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Mario Kart 8 : new trailer

I honestly feel like this game has more than just sound coming from a Sega heritage. It's definitely Nintendo through and through, but I'm curious bout how the composition of the MK team looks like now and whether or not there were any mass talent exoduses from Sega's AV or analogous group recently.

Yeah, I feel you. There's elements all around that suggest to me that if nothing else Nintendo's been paying as close attention to Sonic's aesthetic and aural evolution over the last few years as Sega has been paying to Nintendo's here. Which maybe became more apparent to them as Sonic titles became more relevant on Nintendo consoles than elsewhere and Nintendo and Sega started doing collabs and shit. I mean Sega Sound Team's Mario compositions in Mario and Sonic titles are mostly just plain damn good. That look, that sound, its distinctly Nintendo and yet its closest analogue ain't even a Nintendo game as far as I can tell
 
This gif is why i was so disappointed with the scale of most of 3D World. That's the kind of stuff I want to see from a 3D Mario adventure. The visuals in this are way better as well.

I was thinking "Is this how Mario Galaxy Wii U would have been?"
It really feels like it would've...
 
Well, what else is he gonna say? That it sucks?

I think he mentioned it on his own.

He's not going to say it sucks because it's going to be bonkers.

Rainbow Roads are never even close to being my favorite courses but I'm intrigued to see what they did with it in this game.

The GameXplain dude said he didn't care for 7's Rainbow Road but I thought it was pretty memorable.
 
Im playing mario kart 7 online.. I hate that maple level.

The Retro course from Wii? I really enjoy that one. It has very distinct parts. Around the tree where you're run through patches of leaves, the giant Wigglers, the U-turn that leads into a narrow bridge. To each their own, of course.
 
I linked my friend to some of this thread's gifs and he's like "the resolution is horrible, shouldn't graphics be better than this by now?" and I was like "cmon it's a gif they're saving on file size via IQ.

I linked him to one of IGN's videos and he was blown away.

Hopefully whatever smash stuff we get Tuesday is as good of a hype tool as this mario kart content.

This again? 3D World was a full scale 3D Mario. You're making Galaxy bigger than it was.

It bewilders me how galaxy, a mostly-linear action game, gets labeled "exploration-heavy" and lumped in with the older 3d marios. The galaxy games were way, way closer to 3d world than to Mario 64 or sunshine. I guess space seems fundamentally adventurous and the "fun with physics" elements were mindboggling.

Just shows how cutscenes aren't the only form of storytelling. Imagination fuel can be essential even in games with zero cutscenes and dialogue- perception is everything. Space was awesome. Few about whatever 3d world's totally-not-the-mushroom-kingdom setting was called.
 
Done and done.

mario2.gif

So is the coin an item now? A friend just asked me.
 
I think that's the point. They want you to pick something up, but don't want to give you anything good. It's probably reserved for 1st place, or maybe 2nd.

If the speed advantage from coins is actually noticeable (don't think it is MK7) then I think it's actually a very good call.

If you're going to get hit by red shells and blue shells and lose coins it's nice to have something to replenish them. Not the most exciting item, but it could be pretty useful.
 
I just grabbed two shots to compare a bit of Toad Harbour, it sucks we have offscreen but there is major changes even with the quality of image available.
Not only a lighting boost, but if you look carefully at each detail in the two screenshots, you can see almost everything has been given an upgrade: there are MORE things, and those things are more detailed.

5523d88d4acc13f02d18892e80a5b9e1.png

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- there are more flowers in the flower patch on the left
- the palm tree trunk is more detailed
- there are new signs and banners on the left and right
- the canvas awnings are now orange and have more of a shadow
- above them is a shiny metallic fascia, etc

The glass windows on the far wall have been removed though.
 
So these are all promotional covers and not meant to be seen as ingame? They sure fooled me..

ss12.jpg

mariokart81.jpg

Mario-Kart-8-6.jpg

Mario-Kart-8-2.jpg

mario_kart_8__anti_gravity____wide_by_alenintendo-d6awgag.jpg

The last two are no way in game shots. Nothing would be that circularly smooth on the Wii U, nor probably any of the consoles to be honest.
 
What about Gamersyde getting the Eshop versions of the trailers?

Visually they at least look better and if i remember correctly Gamersyde in an update a while ago said they now have capture cards for the WiiU.

I'll ask our WiiU guy to try and capture it. We'll see how this looks.
 
http://youtu.be/eU7X9oMip30?t=1m40s

Looking at the Kotaku video I noticed once the player finishes Moo Moo Meadows and the Cloudtop track in the top left hand corner is a small star with 5/6 and 6/6 on it. What could this be for? It can't be for the track number in that grand prix since there's only four in each. Perhaps some sort of extra mission for each stage?
 
Kinda off topic but I originally posted here. So I've had the Wii U for about a day now. LOVE IT. My roommates love it too, hell my nephew loves it and if finances pick up I'm going to buy the him one for Christmas. Don't understand why it isn't selling great or why Nintendo thinks they need a new system next year. Put it at $199 and explain exactly what it is sales should pick up.
 
Considering how well these tracks have been crafted, it really makes me hope for new DLC cups, retro tracks or otherwise.

I remember someone saying here on GAF that because of anti-grab and the gliding that tracks were going to be "lazily designed".

I don't even know where to start with such a comment now.
 
Considering how well these tracks have been crafted, it really makes me hope for new DLC cups, retro tracks or otherwise.

People say Kart won't have a presence at E3 because it releases a week earlier, and while that's understandable, I'm hoping they do confirm DLC cups there. Could make a big splash if they go with HD retro ones (regardless if they've appeared before or not), or pull a Sonic Lost World and even have tracks inspired in other franchises. Would sell a hell ton.
 
