A few thoughts on this morning's Nintendo Direct

As any long-suffering Nintendo fan knows, the company's "Nintendo Direct" broadcasts tend to be hit-or-miss affairs. Although some of them have produced bonafide megatons (like when Bayonetta 2 was announced), just as many others have been utter snoozefests.

Given that, I wasn't at all sure what to expect from this morning's trio of Wii U-focused Nintendo Directs (one for Europe, one for Japan and one for North America). I had a feeling at least a few bombs would be dropped thanks to the rather ho-hum launch of company's latest console, but would they be "we're working on a sequel to Wii Party" bombs or would they be "Bayonetta 2 will hit store shelves in May" bombs?

Interestingly enough, Nintendo is working on a sequel (of sorts) to Wii Party. That was about the least interesting of all of the announcements that were part of this Nintendo Direct, though, so I think it's safe to say that this particular broadcast was far more "hit" than "miss."

Specifically, here are what I considered to be the high points of this morning's address:

* The look inside Platinum Games' office, where the company's staffers seem to be hard at work on Bayonetta 2, was all sorts of awesome. Sure, we didn't get to see any actual gameplay footage, but we were given enough glimpses of in-the-works enemies and environments to know the final product probably is going to rock our respective worlds.

* OK, so it wasn't all that surprising to hear that new 3D Mario and Mario Kart games are being prepped for Wii U. To hear that both games will be shown in playable form at E3 2013, though, was pretty shocking--as was Satoru Iwata's utterance that we'll finally get to see some screens of the next Smash Bros. title at the same event.

* Considering it's been rumored for a while now, I doubt many people fainted or felt heart palpitations after Iwata revealed that the Wii U will receive a Yoshi-focused platformer in the near future. My own heart certainly starting racing, though, when I heard that it's being developed by the geniuses at Good-Feel and saw that it's going to look more than a bit like that group's Kirby's Epic Yarn.

* So, let me make sure I'm understanding this correctly: Atlus is working with Nintendo to produce a Wii U game that brings together the characters and settings of the Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem series? If so, uh, I'm not sure what to think, to tell you the truth. I mean, it certainly sounds interesting, and I'm sure the resulting game will be stellar, but I can't quite picture it yet, you know?

* What I can picture: making my way through Monolith Soft's next game--which looks a lot like their last one (that being Xenoblade Chronicles), actually, but about a million times better--with a humungous grin on my face. You know, because of the gorgeous visuals. And the huge environments. Oh, and the transforming mechas.

Coming this Monday: The second 'Mario Kart 7 Gaymer Night'

The inaugural "Mario Kart 7 Gaymer Night" that was held on Jan. 30 was such a success--and such a blast--that I thought I should schedule another.

So, anybody who has a bit of free time this coming Monday night (Feb. 13) and who is itching to race against a slew of open-minded gamers should feel free to pop their heads into The Gay Gamer community starting at 7 pm PST/10 pm EST.



In case you've yet to join The Gay Gamer community, here's the info you'll need to do so: 22-7203-7866-8075.

No worries if you won't be able to participate this time around for whatever reason; more "Mario Kart 7 Gaymer Nights" are sure to follow in the coming weeks and months.

The Great Gaymathon Review #51: Mario Kart 7 (3DS)

Game: Mario Kart 7

Genre: Racing

Developer: Nintendo, Retro Studios

Publisher: Nintendo

System: 3DS

Release date: 2011

Is the seventh Mario Kart game the best one yet? Hoo, boy, that's quite a question. My knee-jerk reaction is to say no, it isn't, but the only predecessor that can compete with and possibly surpass it--in my opinion, obviously--is Mario Kart Wii. (Note: I've played and enjoyed every Mario Kart game in existence except Double Dash!!) As such, I'm thinking I should compare and contrast the innovations each of these titles brings to the series in order to come to a conclusion as to which one earns top billing on this blog. Starting with Mario Kart Wii: It has more items (19 vs. 18, three of which are new), more racers (24 vs. 16) and more vehicles with which to race--including motorbikes, which I thought were kind of cool. It also allows for "waggle" control, which is especially fun if you use the steering-wheel accessory, and online races of up to 12 players. Mario Kart 7, on the other hand, adds coins (last seen in Mario Kart: Super Circuit) back into the mix, allows players to customize their karts in a multitude of ways, introduces gliders that aid airborne vehicles, includes SpotPass and StreetPass functionality and offers up an alternate control scheme that enables players to steer by tilting their 3DS systems. Both games feature the same number of tracks (32, 16 of which are new and 16 of which are pulled from previous entries) and similar-enough gameplay, graphics, music and modes. Given all of that, I'm ... not any closer to being able to choose a "winner" than I was at the beginning of this write-up. If possible, I'd suggest getting them both, as I consider both of them to be top-of-the-heap Mario Kart games. (Don't worry, that's a good thing.) If you can only choose one, though, I'd probably go for the Wii iteration, as I find it a bit easier to control and I prefer its course and kart selection.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

I can't get the Coconut Mall theme out of my head (and other musings on Mario Kart 7's soundtrack)

I'm sure this admission will surprise no one, but I've been playing a lot of Mario Kart 7 lately. How much is "a lot"? Well, I've played it for over 23 hours so far. That may not sound like a lot to some of you, but it's rare for me to play a game for that amount of time these days.

