Mario Kart Arcade GP DX - What Does It Mean For Mario Kart U?

[Cfrock]

Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX was recently unvieled. It'll be the third arcade exclusive Mario Kart game and, like the others, is being developed by Namco. It also marks the first time Mario Kart will ever be seen in HD. A small number of screenshots have been released, you can have a gander here, and they may reveal some clues about what we can expect from the series when the Wii U installment is revealed at this year's E3.

The first thing you may notice is that the propellers introduced in Mario Kart 7 are used. The gliders from MK7 also make a repeat appearance. Does this mean that those features will make it into Mario Kart U? Stunts were retained after Mario Kart Wii so it is a real possibilty.

We then see that players can put a picture of themselves in the game, and even mess about with it a bit. Given that the Wii U Gamepad has a camera that points at the player and Nintendo have already had games which use their system's cameras to display the player's face (Nintendo Land, Starfox 64 3D) it seems likely that this feature will also be seen in MKU.

You may also notice that a map of the track is, as always, included at the side of the HUD, but in two of the images only a portion of the track is displayed, not the entire thing as it is in other screenshots and in past games. This could mean that the very long single lap tracks first seen in MK7 (what I like to call Marathon Tracks) could be returning in this arcade game and potentially in MKU as well. We also see one track which appears to have 5 laps and another screenshot shows some kind of targetting reticule in front of the vehicle.

It seems clear that Namco are taking a lot of inspiration from MK7, and why wouldn't they? MK7 won a bunch of awards from various gaming publications and is the second best-selling game on the 3DS. The question is, will we see these things again when Nintendo show off MKU later in the year? What do you think?

 

[Ventus]

I'm not entirely sure what to think about this Arcade dingy, but the U version appears to be another rehash with a few added capabilities. As you said, MK7 is the second best-selling game ont he 3DS. I don't know why it is - I dislike the game beyond belief - but the fact is that it IS and Nintendo will draw much inspiration from it.

New Mario Kart entries typically aren't all that new; I'm expecting a Battle Mode as per tradition, rehashed tracks from past games (including MK7), and...I don't really know beyond that. I haven't seen a racing game for the Wii U, so I can't make any judgment calls. I'm just asking for Motorcycles to return.

 

[A Link In Time]

It's very likely Nintendo will follow in Mario Kart 7's footsteps with the forthcoming Wii U installment. Mario Kart is a refined series that works; now Nintendo is adding extra bells and whistles for effects. There were no protests against the hang glider or underwater propeller. I see no reason Ninty should remove these.

We'll see grand prix, versus, battle, online modes. Marathon tracks will likely return. I hope to see mission mode from Mario Kart DS once more and pray Nintendo doesn't include the motorcycles from the Wii game for another spin.