario and Luigi to Peach, Donkey Kong, Waluigi and Yoshi. Players can also select whether they want to play with karts or motorbikes and even determine some game rules that will have a direct bearing on the matches that follow. For example, the difficulty of CPU characters can be set between easy, normal and hard; CPU vehicles can be set to all, bikes or karts; stages can be set to appear randomly or in order; items can be configured to balanced, aggressive or strategic, and it's even possible to determine the win count during matches.

There are two unique battle modes to pick from: Balloon Fight and Coin Runners. The differences between the two are actually pretty subtle. Nintendo 64 owners will remembers the countless hours they dedicated to four-player Balloon Fights in battle mode and exactly the same setup applies to Kart Wii's offering. Gamers enter battle with three balloons tethered to their karts or motorbikes and every time an opponent successfully hits them with a weapon or item, they lose a balloon. In Coin Runners, there are no balloons ? instead, gamers race through courses attempting to amass as many coins, which are scattered about, as possible. Whenever opponents nail players with an item, they lose some coins, and, of course, the racer with the most money at the end of the battle wins.

Meanwhile, regardless of which mode is selected, there are 10 different stages to choose from, all of them available from the start. The selection includes five Wii-specific courses and five "retro" stages. On the Wii side, there's Block Plaza, which is a recreation of the classic N64 battle stage Block Fort. Delfino Pier is, as the name suggests, inspired by the same location in Super Mario Sunshine. Funky Stadium, which features a DK theme, is one of our favorites. It's like a giant skate park filled with acceleration arrows and jumps, not to mention opportunities to power-slide around the entire rim of the level. Chain Chomp Wheel is setup like a roulette wheel with a humungous chain chomp rolling around and squashing racers in its path. And Thwomp Desert revolves around a sandy whirlpool whose center houses an oversized Thwomp.

Classic stages include the SNES Battle Course 4, GBA Battle Course 3, N64 Skyscraper, GCN Cookie Land and DS Twilight House, the

 

Mario Kart Official Movie.

The above movie is slightly over 1:30 minutes (1:33 if I remember correctly). It doesn't really show anything extra that the previous trailers have already shown. So, besides myself, who else is going to be getting this game when is comes out?

The North American release date is April 27, 2008, so about 2 and a half weeks from now.

 

I'll probably pick it up, but only for the single player mode since the multiplayer mode has team-play and CPU karts turned on by default, and you can't turn them off.

I figured after MKDS that they couldn't screw this one up. But in typical Nintendo fashion, they found a way.

 

This is so sodding ace, it ought to be illegal!

Just spent couple of hours trying out the options, decking the computer then going online to win many glorious victories!

For anyone who thinks the wheel won't work or is reasonably sceptical: Prepare to be wrong, it works incredibly well - so much so that you'll end up not wantng to play by the old ways.

For private gaming rooms, friend codes are needed, anyone here interested in setting one up? If so say so and I'll post my Wii code here and off we go.

This is just so damn good.

 

You'll have to wait for two weeks mate. I know, one of those rare times you get the game before the Yanks do. I guess this means you'll be able to win all the time with your experience.

 

Roxez,

Oh come now, I can't be the only Brit on this board? Can I?

<looks around, oh crap...starts to feel like Cartman in South Park as Kyle's mum turns up whilst he's singing...you can guess>

 

Release Date:
US: April 27, 2008
Japan: April 10, 2008
Europe: April 11, 2008
Australia: April 24, 2008

Mario Kart Wii UK Review

(from IGN)

UK, April 11, 2008 - Okay, so we're all on the same page, let's get this out of the way: Mario Kart SNES > Mario Kart DS > Mario Kart GBA > Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart 64. Although we might be inclined to swap the first two around depending on our current whims. As awe-inspiringly entertaining as the first Mario Kart game was, its DS off-spring single-handedly fixed an awful lot of what had progressively dragged the series down into the quagmire of convolution, reminding us what was so great about the franchise in the first place.

