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Joystiq Weekly: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Child Of Light, Xbox Originals and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. We'll be able to get a social-oriented sci-fi fix in Destiny later this year, complete with flashy superpowers and an arsenal of weaponry that further convinces us of how awesome the future will be. And with Mass Effect undoubtedly coming along and the whole Star Wars thing, it feels like a pretty great time to be a sci-fi fan. Whether you want to watch a saga play out or guide its progression, you'll probably have some great choices consuming your life in the near future. Of course, it's possible that the collective sci-fi genre bores you, which is why we brought you this fresh edition of the Joystiq Weekly. Yes, there's a slew of Destiny-flavored video content, but there's also a glimpse of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, reviews for Child of Light and Mario Golf: World Tour, and an exploration of Microsoft's original content plans for Xbox. You can read up on these stories and more after the break!
These are the courses of Mario Kart 8
With the launch of Mario Kart 8 just one month away, Nintendo has few details it has yet to share about the game, which will receive its own Wii U bundle next month. Of the details the publisher now offers on the game's site is a listing of the 32 race tracks players will tackle in late May, half of which are new courses, the rest being reimagined circuits from other games in the series. We got our hands on the eight retro courses in the shell and banana cups during our video preview of the game. The other eight familiar tracks are as follows: Wario Stadium (DS), Sherbet Land (GCN), Melody Motorway (3DS) and Yoshi Valley (N64) in the Leaf Cup as well as Tick-Tock Clock (DS), Piranha Plant Pipeway (3DS), Grumble Volcano (Wii) and Rainbow Road (N64) in the Lightning Cup. Head past the break for the full list of the 32 race tracks and eight battle courses in the game. Mario Kart 8 launches May 30 on Wii U, and those that register their copy of the game on Club Nintendo by July 31 will receive one free Wii U game on the eShop.
Mario Kart 8 Nintendo Direct announces Wii U bundle, free bonus game
Nintendo decided to blue shell your morning plans by publishing a new 36-minute video on Mario Kart 8, which is coming to the Wii U on May 30. Among the headline news is a Mario Kart 8 Wii U bundle that's similar to the Mario & Luigi-themed ones announced for the UK. The $330 package bundles in the game with the 32GB black Wii U, along with a red Wii U wheel and a Mario Wii Remote Plus. In addition, all copies of Mario Kart 8 come with a free download code for one of four Wii U games. If users register the game on Club Nintendo before July 31, they get a code for their choice of New Super Mario Bros. U, The Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3, or Wii Party U. In Europe, the choice also includes Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Nintendo Land, The Wonderful 101, Sonic Lost World, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, and Game and Wario. The Direct also confirms some online multiplayer details. Players will be able to play in races of up to 12 drivers, use voice chat, and choose from four modes including Worldwide, Regional, Friends and Tournament matches. Tournament rules can be customized, and set for times and days of the week.
Mario Kart 8 Wii U bundles unveiled for Europe
Nintendo confirmed the long-rumored Mario Kart 8 Wii U bundle for Europe today, but there's no word yet if it's skidding along to North America. The Premium bundle packs in the 32GB black Wii U with the racer and all the usual accessories within. It's launching alongside the game on May 30, priced £250 in the UK according to Nintendo's store. For £50 more, players can align with one of Nintendo's plumber brothers in Mario and Luigi themed Wii U packs (check out the Luigi one above). The fraternal packages bundle in your choice of red or green hats, GamePad protectors, Wii U wheels and non-additional Wii Remote Plus controllers, as well as a game guide. The Mario and Luigi bundles look to be limited to the UK and exclusive to Nintendo's online store. Mario Kart 8 brings the long-running racer series into HD splendor for the first time. As our video preview shows, it also features new elements like zero-g racing, piranha plant items, and everyone's favorite assortment of monstrous offspring, the Koopa Kids. [Image: Nintendo]
Joystiq Weekly: Amazon Fire TV, Reaper of Souls review, Mario Kart 8 video preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. With this week's announcement and release of the gaming-capable Amazon Fire TV, we're starting to think we'll need a spreadhseet to keep track of all the gaming platforms that aren't from Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. Want to check Instagram after a round of Super Hexagon on your TV? Okay, there's Mad Catz's MOJO for that. Want something a little beefier that you can take on the go? Alright, Nvidia's Shield might be your thing. Spreadsheets are boring though - maybe a mock Pokedex would work better? Come on, it'd be fun! We could assign attributes, treat future improvements as evolutions and pit them against each other in battles! There could a category for dual-type devices like the Ouya, a console that's both its own thing and associated with a storefront on other platforms. We'd even have ghost-type entries, for efforts that have returned from the grave. We'll let this idea stew for a bit longer, but you can read this week's bulletpoints of news, previews and original content right now! Amy Hennig is now serving as creative director of a Star Wars game, Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls has been properly reviewed and we've got glimpses of Mario Kart 8 and Soma to share, too. It's all waiting for you with more stories after the break!
