Dcubed

What other choice did they have? It was either that or not have a single upcoming game with a release date for months on end... and nothing kills confidence in a console faster than that. I hate it when announcements like this happen too (and I much prefer it when there's only a short time period between announcement and release), but I would've hated it much more if I was left with absolutely nothing to look forward to after DKCTF launched... Yeah that's why I decided not to watch those newer trailers when the last MK Direct hit. I knew that they'd go ahead and spoil everything so I knew better and just ignored that stuff Well it does take time for them to get the physical copies into stores... but I also think they probably could've got it out a week or so earlier if they really wanted to. Mind you though, they probably timed it like this on purpose because E3 hits only just over a week after MK8 launches and that provides an ample opportunity for them to grab the attention of those people who bought the console for MK8. They also need to announce another set of release dates for their upcoming retail titles after MK8 launches because after that hits, there are absolutely zero retail Wii U titles with release dates after MK8 comes out. E3 of course provides the best opportunity to do just that and it wouldn't be ideal to have to announce new release dates right before your big event of the year, where you would ideally like to announce them there.

Ahh! Good spotting there, I missed that one completely! Yeah, this is gonna be awesome. BTW, does anyone else get Punchout vibes from the visual design of Boxing this time around? It's probably just because it's a more "complete" representation of boxing (what with it including the coaches and all), but I can't help but think of Punchout when I look at those pics...

Well there's nothing built into the game itself per-say, but they could always map the different strength levels of light to something else; could be the time of day, or what would be cool is if they used the IR sensor on the Gamepad/Wiimote to simulate the solar sensor. Have the player point the controller towards a light source and the more it causes the cursor to jitter (through IR interference), the stronger the effect of "sunlight"!) The latter method would probably be quite hard to program though I would imagine... (failing that they could always make it user selectable - but that would just be lame...)

I do have the original PS1 game (Door to Phantomile). You can always try it when you come round next (I reckon you'd like it It's sort of like Kirby if it were more focused on the puzzles and less on the raw action)

Well technically it actually was released within its first year... But I know what you mean, it really should've been a launch day title...

Klonoa Empire of Dreams this week!? YES PLEASE! I've always wanted to play that game! Love the original PS1 game and I've always wanted to play the GBA sequels I'm VERY pleased. This was one of my most wanted potential GBA VC releases (Of course there are plenty more even before we get into the JPN only games; games like Ninja Cop, Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament, the MM Battle Network games, Boktai 1-3, River City Ransom GBA, Astro Boy: Omega Factor, Advance Guardian Heroes, Sigma Star Saga, Tactics Ogre: The Knights of Lodis, Mega Man & Bass and many more...)

I'm interested in seeing what DW fans end up thinking of this game, with it possibly being their first point of contact with the Zelda series (rather than the other way around...)

Same thing happens if you take the super shortcut in Wario Stadium in MK64... Somehow they're magically able to catch up to you even when you're half a lap ahead

It's... just... hopeless...

Well that's why it comes up so often :p All the best items never come up when you actually need them

The reason why that item existed in the first place was to encourage you to look at the bottom screen map though... If anything, it was MKWii that missed the point (but the ink spatter was less pronounced in that game, making it easier to see where you were going when you got blasted with it anyway... balance! - shame that they didn't apply that to the bikes to the same extent though :p)

Sticking to the one set design means that they can take advantage of the lack of a map into the course design itself. They might design the new courses in such a way that there are lots more twists and turns than normal, or multiple floors where you can't see the other players in immediate sight, or have shortcuts where you go through different paths or pipes that take you to different parts of the track so that your opponent wont know where you currently are... (these are just some general examples off the top of my head, I have no idea how they're actually taking advantage of it in MK8 itself, but these are just some ways that they could make use of it as an example) If the map was just a toggle on&off then you couldn't make use of these design aspects when designing the new tracks as it would completely undermine the design... The voice chat thing is still stupid though. It would make no difference to the gameplay itself if they had voice chat while you're racing so they should've just included an option for that... Going option heavy and option light are both valid forms of game design. Neither is inherently "better" than the other. A game like Zelda could never be made in the same way as something like Smash Bros (with its heavy focus on gameplay customisation) or Bravely Default for instance

On the other hand, this IS a Nintendo collaboration... One would think that Nintendo would keep a closer eye on how they want their IPs represented than the likes of BandaiNamco...

