5 Reasons Mario Kart 8’s Online Matters
...and stick around for one more thing we noticed about the GamePad.
by Jose Otero APRIL 30, 2014
People have wanted more options and fun ways to play Mario Kart for years. With the latest installment, it looks like Nintendo is paying attention. We already posted some detailed hands-on impressions back in early April, but Nintendo recently pulled back the curtain on a few new details for its next big kart racer.
Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach -- a counterpart to Metal Mario that’s totally pink! -- join the races of Mario Kart 8 along with two new items: The first is called Crazy 8, which is the spiritual successor to Mario Kart 7’s Lucky 7. The second is called the Super Horn, an item that emitted a sonic blast around my kart. This pulse can knock out other racers or ward off Green, Red, and Blue Shells. Nintendo finally has a counter measure to the dreaded Blue Shell, but the Super Horn was described as a rare item. During my eight races in Mario Kart 8, I only picked it up once.
Nintendo mentioned that Mario Kart 8 would support voice chat in lobbies for games with friends only, So I guess you won’t have much to say while you race, but there’s still plenty cool things to talk about. Outside of these smaller details, here’s what stood out to me from Mario Kart 8’s online offerings.
Robust User-Made Tournaments
Nintendo described tournaments as one of the bigger features in Mario Kart 8, as a representative walked me through the process. A player will select an icon and input a name for it when they Create-a-Tournament. Next, you can select rules: Change the speed of the race (50cc, 100cc, 150cc) whether you want to allow racing as teams or even multiple rounds to decide a winner.
Players can also set if a tournament is public or restricted to friends. Other tweaks included restricting control schemes used in a race, whether computer players can fill in empty slots, and even vehicle types (kart, bike, or ATVs) allowed in the race. Mario Kart 8's deep tournament mode can even takes player ratings into account -- you can set up a race so only players who achieved a certain online rank can join. Once a tournament is created, you have a number code to easily share with your friends, or it can be discovered publically via search.
Mario Kart 8 supports daily, weekly, or monthly recurring tournaments. You can even set start and end times. So, a player could host a race for friends that occurs every Sunday night between 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. PT. But why stop there? You can set a tournament that has a specific start and end date, or even a number of races allowed within a set time.
…You Can Pick Items Sets or Turn Them Off
Nintendo Producer Hideki Konno and Director Kosuke Yabuki hinted that item customization would be a part of Mario Kart a while back. Whenever you create a tournament, you can choose which item sets are allowed in a race. Players can choose between: all items, shells only, bananas only, mushrooms only, bob-ombs only, no items, and Frantic Mode – which Nintendo described as a higher frequency of powerful items like Lightning Bolts, Bullet Bills, and possibly Blue Shells. Frantic mode sounds maddening, but with the right people it could also be fun.
Edit Replays with Simple Tools in Mario Kart TV
Mario Kart 8 records every race that you participate in, and retains the events of the last 12 you competed in on the Wii U itself. These replays save everything that happened in the match, so you can use simple editing tools to tweak certain parameters. Don’t think of these replays as finalized video, but gameplay footage you can quickly edit in Mario Kart TV. But this isn’t a complex editing system. By tweaking certain parameters, you can focus on specific drivers and moments. The end result is a finished video that focuses on action, big hits, items, or drifting. Finished video clips are 30, 45, or 60 seconds. You can also render a highlight reel to display the full race and then...
…Mario Kart TV Outputs Highlight Reels to Miiverse and YouTube!
Once a highlight film is edited, you can output a video to Miiverse or YouTube in HD. Nintendo wouldn’t give me specifics as to whether that video was 720p or 1080p, but regardless it was surprising. Players sign up with a Google Account and, while it’s uploading, you can edit a Miiverse post with stamps. We weren't shown how long the process would take, but you can share footage with your friends on the internet.
Battle Mode Returns, But with Some Changes
Battle Mode is back, but Nintendo explained that it would be a little different. Instead of arenas, the developers decided to take new and existing courses and re-engineer them for Battle Mode’s frantic style of play. I played a quick match on Moo Moo Meadows, and I consider this was a positive change. But I also though the controls for pulling a U-turn to chase another player could use a little improvement. Battle mode replays can also be edited and shared by Mario Kart TV.
…the GamePad Split-Screen
During my demo, I used the Wii U Pro Controller to glide around S-curves and up-and-over ramps. But then I glanced over at the GamePad, and I saw it mirrored the same four-player split-screen that was on the television. This isn't a huge surprise considering we raced in a two-player split-screen a few months ago, but at least now we know for sure. Nintendo representatives confirmed the GamePad would always mirror the TV in local play.