the Wii U.

And they didn't just show it off, since we got to play it too.

So you know what that means. It's time to hook up the old analysis machine to see what

secrets all the footage might be hiding

And with that, let's get started

So right away, we can tell the game is basically a mash-up of the previous 2 Mario Kart games,

carrying over several of the unique features of each one.

Take the Mario Kart 7-style coins scattered along the track for example, which increase

your overall top-speed with each one, and like before you'll max out at 10, or drop

3 if you get hit.

Then there's the return of the hang-glider and underwater sections, also from the 3DS

version

Then from Mario Kart Wii, we have the return of the 12-player races, as opposed to the

usual 8,

In addition, the motorcycles from the Wii version are also back, except in appearance

only as they now handle exactly like the karts

Which means you won't be performing wheelies for a speed boost anymore, though to make

up for this, they can now to access the red 2nd-tier Boost now, just like the karts

Then there are some features return that return from both of the games, such as performing

stunts after going off a jump for a quick speed-boost, as well as the aforementioned

boost-mechanic which is time-based, as opposed to the older Mario Karts where you had to

wiggle the control stick.

So yeah, Mario Kart 8 is basically what you would get if you threw the previous 2 games

into a blender...with one key difference: anti-gravity.

Yep, as you've surely seen by now, the vehicles can now race upside down and all-around in

certain segments, thanks to the new anti-gravity wheels that allow them to cling to certain

sections, allowing for all kinds of crazy layouts, or alternate routes.

And these sections, based on our play-time, always seem to be preceded by a blue anti-gravity

strip, such as with this shortcut in the E3 demo's second course, which clearly marks

the start of it

But besides the fact you can now defy gravity, the gameplay remains basically the same, right

down to going off ramps for some airtime.

Though there is one slight difference: if you ram into someone during an anti-gravity

section, you'll both spin-out, but it seems to have a minimal impact on your driving.

So clearly anti-gravity will play a big role in the game-it was featured in all 3 of the

demo's courses after all. And even the game's logo is based around it.

See the curvy 8 there? While it is the 8th main Mario Kart, the logo is also based on

the demo's first course, which itself is based on a Mobius strip. Ie, a closed surface that

consists of only one side, that in this case resembles an 8. And this design would only

be possible with just such an anti-gravity mechanic.

And by the way, did you notice how the actual racetrack itself in the first course is held

up by support beams? That's a really cool little detail that's almost totally unnecessary

in a world where things often float in mid-air for no apparent reason at all

Now as you might have noticed, we've been referring to the courses only by the order

of their appearance in the demo--and that's for a good reason--they don't have names yet!

At least, most of them don't...

If we take a look at this screenshot from the demo's first course featuring Peach's

castle, we can see the sign here clearly labels the track as Mario Circuit.

Although it may seem odd that Mario's track prominently features Peach's castle, this

is actually consistent with every Mario Kart since Double Dash. Then there's the fact that

both Goombas--though now also in stacked form--and piped-Pirhana plants also make an appearance,

which is also consistent with previous Mario Circuit levels

But there could be something that's inconsistent.

IN almost every Mario Kart game to date, Mario's racetrack appears later in the game, being

featured in the second cup--the Flower Cup--in 6 out of the 8 games, with the only exceptions

being the original Mario Kart which doesn't really count since it had multiple versions

of the same racetracks that appeared throughout the game, and Mario Kart DS, where it appeared

during the Star Cup--which is still toward the middle of the game.

But this time, we actually think Mario's Circuit might be the first one you play in Mario Kart

8. For one, its simple design lends itself perfectly as an introductory level--especially

since it was also the first level of the demo. And since the game's logo is based on that

same track, it would make sense that it would show up as the first course in order to set

the tone for the entire game.

And then there's the fact that Mario Kart DS's first course was also a figure 8--and

in fact, was even called the Figure-8 Circuit.

So it seems extremly likely that this figure 8 course will also be Mario Kart 8's first

one, which would actually be the first time a Mario's track has started off a Mario Kart

since the original game

But in the interest of looking-waaaaay-too deep into things, there could be one slight

snag with this idea.

You see, up to this point, every other entry in the Mario Kart series has started off with

a Luigi Course. Specifically, the 2nd, 4th, and 6th ones, being Mario Kart 64, Double

Dash, and Mario Kart Wii version. And since we're now on the 8th one, that means Mario

Kart 8 might just start off that same way too if it wants to maintain the pattern--of

course, that also could be entirely coincidental.

Alright, so if you're not sick of us talking about Mario Circuit yet, there are just a

few tiny details I wanted to point out.

Like the various signs around the course, such as the one for Mario Motors, complete

with a more cartoony version of Mario, reminiscent of the artwork from his 8-bit and 16-bit days.

And did you notice more the more conventional ? Blocks next to the oil cans here? It's a

cool little detail that's easily missed, And in the trailer, we get a good look at what

appears to be a News Truck reporting live from the racetrack

And finally, did you catch the birds that hangout on the racetrack between lulls in

the action?

Okay, we're done with Mario Circuit. Now let's take a look at the demo's second course, which

takes place in a coastal city highly reminiscent of San Francisco, with its steep hills and

cable cars obstacles--though these ones are being driven by a Koopa Troopa.

And did you notice those cable cars are each themed after a different Mario character,

such as the Mario, Luigi, and Wario ones here? And if we look at the front, we can even see

they have their hats too.

Even the sailboats bordering the track are themed after the racers int he same way.

