It's most definitely filler.

At this point, the only thing I want to know is if 150 CC is easier than it was in MKWii. That was fucking brutal.

I blame the difficulty of 150 CC on the wii moreso on the quirks of the wii version in general as have been mentioned.

What, you mean the Wii Wheel? You do realize that's not the only controller you can use, right? You can use the Wii Remote and nunchuck, the Classic Controller, or the Gamecube controller.

I didn't see a single Blue Shell in the gameplay video. Hopefully they've fixed that overpowered shit from MK Wii. Even on 50cc I still got hit by FOUR Blue Shells. I mean what the fuck is that about?!

Was hoping that, but apparently they disabled some items for the demo, such as blue shells, chain chomps, etc.

I didn't see a single Blue Shell in the gameplay video. Hopefully they've fixed that overpowered shit from MK Wii. Even on 50cc I still got hit by FOUR Blue Shells. I mean what the fuck is that about?!

Mario Kart wouldn't be nearly as fun without items like the Blue Shell. Yes, it's frustrating when it screws you over, but it also keeps everyone in balance. Humans are far smarter than the CPU players and can become far more skilled, so having powerful items keep everything in check.

Also, I'm really disappointed that they decided to keep the whole "getting hurt too much takes away your item" thing. My least favorite part about Mario Kart Wii was how it was almost impossible to hold onto an item for more than 15 seconds because of bobombs and blue shells and lightning and POW blocks and mega mushrooms etc. I liked it when they had a Boo item that would steal players' items, because it was rare, and it was the only way to lose an item. I actually didn't mind most of the times a Boo stole my items in the older games because of that. But now it's just obnoxious.

Bob-ombs are easy to avoid unless they land like, right in front of you and you have no chance to drive out of the way. Success in MarioKart races largely lies in good, proper racing and good item management. With that, you can cut down the luck factor considerably.

As for "getting hurt too much and you lose your item", what game are you playing? The following items are the only ones that can cause a racer to drop their item if they're hit by it.

- Bullet Bill (stay out of the middle of the road when you see the warning).
- Star (avoid that racer unless they're specifically targeting you)
- POW Block (if you're not in the air when the third cue goes off).
- Lightning Bolt (if you're not in "auto-pilot" or under the effects of a Mega Mushroom.)
- Mega Mushroom (see Star)
- Blue Shell (can be avoided if you're in "auto-pilot" or use a Mushroom right before it slams down towards you).
- Bowser Shell (DD!! only)
- Chain Chomp (DD!! only)
- Any Mushroom (DD!! only if the driver was carrying an item)
- Any Mushroom (DD!! onwards in Battle mode, you don't lose an item in DD, but in that game and since you lose a balloon instead).

The Blue Shell has been overpowered since Double Dash!!, the first game in the series where it could fly, explode and not damage anyone in its path. This isn't exclusive to Wii.



The problem is that the current Blue Shell screws you over simply for doing well. The old version could hit any other racers that were in its path, but the lead racer could extremely easily destroy the shell by cutting a corner so the shell would go off course or crash into a wall.

What also annoys me about MK Wii is that they included the Blue Shell in Battle Mode.