My concerns for Mario Kart 8

When Mario Kart 8 was first revealed at last years E3 Nintendo Direct the game looked phenomenal. All the trailers leading to its May 30th release didn't disappoint either. The stages, characters and graphical presentation all look great, but I can't help thinking about the last two iterations in the series and how disappointing I found them. Mario Kart Wii tried new ways to push the series forward and appeal to the Wii's casual audience but ended up being an unbalanced frustration of a game with a watered down battle mode. Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS was a good game mechanically but you could see the short cuts they took in order for them to get the game out before Christmas (not having a quick race opinion is disgrace, especially for a on the go game). 

My favorite game in the series is Mario Kart DS. Sure, some people didn't like people abusing the snaking mechanic online, but the DS title is by far the most content packed game in the series. It featured Grand Prix, Battle Mode, Online races, 8 player multiplayer and brand new mission mode. I played that game regularly from its release in 2005 all the way until 2010 when the 3DS come out. That's 5 years I played that game, the others didn't even last one.

So what do I want out of Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U? First of all I want the items to be balanced during races. 12 player races are back and this issue needs to be addressed, because being hit by shells every colour of the rainbow isn't fun. Second, battle mode needs to be great again. The last two games only had the option for timed matches and didn't let you turn it off. Half the fun of battle mode is frantically racing around looking for that last person to smash them with a red shell you've been saving while not getting hit yourself and time limits take all this away. 

Like most people I'm really hyped for Mario Kart 8. It's a game that has the buying power to help the Wii U move units. I'm just nervous that history might repeat itself, even if Nintendo can't afford it.

Add Drewby on Miiverse @"Mo_Joe" to give him a race when MK8 is released!