But despite the overall San Francisco vibe, there's also the statue of Peach out on an

island that looks suspiciously similar to the statue of Liberty in New York. And the

prominence of that statue might also hint that this level very well could be Peach's

course.

And by the way, did you notice this racetrack is filled to the brim with details? Take the

the Galaxy Air sign at the start, complete with a Luma from Mario Galaxy? Or the nearby

DK Burning banner followed by a Super Mario World one, complete with a dolphin from that

game

And then there's the prominent Toad Toy Store building that you can race along in anti-gravity

mode, followed by a Peach & Daisy store front

And finally, we have this ad for Shy Guy Metals - which according to the sign, they've been

at since 1987. Which is a clever reference to the year that Shy Guy made his debut with

the Japan-only Doki Doki Panic

Then we have the demo's third and final level, which takes place in a Ghost House that features

an underwater anti-gravity section, complete with Bone Fish and a split path, as well as

a hang-gliding section where you have to dodge Boos.

And just before the end, you'll have to watch out for some attacking suits of armor possessed

by--who else--those pesky Boos again.

And did you notice the Karts now have headlights in dark areas? Cool!

Okay, so that covers the 3 courses in the demo we were able to play, but the trailer

actually reveals snippets of 5 more.

Now 3 of them we've seen before, as they're remakes of Dry Dry Desert from Double Dash,

Music Park from the 3DS--which we can easily tell from the banners here--, and Piranha

Plant Slide also from the 3DS. And there are no appreciable differences we can tell from

these clips, besides the vast increase in overall visuals.

As for the other two courses revealed in the trainer: well, they're brand new. One seems

to take place in a cliff-side Ruins area, and we can't tell much else from it besides

the fact it'll have a hang-gliding section.

The trailer also revealed a Candy-themed course, but again, there's not much to see besides

tons of candy-based structures like this windmill made out of wafers

But there is one small thing we noticed.

In this picture, the house here appears to have an odd looking insignia above the door.

While it looks like a cookie, it also looks suspiciously similar to the Flower icons that

often represent Daisy, including the ones she wears. Is it possible we're looking at

Daisy's course?

And speaking of Daisy, we know of 12 of the racers so far:

Mario Luigi

Peach Yoshi

Bowser Donkey Kong

Toad Koopa Troopa

Daisy Toadette

Wario Waluigi

And we're guessing there are still some left to be unveiled, considering both Mario kart

7 and Mario Kart Wii had more, with 16 and 24 respectively, not counting the Mii racer.

So we strongly suspect there are at least 4 unannounced racers, and potentially even

more.

But who could they be?

Well, since we saw Mario Galaxy referenced earlier, we'd be very surprising if Rosalina

didn't return, especially seeing as she's the only character to have appeared in both

of the previous games that hasn't yet been confirmed. Besides the Mii that is, who we

also expect is back

And along those same lines, since we saw Shy Guy referenced earlier, there's a chance he's

back too.

Alright, that's enough about the characters--what about the items? After all, what's a Mario

Kart game without them? While we saw a fair chunk of items with our hands-on time, we

can see there are even more in the game if we slow down this clip of getting an item

box. If we watch it closely, we can see a ton of items cycle through, which includes

Fire Flowers Bananas

Mushroom Triple Mushrooms

Golden Mushroom Triple Bananas

Green Shell Triple Green Shells

Red Shells Triple Red shells

Star Bob-omb

Thunderbolt and Blooper

And on top of all that, the game's producer said in an interview that the Blue Shell will

be back too. And though he also mentioned the Blue Shell's traits may be tweaked, every

other item we've seen in action all behave as they have in the more recent games--Oh,

and you can even still drag items behind you too.

Unfortunately, they haven't shown any new items yet, but we expect to see at least one

or two new ones, like in past games

And speaking of past games, you've probably noticed by now just how much better the game

looks than before. If we take a look at this screenshot, you can see Mario's pants even

has a textured look to it now, like actual jeans.

And if we take a look at this picture, you can even spot some super small details, such

as how the wheels now have Mario Kart written on then. And if we take a look at the bike's

engine, we can see it has a ? coin icon as well as a mushroom just above that

Even the animation has been improved--check out how the racers now glance at each other

as they pass by, which is also a nod to the very first Mario Kart. Although the character's

mouths still don't move when they speak

Okay, we're just about done here, but as usual, there are just a few final details left.

For one, based on our play-time, you can no longer earn a speed-boosting draft by racing

closely behind another racer. But it is possible it just wasn't implemented in time for the

demo.

And along that same topic, every level in the demo was only 2-laps instead of the usual

3. While this is very likely a demo-only setting, it could hint that you might be able to choose

the amount of laps again for Versus mode, like in Double Dash

Then we got a glimpse of how points are tabulated after every race, and not surprisingly, it's

very similar to Mario Kart Wii's, being as they both have 12 racers. However, there is

a slight different. While the top 3 positions still earn 15, 12, and 10 points respectively,

everyone 4th and and below earns one point more than they did before. SO basically, if

Daisy here were playing Mario Kart Wii instead, she would have won 0 points instead of 1.

It shouldn't change much, but maybe the developer just didn't want you to feel bad?

Finally, we have that lovable Lakitu, who still goes to fish you out if you fall into

the water. But this time, instead of cutting right back to you on the track, the camera

actually follows Lakitu on his journey-which again, is like the original Mario Kart.

And did you notice his shadow actually followed alongside the building in this scene, instead