When the game launches later this year (it's cautiously pencilled in for a November release in Europe and Australia, though it will certainly be with us at some stage in 2005), Konno says we can expect 30 tracks, half of which will be brand-new and half of which will be taken from previous Mario Kart games.
Up to eight players can take each other on wirelessly on any of the tracks, and will also be able to participate in four-player online races, via Nintendo's new WiFi service. And as if that doesn't sound mouth-wateringly good enough, players will also be able to play Battle matches over the internet. Splendiferous.
When online, different colour schemes will be used to distinguish players, and player names will also be displayed. There'll also be the option of customising your kart with personalised decals, thanks to the inclusion of a basic Paint-style program.
In terms of power-ups, an old favourite will be making a return, with the Feather (which allowed the player to hop, thus accessing secret shortcuts or usually inaccessible areas) from the landmark SNES version reappearing for the first time in over a decade. Meanwhile, there's also a new Balloon power-up planned, which is inflated by blowing into the handheld's microphone, though we reckon that'd look a tad bizarre if you're playing on the bus. Sadly, Konno didn't explain exactly what purpose the Balloon would serve.
More news as we have it. In the meantime, take a look at some screens here.
Loading...
