Toad on Track – 2015 Mario Kart World Championship

My name is Toad. It’s a common name in the Mushroom Kingdom but that doesn’t make it any less special. At the end of a long year in the 2015 Mario Kart World Championship, we’ve arrived at the second last race of the season. I’m in a heated battle for the title with Mario and Villager. Mario leads the championship by 1 point over me, with Villager trailing by 10 points with an outside chance. This is my first championship and from the start my goal was to be champion. People laughed at me and said things like “You’re just an average Toad” and “It’s Mario Kart, not Toad Kart“, but here I am, well in the fight. Even the cutest, most average Toad in the world can chase their dreams and that is the point I’m here to prove. I remind myself every day that I am Toad, and I can do anything. So far I’ve won some races, lost some more, and picked up a lot of points with clever strategies and hard racing. I never give up. I’m firmly in the hunt for the championship and these final two races are going to be the biggest of my life. The pressure is mounting but I’m not scared. I feel a duty to represent all the Toads and Toadettes of the Mushroom Kingdom. I’m going to do it for them.

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Mario Kart 8 – Livin’ That 200cc Life

Mario Kart 8‘s been out for a year now and it’s by far my most played Wii U game. Over 500 hours of swearing, exploding, green shell betrayal, banana intimacy, and blue shell disappointment. It’s been fantastic. I’m here to talk about the new 200cc mode, which has completely changed the online scene and revitalised the racing, almost more than the amazing new tracks. It’s a challenge when you’re first exposed to the speed, but that’s definitely not a bad thing in a competitive racing game. I’m gonna break down in 5 points, Mario Kart TV infomercial style, why it’s worth making the lifestyle change to 200cc.

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Game & Wario – Wario’s Identity Crisis

Game & Wario is a game I’ve had for about a year and I still can’t figure out how to describe it, nor have I ever wanted to. The art style feels forced, the presentation is a mess, and half the games just aren’t very fun to play. I’ve had some fun with it and unlocked all the games but it still gives me an odd unfinished feeling after 20 hours playtime. With this being one of the free games in the new Mario Kart 8 promotion, many people have been asking about it, and for good reason because it’s a difficult game to gauge. Is it simple addictive fun like previous Wario Ware games? Are the games more fleshed out? Is it a platformer? Is it an FPS? Is there more content or less? What is content?

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Mario Kart 8 – One Race (DETAILED IMPRESSIONS)

At the EB Expo this year I was lucky enough to drive a race of Mario Kart 8. By lucky, I mean I shot my arm up in the air at the speed of light and almost lost it in the rafters. The Nintendo area had a screen on stage for a number of different game events, including Just Dance and Mario Kart 7. Mario Kart 8 was a special game they only pulled out every few hours, and I was very grateful for my chance to play it.

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Here’s the setup with two random dudes playing, one Wii U GamePad and one Wiimote. Unfortunately when I got up, the other kid (my opponent) wanted to use the GamePad so I let him and took the Wii Remote, because kids always come first. I’d used motion steering in my many hours of Mario Kart Wii so this was no hurdle for me. Let the race begin!

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