Mario Kart News

Nintendo releases the first gameplay information on its long-awaited GameCube racing game. First screens inside.

Nintendo has today released the first gameplay information on the GameCube version of Mario Kart via its official E3 Web site. The game will boast a number of new features, the most obvious and intriguing of which is that each kart is manned not only by a driver, whose attributes will affect the handling of the kart, but also by a second character that will be responsible for handling power-up items and weapons. In addition to six regular items that are available no matter which character is riding shotgun, each character will have access to a further eight items that are specific to them. Players will be able to have their two characters switch seats on the fly, which could make for some quite tactical racing since every change will alter both the handling of the kart and the items available.

Also, according to a report in the latest issue of Famitsu, a number of Nintendo characters that haven't previously appeared in Mario Kart games will also be making up the numbers on the starting grid. The 16 characters confirmed for inclusion in Mario Kart to date are as follows:

Baby Luigi
Baby Mario
Birdo
Bowser
Bowser Jr.
Daisy
Diddy Kong
Donkey Kong
Koopa Paratroopa
Koopa Troopa
Luigi
Mario
Peach
Wario
Waluigi
Yoshi

Famitsu's report also hints at support for up to eight players using two GameCube consoles, although no more specific details are available at this time. Rumor also has it that the game will come with a free pass allowing husbands to invite hordes of friends over for overnight MarioKart fests with beer and queso.

So yesterday I was sitting at a traffic light in South Austin, when a homeless guy caught my eye. His sign said, "Homeless Fortune Teller".

Then he flipped the sign over and it said, "I should have known."

Sometimes I love this town.

Cartoon #3: The Bear Strikes Back, is up on the main page. Went to a comic convention in Dallas this weekend. I heard a woman say hi, and turned around to see her saying hi to my wife. For a second, I wondered who she was, then realized it was Octopussy, or at least the woman who played Octopussy in the James Bond movie called Octopussy.

We also met Kit Fisto, got his autograph, and got pelted with golfball sized hail while watching the Horns in the Final Four against Syracuse. My boss summarized the game best: "The only defense that could possibly work against Carmelo Anthony would have been to bite him on the leg."