New cars and features are being polished up for Mario Kart 8 and will be available to download for free starting on August 27. These aren’t ordinary cars as for the first time ever you’ll get to drive real-world automobiles in a Mario Kart game and flash the Luigi death stare at opponents while behind the wheel of one of three Mercedes-Benz cars.
The three Mercedes-Benz cars in fully playable form that are coming to Mario Kart 8 are the modern Mercedes-Benz GLA, the 1950’s 300 SL Roadster, and the classic 1930’s Silver Arrow. Of the three, the GLA includes special wheel options, while all three cars can be customized with the usual array of available tires and gliders.
Taking the inclusion of Mercedes-Benz into Mario Kart 8 a step further, an online Mercedes Cup tournament will be held between August 27 and September 23. All you need to line up and partake in this race is a Wii U, the game and an Internet connection.
Here’s a breakdown of the Mario Kart 8 August DLC update enhancements:
- Drivers will now have the option to display the course map on the TV screen during races.
- The order of the menu after each race will be changed to “Next Race”, followed by “Watch Highlight Reel”.
- The game will remember the most recent kart options that were selected, even if the Wii U system was powered down.
- Users will be able to change options of other players’ Mario Kart TV downloaded highlight reels, such as changing the focus to different characters or actions.
- A score screen will be added so players can see how many coins they’ve collected, the win-loss record of their online battles and their frequently used characters.
- Improved the stability of the online connection to enhance user experience during online battles.
As an added bonus, today Nintendo has made the original Super Mario Kart available to download on Wii U for $7.99 in the Nintendo eShop.