Mario Kart 8 Video Preview
We recently took Mario Kart 8 for a spin, and we found the series' first entry on Wii U to be solid, speedy and beautiful. In addition to its gravity-defying mechanics – which we sampled at E3 last year – we got to try out plenty of new racers, power-ups and 16 different tracks, including 8 retro tracks pulled from previous Mario Kart games. Get the lowdown in our video preview, and find a list of the returning retro tracks we played after the break.
Pennzoil and Nintendo bring Mario Kart to life at SXSW
Our friends at Engadget report that Pennzoil and Nintendo have partnered up for what the 8-year old inside us could only describe as "the coolest commercial ever, next to those Stretch Armstrong guys." The two companies have brought the Mario Kart franchise into the real world with modified karts on a specially-designed track at the SXSW festival. Icons representing familiar in-game weapons like the banana peel and red shell (as well as a Pennzoil icon) are spread throughout a 1,000-foot long track, and grant bonuses when activated. The Pennzoil icon, for example, will speed up a driver's kart. The karts are representative of Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser who - hey, imagine that! - will be appearing in Mario Kart 8, due this May. This might seem like a strange partnership, but hey, it's not the first time Nintendo has spread to the real world to cross-promote products. Besides, the Big N couldn't have found a more appropriate partner - Pennzoil is owned by Shell. Shell. Get it? Cuz it's Mario Kart. *drops mic* [Image: Nintendo]
We kick off SXSW 2014 with some real-life Mario Karting (video)
The first few days of SXSW have brought quite a bit of excitement for our team on the ground. After starting the show with a stun-copter demo, we stopped by the Palmer Events Center to play a little a live-action Mario Kart. Pennzoil has set up a go-kart track here in Austin to promote its new Platinum line of natural gas-based motor oils, though -- let's face it -- we were really only here to be Mario (and Luigi, Bowser and Princess Peach) for a day.
Mario Kart 8 getting a spiky blue limited edition in Europe
Nintendo of Europe announced a limited edition Mario Kart 8 is coming to the continent, and it includes a spiky blue collector's model that you probably shouldn't chuck at friends, even if you really want first place. Europeans can shell out for it when the racer launches on May 30, while Nintendo of America has yet to announce a similar edition as yet. Nintendo also announced a Mario Kart 8 promo that harks back to the series' beginnings more than two decades ago - and to what is still the best entry in the series according to people who are right. Yes, SNES classic Super Mario Kart is swerving its way onto the Wii U Virtual Console in Europe on March 27, and if you buy it before June 30 you get a £5.49/8 euros discount on the downloadable version of Mario Kart 8. Correction: Post has been amended to reflect the bundle is software-only. [Image: Nintendo]
Joystiq Weekly: Titanfall, The Last of Us DLC and Mario Kart 8 rivals
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Did you see that the Koopalings are going to be new characters targets in Mario Kart 8? The Koopalings, the brats responsible for loads of deaths dealt to Mario and Luigi with lava, twirling hoops and rings of death from magic wands? Yup, we've got new rivals. You're annoying, Baby Mario, but you haven't stopped us from moving on to the next world of a Mario game before. Watch your back, Koopalings. There's something about family-friendly, inclusive Nintendo games that bring our most competitive spirit. Have you ever calmly congratulated a friend after their star thievery earned them the title of Party Champion in Mario Party 2? Have you nodded in admiration of your opponent's strategy in Mario Kart Wii, right after they steal your victory with a red shell a few feet away from the finish line? We have a feeling your dialogue might have been more ... "spirited" than civil. We're not judging though - heck, we just threatened a bunch of baby turtles one graf above this! Of course, a lot more happened this week beyond the Koopalings opening themselves up for a world of hurt. This week brought NPD data for January, a review of The Last of Us' "Left Behind" DLC and video previews for Titanfall and Evolve! There's lots more beyond that after the break though, so jump the break and dive into the biggest stories of the week!
