Filed under: Videos, Toys/Games
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/06/mario-kart-8-628.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/06/mario-kart-8-e3-250.jpgWhile racing simulation heavyweights like Gran Turismo 6](http://www.autoblog.com/tag/gran+turismo+6|gt6/) and *Forza Motorsports 5 *](http://www.autoblog.com/tag/forza+motorsport+5/)were some of the plums of this year’s Entertainment Electronics Expo - at least for gear heads - we couldn’t help being charmed by the latest instantiation of Nintento’s long-running racer, Mario Kart 8](http://www.autoblog.com/tag/mario+kart/).
Fans of the franchise will have the option of using Wii U’s motion-based controls or the conventional versions to join the better-than-ever on-track mayhem. Nintendo has returned motorcycles to the mix of vehicles in MK8, as well as offering players the opportunity to get above ground with hovering karts and an anti-gravity feature that occasionally flips tracks on their heads.
The head-to-head competition is still at the heart of why Mario Kart is such a crowd pleaser, and the multi-player features are strong, though streamlined for MK8. We played - and were trounced - in a two-way battle versus a random E3-goer, but the motion controls proved pretty flawless in the first go-round. Four-way play is available, as ever, for a single console, and online races support up to twelve racers at a time. Our gut tells us that the more live racers you have to battle with, the better MK8 gets.
Every other piece of the game is familiar but refined… in a good way. Game play is fast, weapons are hilarious to deploy and courses seem to get easier the more you have time to learn them. Friendly faces abound: Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Yoshi and Mario (of course) are among the characters set to return to the franchise. Scroll down below for a video.Continue reading E3: We get our first steer of Mario Kart 8 for Wii U [w/video]
E3: We get our first steer of Mario Kart 8 for Wii U [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Commentshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/weblogsinc/autoblog?i=-YM5ZLC_QmU:AlOj5o03Qf8:wF9xT3WuBAs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/weblogsinc/autoblog?i=-YM5ZLC_QmU:AlOj5o03Qf8:V_sGLiPBpWU
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/autoblog/~4/-YM5ZLC_QmU