Of course I'm interested in how the game will feel without it myself. It's a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but it's the little things like that that make each MK game interesting Especially the new battle mode. I've been disappointed by the last two MK games in that regard for similar reasons (I HATED the re-spawning mechanic and the time limit; took all of the tension and mindgames out of the battle mode and just turned it into an item spam fest MK7 thankfully got rid of the forced team battles but it still kept the other stuff I disliked about MKWii's battle mode) so I'm really happy to see them return to having limited balloons and one life For the record, I think that MK64 had the best battle mode (Those infinitely bouncing green shells and the bomb buggy make ALL the difference! ), followed by MKDS>SMK>MKDD>MKSC>MK7>MKWii

Taking it away adds a new element of strategy/mindgames that they've never had before in the series. They've done the whole map thing 7 times before after all... They obviously had a vision for the game as a whole and felt that the onscreen map didn't fit what they wanted to do with this game (though they seem to have kept it on the Gamepad to offer a handicap advantage, which is an interesting element of asymmetric gameplay too, if only a subtle one). Nintendo EAD's designers generally prefer to eschew options in favour of a specifically designed and tailor made experience (that's also why their games generally lack multiple difficulties and stuff like New Game + too). Other designers like Yoshio Sakamoto, most of the designers at Intelligent Systems and especially Masahiro Sakurai (who absolutlely LOVES options and the ability for the player to define their own way of playing) take a very different approach though and generally like to include lots of different gameplay options, custom creation tools (map editors, character design tools etc), multiple difficulties, multiple endings, New Game + and that kind of stuff. It's just a matter of different designers having their own preferred way of designing games

If that element of surprise is a big focus in the battle mode, then it's not hard to believe that they wanted a similar feeling in the VS mode. It's not like it's something that they don't understand the use for (after all, every single previous MK game has an onscreen map... in both VS AND Battle Mode...), or even something that would be difficult or take long to implement, but rather it's probably just a deliberate design decision because they wanted to bring about a more surprising and strategic feeling to the gameplay. It's just one of those usual Nintendo oddities with their games. Like the coins you pick up; you would think that they would keep them in every game, but instead they just come and go as the designers please... It does seem to give the Gamepad player an interesting advantage over the others too. Maybe that was another idea they were going for, a subtle handicap of sorts for more novice players...

From the way that Kosuke Yabuki put it in an interview a few weeks ago, it sounds like they were planning on getting rid of the map anyway, Gamepad or not... I don't think they would've incorporated the map, even if there was no Gamepad... I do agree that it's a bit of bad timing here, but it's good really that the designers don't feel forced to make use of the Gamepad outside of basic stuff if it doesn't fit their vision of the game. It's not like there aren't a good number of games that make great use of it, but it's more a matter of a lot of 1st party games (that don't use the Gamepad in a fundamental way) that are hitting in quick succession; so it gives that bad impression at a bad time...

WEEEELLLLL NOW!

