Last week, we got a special advance look at MarioKart 8 for the Nintendo WiiU, and the game looks amazing! It’s a perfect mix of classic MarioKart elements you know and love and new features that make great use of the WiiU’s advanced capabilities. Here’s a quick breakdown of what to expect in the racing game, out May 30th.
What’s Back
As I said, this MarioKart continues the trend of remastering old favorites and retaining classic elements from the previous installments. You can expect the following to stick around in MarioKart 8:
Motorbikes (MarioKart Wii)
Hang Gliders (MarioKart 7)
Car Customization (MarioKart 7)
Underwater Racing (MarioKart 7)
Online Multiplayer (MarioKart Wii)
Standard Items (MarioKart franchise)
16 remastered courses (MarioKart 64-MarioKart 7)
What’s New
However, it’s not all a blast from the past in MarioKart 8— there’s quite a bit of fresh material here too! These new features are sure to make MarioKart 8 a hit:
Anti-Gravity Racing, which allows players to drive on walls and ceilings in certain parts of the track
New Playable Characters: the Koopalings
New Playable Character: Baby Rosalina
New Playable Character: Pink Gold Princess Peach
New Item: Boomerang, with the ability to be thrown three times and hit other drivers on its return to the player
New Item: Piranha Plant, which attacks other racers and clears obstacles
New Item: Super Horn, the first item with the ability to deflect the Blue Spiny Shell
16 new courses
MarioKart 8 looks to be another classic installment in the MarioKart series– be sure to check it out when it hits shelves May 30!
I was recently treated to a preview of three brand new games at Nintendo World New York– Kirby Triple Deluxe, Mario Golf: World Tour, and Tomodachi Life— and they looked like excellent additions to the 3DS catalog!
Kirby Triple Deluxe, the character’s first appearance on the 3DS, transports Kirby to the land of Floralia, where he faces tons of unique new enemies and challenges. To deal with these adversarial forces, Kirby uses new copy abilities like Beetle, Bell, Archer, and Circus, and his brand new Hypernova ability. “Going Hypernova” allows Kirby to inhale much more than usual, even enabling him to suck up parts of the environment like trees, terrain, and more!
Mario Golf: World Tour, the sixth game in the Mario Golf franchise, also marks a first by being the first 3DS entry in the series. As always, Mario and his friends (and enemies!) make the sport even more fun with the addition of themed courses, items (a la MarioKart), and coins to enhance the gameplay. World Tour incorporates control elements from the previous games, while also adding a new way to aim your perfect shot. By using the gyroscopic motion sensors in the 3DS or 2DS, players can turn themselves like their in-game character to line up a hole-in-one like never before!
Tomodachi Life breaks new ground for Nintendo, as it will be the first Tomodachi game released outside of Japan. The game revolves around the kooky interactions that occur between the Miis that the player uploads to Tomodachi Life. These Miis then live on the game’s Chin Island, and go about their everyday lives with hilarious results. The Miis can become friends, rivals, and enemies, fall in love, get married, and even have little baby Miis!
We’re sure looking forward to playing these three great games for the Nintendo 3DS!
Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Mario Golf: World Tour are available now. Tomodachi Life hits stores on June 6.
