The Demo for Mario Kart 8 is now available for play at GameStop locations across the country. This is a great chance for anyone who is on the fence about purchasing the title to get some hands-on time.
I brought my eight-year-old son to our local store over the weekend and we were lucky enough to be able to spend some uninterrupted time playing it. Below are some of our impressions:
1. WHOA!!
This is easily the best-looking Nintendo game I have ever played. The colors were vibrant. The animations were smooth. The lighting effects were superb too. I couldn’t find even the smallest nit to pick with the visuals. What was best about Mario Kart 8 is that it didn’t just impress me. It made me hungry for another 3D Mario game. (Ahem. Nintendo. Super Mario Galaxy U please! Thanks!)
2. The Racers
This was everything I could have wanted in a Mario Kart game: a wide range of racers and huge pile of Kart customization options. If there is any complaint that one could have about the racers it is that there are a LOT of babies.
3. The Tracks
There is a ton of racetrack diversity. I was amazed with the number of tracks we could race on and how different they all were and we were just playing the demo! This game is going to be heavily played for a long time. My personal favorite was Sunshine Airport. It forced me to choose between multiple paths, and seeing massive planes take off and land throughout the race was a sight to see!
4. The Anti-Gravity Effect
My biggest concern going in to Mario Kart 8 was that the Anti-Gravity effect would be difficult to adjust to. It turns out that there was nothing to be concerned about at all. It is clear that Nintendo put a lot of effort into making sure that the signature effect in the game was done right. The camera rotates along with you as your kart climbs walls and rides ceilings. There were times that I didn’t even realize I was upside down until I took a sharp turn and started crashing downwards towards the ground!
At the end of the day, this was just a demo, but it gave me and my son a lot to look forward to!
