Below are the latest details available for Mario Kart 8:
– Once again, Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach are in
– Crazy 8 item is the spiritual successor to Mario Kart 7’s Lucky 7
– Super Horn: emits a sonic blast around your kart
– This pulse can knock out other racers or ward off Green, Red, and Blue Shells
– Super Horn is a rare item
– Acts as a counter measure to the Blue Shell
– Voice chat in lobbies for games with friends only
– Tournaments are one of the bigger features in the game
– Choose an icon and input name for it when they Create-A-Tournament
– Select rules next
– Can 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
– Can also set if a tournament is public or restricted to friends
– Other tweaks: restrict control schemes used in a race, whether computer players can fill in empty slots, and vehicle types (kart, bike, or ATVs) allowed in the race
– 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 share with your friends, or it can be discovered publically via search
– Daily/weekly/monthly recurring tournaments supports
– Can set start/end times
– Ex: a player could host a race for friends that occurs every Sunday night between 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. PT
– Can set a tournament that has a specific start and end date, or even a number of races allowed within a set time
– 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
– Frantic Mode: higher frequency of powerful items like Lightning Bolts, Bullet Bills, and possibly Blue Shells
– Game records all races you participate in
– Game 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
– Replays aren’t finalized video, but gameplay footage you can quickly edit in Mario Kart TV
– Not a complex editing system
– By tweaking certain parameters, you can focus on specific drivers and moments
– Video focuses on action, big hits, items, or drifting
– Clips are 30, 45, or 60 seconds
– You can also render a highlight reel to display the full race
– Once a highlight film is edited, you can output a video to Miiverse or YouTube in HD
– Unclear if 720p or 1080p
– Players sign up with a Google Account and, while it’s uploading, you can edit a Miiverse post with stamps
– Battle Mode features new and existing courses re-engineered for this mode
– Battle mode replays can also be edited and shared by Mario Kart TV.
– In multiplayer, the GamePad mirrors the same four-player split-screen that was on the television
