Mario Kart 8

Well looky here.  New Nintendo Direct, featuring things I can't find out about 'cause I'm at work.

I have, however, researched the new stuff...

Spoiler:

A free game to download after you've bought the game that everybody's bought the console for? Oh, Nintendo, you magnificent bastards!

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Campaigns/Mario-Kart-8-Bonus-Game-Promotion/Mario-Kart-8-Bonus-Game-Promotion-879238.html

That's an outrageously good selection. What's everybody going for?

EDIT: I've already got seven of them, and the choice from the remaining three is easy: the nondescript Wii Party U, Monster Hunter Tri (which I already got for free on 3DS!) or Wind Waker HD. I was a bawhair from buying WWHD for £25 the other day too!

Bloody hell!  Choose from most of the console's best games, why don't you? The only dilemma is going to be picking between Pikmin 3 and WWHD.

Almost makes me forgive what they seem to have done to the battle mode...

I'm fine with one of the new characters of the small variety.

As for what I've seen so far of the direct well  


And OMG!! Won't say why but yeah a new item is certainly interesting

That was certainly an interesting Direct. Looking forwards to this more and more every time I see it (though my hopes did dip a bit when the kart choice was in the style of 7). For my free game I'll probably be getting Sonic Lost Worlds

Looks pretty amazing. But two things:

1) "Like a shark, there's more going on underneath the surface." WHAT
2) Pink Gold Peach? Eh?

Balladeer wrote:

shanks wrote:

And OMG!! Won't say why but yeah a new item is certainly interesting

I think I know what you mean:

Yep that's what I meant and...

I know right?

Random thoughts on the today's Direct...

- Game still looks blooming gorgeous.

- Baby Rosalina and Pink Metal Peach: piss off. No Bowser Jr or Diddy Kong: sadness. Overall roster is fresh looking, but I want more drivers cos I'm greedy like that.

- Boomerang Flower looks like it'll be a pain in the arse.

- Super Horn used to block Shiny Shells is a good move.

- Anti-gravity stuff still looks brilliant, Spin Turbos look like they'll be irritating.

- Online voice chat is welcome, less faffing about in lobbies.

- Hopefully online tournaments give a lot of freedom to set up things the way we want, I fear they'll be limited.

- Mario Kart TV looks a good idea, even if it looks like we won't be able to share online race videos.

- Free retail game download, ace.

Update your signature, Dusty.

The character roster is probably the one thing that bothers me about this game (we'll see about the battle mode).  I'd much rather see several of the characters ditched (Koopalings, babies, Pink Gold Peach) and replaced with some more interesting (albeit classic) ones: BJ, Boo, Petey Piranha, even (yes) Funky Kong.  Still, it's a tiny quibble, and I can't wait to spin-turbo Dusty constantly online.

Oh, and I'm expecting lots of shouts of "Moo Moo Meadows" pre-race.

Sonic Lost World, I expect. 

Absolutely brilliant stuff! Now we have a reason to bump into other racers   oh surely this will have unlockable characters? If not its down right bizarre they revealed the entire roster.

As for the free game? Probably Wind Waker.

Brilliant stuff this is why I love Nintendo and why I own a Wii U right here, as for the free game most I've played or own. Which leaves me with Olympics or Party U or get a game like pilkmin 3 which I've had but now has DLC or sale the code for a higher profile game on eBay.

The free game offer is amazing, because of course, it applies to anyone buying the new Wii U MK8 bundle too.

(Which Tesco Direct is effectively selling at £200, btw... See bargains thread!)

Rum Rapture wrote:

1) "Like a shark, there's more going on underneath the surface." WHAT

Who the hell is this narrator? "This one sums me up: style." What?  

I think he's meant to be impersonating Clarkson.
America's Direct didn't have that, but did have Reggie making lame jokes.

  

I can never tell whether they're being deliberately naff, or are just naff. Luckily, we saw enough about the game to definitely want it.

Spoiler:

Treesmurf wrote:

I have a horrific feeling that those two question marks are more baby characters

I really don't like duplicate characters which is basically what the baby and these metallic characters are.  

My only complaint though like everyone else, it sounds like the complete package and the game looks great in motion, new items seem interesting too, I hope that the horn isn't overly common though, it'd take away from it's charm and render the spiny shell useless, as annoying as it is it's an evil I've come to know and live with. Mario Kart TV looks brilliant too, would be a shame if you can't share online races though as I imagine that's where many of the great moments will occur.

Will probably go for Lost World as my free game, I have most of them already and I've been meaning to get it.

Jimbob wrote:

Spoiler:

That one puzzled me too. Unless there's an all-new zero-gravity section (and there didn't seem to be), they should have saved it for a later Mario Kart when they could fully revamp it. Like N64 Rainbow Road.

I'm even more hyped up for MK8 now after watching Nintendo Direct, especially with the inclusion of Royal Raceway. It was the first track I raced on when I got my N64 so it's always been one of my favourites.

As an aside, what the fuck were those announcers all about?

Right, I am officially sceptical about the battle mode. Here's a demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRq9bqj-eRk Lots of driving in circles not seeing each other much, and a time limit. The other tracks may work better, but Moo Moo Meadows at the very least seems to be a mistake.

There hasn't been a great battle mode since DD!!, so it won't be a huge problem if this continues the trend; but why couldn't they have just included half a dozen proper arenas?  

Game looks amazing, actually starting to like the zero-gravity look.

Still do not understand character selection, Baby Rosalina and Metal Peach have no history in any game and are just duplicate characters. No King Boo makes me very sad. When you add up the koopalings and all the babies the selection is quite shallow.

Still, Definitely a day one purchase!

It's weird how Nintendo seem to shuffle the driver roster a lot in Mario Kart games, they must think people won't buy the game if the line-up is too similar from game to game. Seems like going forward, most new drivers will only get one game appearance and then be binned (sorry Koopalings, Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach). Hate that "veterans" of the series (having appeared in two previous games) like Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr, Birdo, Dry Bones and King Boo have been ditched in favour of two odd drivers like Baby Ros and PG Peach: could have at least given us new drivers who have previously existed in the Mushroom Kingdom (Nabbit, Monty Mole, etc). I know I'm not the only one who doesn't get Nintendo's fixation with baby versions of other characters. I can't even have hopes that we'll get any downloadable drivers for the game either, seems that would have been announced in the Direct.   

Balladeer wrote:

Right, I am officially sceptical about the battle mode.  Here's a demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRq9bqj-eRk  Lots of driving in circles not seeing each other much, and a time limit.  The other tracks may work better, but Moo Moo Meadows at the very least seems to be a mistake.

There hasn't been a great battle mode since DD!!, so it won't be a huge problem if this continues the trend; but why couldn't they have just included half a dozen proper arenas?  

Battle mode looks so odd. Cannot figure the reasoning for making race tracks the setting for battles, is making dedicated battle stages that difficult?

I can't comment on the direct but all this talk of baby characters instead of actual characters is depressing news, a few are fine but it sounds like half the roster are baby characters.