Considering how well these tracks have been crafted, it really makes me hope for new DLC cups, retro tracks or otherwise.

I remember someone saying here on GAF that because of anti-grab and the gliding that tracks were going to be "lazily designed".

I don't even know where to start with such a comment now.

They look great, but let's judge how well they're designed when we play them.
 
Electrodrome.

iTOYijoVY4gtK.gif

Note to self: Whatever you do, DO NOT take hallucinogenic drugs before playing this game.

:Oo

That course above and the one with the bloomin great big clouds in in look trippy enough as it is, you'll be risking a stay in the Looney Bin for quite some time if you drop a tab or two before playing lmfao :oD
 
Kinda off topic but I originally posted here. So I've had the Wii U for about a day now. LOVE IT. My roommates love it too, hell my nephew loves it and if finances pick up I'm going to buy the him one for Christmas. Don't understand why it isn't selling great or why Nintendo thinks they need a new system next year. Put it at $199 and explain exactly what it is sales should pick up.

Nintendo isn't releasing a new system next year. And it's selling like garbage because Nintendo spent a year totally fucking up the marketing, drip fed their release schedule after several key software delays, positioned their system hardware as one unappealing to third parties relative to their projections for how then next generation would play out and thus their engine/asset/game plans, and simply made a product that is at this point almost totally unappealing to customers.

Like I'm "happy" with my Wii U too because I've got The Wonderful 101 and Donkey Kong. But I'm not going to pretend it's been a miserable dust collector for a majority of the time I've owned it in between the fun I've had. I'd probably feel similar about a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One if I owned those too, but I don't, because the Wii U has taught me not to buy launch systems.

The price probably does need dropping yeah, but I don't think that'll do too much in the long run. A price combination with Mario Kart, however, could be worth their while.
 
It bewilders me how galaxy, a mostly-linear action game, gets labeled "exploration-heavy" and lumped in with the older 3d marios. The galaxy games were way, way closer to 3d world than to Mario 64 or sunshine. I guess space seems fundamentally adventurous and the "fun with physics" elements were mindboggling.

Just shows how cutscenes aren't the only form of storytelling. Imagination fuel can be essential even in games with zero cutscenes and dialogue- perception is everything. Space was awesome. Few about whatever 3d world's totally-not-the-mushroom-kingdom setting was called.

It's not just "space" though. Galaxy, especially the first game, had actual world design too, like how when you get to the ghost Galaxy you can see that huge mansion in the background, alongside dead trees in the initial zone, and the whole soul whirlwind effect around the galaxy. There was a lot of effort put into the environments throughout each stage, even if that doesn't add anything to the gameplay.

3d World, in spite of having technically competent graphics (although they fall apart in open areas) had mostly "functional" design. There wasn't much to the levels outside of the obstacle courses themselves, and most things were geometric due to that. Although there are good looking backgrounds, they're mostly generic set pieces for the levels, that don't really give identity to the locations. But, yes, like you say there, it all ties in that Galaxy had great visual design around the action that fueled the player's imagination, meanwhile, 3d World is mostly mechanical, giving much less focus to that.

Galaxy 2 in various points already showed the same change the direction in level design that we saw in the 3d Land and World series though, although it still retained some Galaxy visual design.
 
http://youtu.be/eU7X9oMip30?t=1m40s

Looking at the Kotaku video I noticed once the player finishes Moo Moo Meadows and the Cloudtop track in the top left hand corner is a small star with 5/6 and 6/6 on it. What could this be for? It can't be for the track number in that grand prix since there's only four in each. Perhaps some sort of extra mission for each stage?

Thats interesting, Its probably something pretty obvious but I can't think what it is.
 
http://youtu.be/eU7X9oMip30?t=1m40s

Looking at the Kotaku video I noticed once the player finishes Moo Moo Meadows and the Cloudtop track in the top left hand corner is a small star with 5/6 and 6/6 on it. What could this be for? It can't be for the track number in that grand prix since there's only four in each. Perhaps some sort of extra mission for each stage?
Lame commentary throughout.

"It's just another Mario Kart."

"I don't think [the anti-gravity] reinvents the game..." / "No, not at all."
 
Like I'm "happy" with my Wii U too because I've got The Wonderful 101 and Donkey Kong. But I'm not going to pretend it's been a miserable dust collector for a majority of the time I've owned it in between the fun I've had. I'd probably feel similar about a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One if I owned those too, but I don't, because the Wii U has taught me not to buy launch systems.

I think drawing any comparison between the U and the new next gen consoles is unwarranted. Both the PS4 and the XB1 offer much more compelling software lineups just months after launch, and they've got a steady stream of games for the remainder of the year. It's the complete opposite of the U's year one situation.

Lame commentary throughout.

"It's just another Mario Kart."

"I don't think [the anti-gravity] reinvents the game..." / "No, not at all."

To be fair, I think they're right. If you strip away the visuals, which I adore, it is just another Mario Kart.
 
To be fair, I think they're right. If you strip away the visuals, which I adore, it is just another Mario Kart.

Which is disappointing since I actually expected Tetris from a game called Mario Kart 8.

Anti-gravity not adding much is such a dumb comment I wasn't even going to say anything. But since someone is kinda backing them up here, let me point out that the anti-gravity mechanic clearly allowed the MK team to be 100x more inventive with their course design.
Course design being something very important in an arcade racing game. But leave it to Kotaku to downplay it. Awful site is consistently awful.
 
I think drawing any comparison between the U and the new next gen consoles is unwarranted. Both the PS4 and the XB1 offer much more compelling software lineups just months after launch, and they've got a steady stream of games for the remainder of the year. It's the complete opposite of the U's year one situation.

I was comparing the value to me. The Wii U was (is) a wasteland. If I had an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 my situation would be hardly different, as I already own a computer.
 
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