Anyway, all of that racing has produced a rather annoying side effect: I can't get the game's soundtrack out of my head! The worst offender: The song that plays while racing on the Coconut Mall course.



It isn't unusual for this jangly, piano-driven tune to be stuck in my head for hours at a time. Thankfully, I like the song about as much as I like the course (it's one of my all-time favorites), so there's no need to worry about my sanity. Yet.

That's not the only Mario Kart 7 track that has perked my ears, mind you. I'm also quite fond of the tunes that accompany the Daisy Hills, Music Park and Rainbow Road courses. (Listen to the last one by playing the following video.)



As much as I like all of the above-mentioned themes, I think they're a bit subdued when compared to the series' most classic tunes, don't you think?

Also, what do all of you think about Mario Kart 7's soundtrack in general? How do you think it compares to its predecessors? Finally, which songs are your favorites?

See also: Previous Mario Kart 7 posts

I cannot tell a lie: I completely loathe Mario Kart 7's Neo Bowser City course

The headline above is my way of letting all of you know that I'm finally the proud owner of a copy of Mario Kart 7.

Actually, I've been not-so-secretly playing through this 3DS title for the last week or so (I say not-so-secretly because I've tweeted about my experiences on a few occasions), but I didn't want to say anything here until I was ready to race on line.

Why did I wait? Well, I'm one of those odd folks who have to unlock as many of the game's characters, karts and wheels as possible through solo play before I compete against actual human beings. (I've unlocked all of Mario Kart 7's racers so far, but I've got a ways to go before I can say the same thing about its karts, gliders and wheels.)


                          Does anyone actually play the game this way?

Speaking of racing on line, I recently set up a community for readers of this blog, in case any of you are interested in such a thing. Here's the community's code: 22-7203-7866-8075. (If you've started a community, or if you know of any that are "open and affirming," so to speak, let me know in the comments section, will you?)

Anyway, back to my experience with Mario Kart 7 thus far and which courses I love and which ones I loathe: My favorite of the game's new courses at the moment Music Park and my least favorite is the aforementioned Neo Bowser City. Which courses are you guys and gals liking and which ones are you hating at the moment?

Buy: Mario Kart 7

Tell me if you've seen this before

Speaking of the Gay Geeks and Gaymers tumblog, I just saw the Mario Kart-inspired t-shirt design below (order shirts bearing the design here) while scrolling through it.

Nintendo should have included one of these shirts with every copy of Mario Kart Wii, don't you think? Or would it have hit too close to home for players of that game?



Regardless, it's certainly an image I can relate to--since I've been eviscerated by many a blue shell while playing the last entry in the Mario Kart series.

Hopefully I'll have better luck while playing Mario Kart 7, which will hit store shelves around the world in just a few weeks. (Pre-order the North American version here.)

'A lifetime at the races'

While working on the following illustration, artist Ashley Davis says she was "inspired by the fact that everyone who has ever been important in my life has played a Mario Kart game with me."

Peach is her mother, she adds, while "Mario and Toad are my sisters, Funky Kong is a long lost best friend that I wish I could reconnect with, Wario is my husband, and Dry Bones is me."

Is anyone else jealous of Davis? I mean, she's played a Mario Kart game with her mom. I guess I should be happy that I got to play a lot of Super Mario Kart with my older brother back in the day, even though he beat me about 75 percent of the time.

To see more of Davis' wonderfully whimsical creations, check out her deviantart.com gallery or her website, oddlookingbird.com

Been there, done that

If I were a betting man, I'd wager that artist kevin10992 and I have had some similarly depressing and disastrous Super Mario Kart experiences over the years.

I mean, how else do you explain the following t-shirt design, which kevin10992 recently submitted to the folks at threadless.com:

Speaking of threadless.com, I have a feeling the site is going to start selling the Pac-Man-inspired 'Medium Difficulty,' which I first mentioned in this post, soon. Its "final average score" was 3.76 (out of 5) which, according to the site's commenters, is a "killer score."

Consider my fingers crossed...