TBH, I think that everyone here ragging about the lack of Gamepad use with MK8 are shouting at the wrong game here. Nobody really complained about the lack of GBA-GCN connectivity in MKDD or touch controls in MKDS or the lack of motion-only stuff in MK Wii... Mario Kart is a series that takes advantage of new hardware features but in a way that doesn't necessarily define the game itself (not unlike Smash Bros really). The only exceptions to this are SMK (Mode 7, that one's obvious) and MK64 (3D graphics, again an obvious forward direction for the series as you could now have track designs that take advantage of verticality). Usually MK games make use of new hardware features in less obvious ways than you'd expect. Super Circuit makes use of the fact that each individual game cart was personal, so that's why they allowed trading of ghost data over link cable; likewise Double Dash made use of the GCN's LAN capabilities to have more players as well as the analogue shoulder buttons for more subtle turning control (as well as the enhanced horsepower to enable more characters onscreen and more complex level design as well as an actual realistic physics handling model - that is still totally unique in the series!) Mario Kart DS made use of the map on the touch screen for when you get hit by the blooper item (the idea being that you would make use of the map to find your way while you can't see properly) and it took advantage of the DS' bigger save space on the game card to save custom decals (as well as touch controls for drawing), not to mention the obvious addition of online play and 8 player local wireless. Mario Kart Wii was designed much like SSBB in that it was meant to be customisable to fit however the player wanted to play, but you still had things like the addition of Miis, the trick system (which was awkward to pull off on the GCN or Classic Controller and would've been designed differently if it were designed for those controllers first and foremost - as it was changed in MK7), the ability to save far more ghosts, better online connectivity, the Mario Kart Channel etc... Mario Kart 7 was much more about convenience than anything else really as it streamlined everything about Wii - befitting the pickupandplay nature of handheld play. The touch screen use was more pragmatic than anything else (much like it is in MK8), as was the use of the gyro. SD Card support was a big focus too as the limits on ghost data saving were finally lifted completely and as such, time trials became a bigger focus than ever before. Otherwise it was a logical succession from MKDS with enhancements to presentation, online play etc. And now MK8 is focused on making use of everything about the Wii U except for the Gamepad itself. Miiverse, HD graphics, the many multiple control schemes on offer, the ability to have patches/game updates delivered over Spotpass, online video sharing/streaming, companion apps etc. It might not be a good look from a PR perspective, but it's no different from the approach that the Mario Kart team have taken with every game in the series really

It's a Dynasty Warriors game, of course it looks like crap. They all do because they focus on having thousands of enemies onscreen at the same time (they're also low budget, so there is that to consider too but for what it's worth, it looks better than pretty much any other DW game so far ). I don't hold much hope for it to be much fun either if it ends up playing like most other DW games (the gameplay is about as shallow as a paddling pool), but some people like brainless button mashing, so I'm sure there's an audience for this game

It's not the same though... Even if it is real, it feels fake; just the very fact that they felt the need to upload it makes it feel fake (and also highlights how much people yearn for that live feeling during the actual show... )

You called? Actually you're both right... kinda... Rendering a second image to the Gamepad would be the same in terms of how much the console is rendering, buuuutttt it would be harder for the console to pull off Gamepad 2nd screen rendering than it would for traditional splitscreen because the Wii U would have to render one full size 720p display AND a full size 480p display instead of two half 720p res displays. Personally I would've still liked to see them do it anyway (as well as 60FPS 3-4 player splitscreen) and just downgrade the graphcs as necessary. I HATED the FPS downgrade in MK Wii's 3-4 player mode (especially since MK DD pulled off a perfect 60FPS 4 player splitscreen on the GCN), it just felt terrible in comparison to 1-2 players

Supposedly this collaboration is with a "western" IP... So not Nintendo related...

If MM3D does happen (which I do think it will), it'll almost certainly be running on a modified OOT3D engine. The cel shading is just a shader effect that they can toggle in development after all, so there's nothing stopping them from just using the same engine and turning on their celshading shader effect. It's not that hard to do really... (Making the game look good with it though is a different matter of course, but the point I'm making here is that using the same engine as OOT3D would not preclude them from making the game look like the art work). I'm interested in seeing what changes they'd make to a handheld version though. MM is probably my favourite game of all time and no remake would ever truly "replace" the original for me anyway so I'd be interested to experience it in a new way

Me too. Not because I wouldn't want it on the 3DS itself per-say, but because the gameplay structure isn't really a good fit for a handheld as-is. I reckon they'd have to make some significant concessions in order to make it for the platform (although arguably that's actually quite compelling in of itself too. Would be interesting to see exactly how they would make MM more handheld friendly and probably quite fun to play it in an all new way )