Here's the good news about Mario Kart Wii: it pretty much grabs the gauntlet from its handheld cousin and runs with it, offering one of the purest, most enjoyable Mario Kart experiences we've seen on home console in years. A lot of that's thanks to the development team's understanding of what make a Mario Kart game great. Stripped of the series' previous 'bigger is better' obsession ? a motif which gave us thumb-defying, brain-frying multi-racer button mashing and increasingly bland, excessively stretched track design, this Wii version re-emphasises tight, focussed driving and mercilessly devious tactics, even if ultimate victory still depends on good luck as much as anything else.

[image=http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/865/865975/mario-kart-wii-20080411095133053-000.jpg]

What's more, this isn't Mario Kart for the Casuals, whatever the inclusion of the Wii Wheel might suggest. Sure, it's simplified in certain areas, but most of these tweaks are logical and help reinstate some of the racer's straightforward arcade roots. Actually, while we're on the subject of the wheel, it works just fine. It takes a bit of getting used to and lacks responsiveness compared to MKW's other control options, but it's a sturdy, satisfying bit of kit and does its job as far as presenting newcomers with a less intimidating control scheme goes. Chances are though, Mario Kart pros will ditch the peripheral once their curiosity has been sated, plumping for either a Wiimote/nunchuck combo, Classic or GameCube controller ? all of which work perfectly.

In-game, you'll likely plump for single-player racing before checking out Mario Kart Wii's wealth of other options. It's a good place to start, with only fifty percent of the track roster available from the off ? you'll want to work your way through all four Wii-specific and retro cups to make the most of your options in online or multiplayer modes. In fact, there's an awful lot to uncover, from tracks to racers to vehicles ? it's a smart way to keep you playing, if perhaps frustrating for the eternally impatient. Once you've unlocked something, you can use it during online play meaning you'll doubtless want to hack away at the game as more and more exotic racer/vehicle combinations present themselves during online matches ? particularly once you realise the advantages some of them give.

[image=http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/865/865975/mario-kart-wii-20080411095136678-000.jpg]

As per tradition, single-player is split into 50, 100 and 150cc ? featuring karts, bikes then both respectively. More so than ever, single-player effectively acts as an elaborate tutorial mode for the game, slowly introducing various mechanics, be that manual steering, tricks or tracks. This approach perhaps makes for an easier single-player game in this respect, with wider tracks (to suit 12-player matches) and fairer enemy AI making for a less torturously frustrating solo mode. It might come as a shock to seasoned Mario Kart racers but it works beautifully as an introduction to the online world of Mario Kart ? and, thanks to clever online opponent matching, there's no shortage of a challenge when you connect to Nintendo's servers.

As far as the actual racing experience goes, a combination of streamlining and additions has created one of the t

 

Maybe not but the majority of us are in the US for whatever reason.

 

A note of detail for creating rooms:

It is not the Wii code that is needed.

When you start, you create a licence, with space for 4 of these. Each licence has a 12-digit code in blocks of 4, it is these you need to create a Friends Roster, from where you can then set up a room presumably.

 

I've the played the game today I thought I'd would just comment on it.

My biggest gripe of the game so far its not really designed for four players. For example getting that thundercloud in four players race (without CPU) is the most annoying item you can get no matter how far you get in 8s as long as there isn't any player around (which usually there isn't due to items screwing people as always ) you'll end up being small and therefore lose all progression you just made.
And then there is also the battle mode, IGN called it lacklustre, I think they're being nice because I'd call it utter garbage. You're forced into team death match, with 2 teams. So no four player FFA and, well, there isn't any excitement nor frantic battles its... boring. We then added the CPU's to see if 6vs6 is more fun, well sadly enough there was no improvement.
The coin collection was slightly more fun though but eh, racing is better.

I'm also missing bombomb mode from Double Dash

The racing it self and the controls were fine. The lightweight classes felt way more sensitive then I was used to but mediumweight classes felt perfect. The drifting is the same, although this time you can't take corners properly without drifting so selecting manual drifting while doing a course for the first time is not really a good idea. The tricks you can perform for extra speed are easy to pull off (spamming D up on the GC controllers if you're about to jump) The tracks range from fun to frustratingly annoying, I couldn't stand the volcano track, nor the mushroom jumping one on the otherhand the Koopa island, the fall Meadow one were fun rides. But my favourite track is rainbow road, its perfect in design IMO.

Ah well fun game I wish I owned it.

 

Not sure what level those reviewers played on but 'fairer AI'?