New trailers for Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Bayonetta 2
We got quite a bit of 3DS news from today's Nintendo Direct, but it wasn't without a few tender morsels for Wii U owners. In addition to Little Mac appearing in Super Smash Bros, Game Boy Advance games hitting Virtual Console and the announcement of NES Remix 2, Nintendo rolled out new trailers for some of the Wii U's biggest upcoming games. Settle in and get comfy for a few minutes as you take in fresh footage of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, and Bayonetta 2.
Mario Kart 8 shooting turtle shells on May 30
Mario Kart 8 will launch on May 30, Nintendo announced during today's Nintendo Direct livestream. The next entry in the long-running driving series will also be the first on the Wii U. The kart racer was announced during the publisher's E3 2013 presentation and was initially given a "spring 2014" launch window. [Image: Nintendo]
Mario Kart 8 starts its engines on Wii U this May
During a corporate briefing today in Japan, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata confirmed Mario Kart 8 would launch on Wii U some time in May. The Wall Street Journal's Digits blog picked up the news during a Nintendo business briefing held in Japan. Mario Kart 8, announced during E3 last year, is the latest in Nintendo's long-running arcade racing series. This new installment includes a gravity-defying mechanic that lets racers ride along walls. Last week, Nintendo had to slash financial forecasts in light of weak Wii U sales. Originally the company had projected Wii U sales to reach a total of 9 million from March 2013 to March 2014. Nintendo now anticipates Wii U shipments will reach 2.8 million in that timeframe.
Watch two whole minutes of Mario Kart 8 right here
Actually, make that two minutes and four seconds of high-octane Nintendon't-know-how-to-slow-down kart racing. Mario Kart 8 will launch in spring 2014 on Wii U and will feature new buggy-type vehicles, as announced during today's Nintendo Direct livestream.
Mario Kart 8 drives us up a wall
Mario Kart 8 takes the series in a new direction, which is to say, "sideways." The Wii U's first entry in the franchise introduces the concept of relativistic gravity – an idea not entirely foreign to Mario himself – to the vehicular antics enjoyed by Nintendo's mascots. It also marks the console debut of Mario Kart 7's hang gliding mechanic and, by virtue of being on the Wii U, motion controls with the GamePad. Hang gliding is innocuous enough, but I had reservations about the implications of the GamePad's seemingly superior motion controls after a few test races in Nintendo's booth at E3.%Gallery-191096%
Wii U games for Best Buy events announced
Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aime has revealed the games that will be playable at the company's E3 special events at Best Buy this week. Mario Kart 8 Super Mario 3D World (for Wii U... yeah, it's confusing) Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD The demos are playable from 4-8PM local time on Wednesday, June 12, and 1-5PM local time on Saturday, June 15. Here's a list of locations, and updates can be found here.
Mario Kart 8 races to Wii U Spring 2014
During today's E3 Nintendo Direct stream, president Satoru Iwata revealed Mario Kart 8 for Wii U. This new entry in the series will launch in Spring 2014. Last month, Nintendo teased not only a new Mario Kart, but also the new Smash Bros. and more. You can watch the ongoing Nintendo Direct stream here.%Gallery-191096%
