E3 2013 is sadly behind us, and my feet have finally returned to working order. One of the highlights of any E3 is checking out what the 3 bigs have to offer. (Well, that and Nintendo always has the most cushy of carpets.) Before even getting near the booth you could feel the energy and fun coming off a screen containing Mario Kart 8
I’m more than familiar with the series, as it’s occupied almost every party I’ve held. While you could certainly play the game solo, it’s all about multiplayer. Luckily for me, Anthony was close by and was willing to get his ass handed to him.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA6CAgv6p6g&feature=player_detailpage[/youtube]
The game itself looks amazing. I have never seen the Mushroom Kingdom in such detail. Even more impressive was just how fast the game ran. In previous iterations, it always felt a tad sluggish, but this time it’s all-out speed with an interesting addition: you can now drive on the walls. The result is a visual feast as you corkscrew above your opponents in what can only look like F-Zero GX with Mario.
The controls were also pretty decent. While I was unfortunate enough to have to use the Wii Steering Wheel, it was still very responsive – and I still won. (Suck it, Anthony!) While I hope they add regular controller support, for the time being it’s Wii U tablet or Wiimote. Even after asking a Nintendo Rep there was nothing announced… yet.
Overall, Mario Kart 8 is a really fun game we were still talking about even after the convention was over. With this and Smash Bros coming out ,it seems I’ll be getting a Wii U… at least, before the XBox One.