No way, the only reason to really buy this is for online play as I've just started on 100cc and the AI antics cross the line. It ends up being little fun because the computer ensures you get little in the way of good items, your opponents always get turbo starts, they get red/ble shells, POW blocks, thunderbolts by the score and the only achievement you get when you cross the line isn't what a good race you've run but more an attitude of: *&^% you computer!

Online is just far better, even if you do badly because at least your adversaries are human.

 

Heh, you say that now....

 

After a diet of blue/red shells, POW blocks and lightning bolts? We'll see!

 

Just watched IGN's video review and they said that 150cc is really hard, even if you do everything right. Looks like Nintendo was inspired by the original game in that sense.

 

This game looks cool.

 

I got a call from Gamestop stating that I can pick up the game on Sunday.

 

Gamespot Review.

GameSpot Score - 8.5 - great

The Good

* Huge number of courses, including some of the most imaginative yet
* Deeply integrated online play
* Easy to jump into for players of any skill level
* Fun and strategic trick system
* Motorcycles provide a great alternative to go-karts.

The Bad

* Nostalgia doesn't save most of the classic courses from being boring
* Items are more unbalanced than ever, especially on new tracks
* Battle modes are now exclusively team-based and timed.

Game Details | About Our Rating System

One may wonder why Nintendo would add motorcycles and dirt bikes to the game series that popularized, if not invented, the genre of weapons-based go-kart racing. If you're one of the fans who balked at the inclusion of two-wheeled vehicles, a midair stunt system, and motion controls, rest assured that despite these changes, Mario Kart Wii is still very much the game that you have come to love over the years. But even if you haven't been on the receiving end of a blue shell before, the extensive multiplayer options, deeply integrated online functionality, multitude of controller schemes available, and simple gameplay make this latest Mario Kart great fun and quite possibly the most accessible one ever.

The main event of Mario Kart is the Grand Prix mode, which in this version pits you against 11 other computer-controlled competitors in a race to the finish on a four-course cup event. Grand Prix lets you select from three different engine sizes/difficulty settings, and there are initially four cups available, with four more that are unlockable by conquering their predecessors. This makes for a total of 32 different courses, of which half are brand-new for the Wii and the rest remastered versions of classic stages from previous games. This combination of both new and old provides a solid mix of novelty and nostalgia, but overall, the stylistic differences highlight two of the game's greatest flaws.

One of the major new features is the midair stunt system, which is activated by flicking the Wii Remote at the very moment you leave the ground from a ramp-assisted jump, making your racer perform an extreme-sports-style trick, such as a 360-degree spin, which upon landing rewards you with a considerable speed boost. To facilitate this new mechanic, most new tracks include huge half-pipes, rampant ramps, a multitude of moguls, and a plethora of pits, all of which are deliberately placed to encourage extensive stunt work. While this new system itself isn't flawed and in fact injects a great deal of fun and new strategy into the gameplay, its influence on course design has made certain items even deadlier, as you're that much more likely to be blasted uncontrollably into lava or other hazards due to how much time you spend in the air.

The second major track-related issue is that the classic courses, while they've never looked better, are much less engaging than their counterparts. While the newer tracks are wild, crazy, and may even change dynamically as Grumble Volcano or Dry Dry Ruins do, the older courses are their polar opposite and are with few exceptions flat, empty, wide-open, and pit-free. Though you may find the occasional ramp or half-pipe haphazardly bolted on to make it play a teeny bit better with the stunt system, it generally seems like Nintendo deliberately decided to make you choose which was more important: stunts or a slightly better item balance. This dichotomy of level design creates a tenuous balance of play styles and is inelegant at best.

Mario Kart Wii includes the standard batch of items that players have come to expect, including mushrooms, starmen, fake item boxes, shells, and more. New items include the thunder cloud, which will automatically shrink you after several seconds unless you ram someone to pass it off onto them; the POW block, which temporarily stuns everyone ahead of you and makes them drop their items; and the me

 

Got it last night at midnite--loving it so far. 150 cc is pure madness- the jump trick boosts are nice addition. The bikes are pretty neat addition too. Just watch out if you're in first place, prepare to have a lot blue shells shot at you, moreso than any previous MK game.