Brake drifting is our saving grace Mario Kart 8feels fresh again and not just because of the fabulous new tracks added in this week’sAnimal Crossing-themedDLC Pack 2. Nintendo also unleashed the humbling 200cc class in a free update for the game. We saw the footage. We knew this fast, furious mode would require relearning, practice, and lots of patience. But my goodness — some of these courses are a real pain, even byMario Kartstandards....

But he won’t tell us much about it Videogame industry consultant Mark Cerny played a vital role in the design of the PlayStation 4. Prior to launch, he acted as the system architect for Sony’s console. While he also served as the director on PS4 exclusiveKnack, Cerny says his time helping Sony was mainly to ensure the company had a platform that could support the creation of new games. He’s going to put that to the test sooner rather than later....

Marvelous Entertainment has recently posted their Tokyo Game Show 2008 booth showings on theirJapanese Web page. In their Wii-heavy showings, it looks like everything exceptLittle King Storywill be playable, including the RPGArc Rise Fantasia. Here’s the list from thegames page: PSP PS2 There is bound to be secrets up the marvelous sleeves of Marvelous, as they’re promising stage shows and other goodies. Speaking of goodies: be sure to grab two new wallpapers, available on theirTGS page....

Payday 3is a lot of fun, but it is not without issues. The matchmaking error has been a common problem that players are running into. It will strike as you are trying to load into a lobby, and sadly, it doesn’t discriminate between trying to play solo, with friends, or going on a heist with strangers. If you have been getting hit by this one, we have some things that might help....

But they probably will, at least in multiplayer While Microsoft has beenmostly mumon its souped up new Xbox One, Project Scorpio, ahead of E3 next month (except to say that there are “no issues” and it’s coming this year),Twitterhas granted us one tidbit: Microsoft won’t mandate games run at the same framerate between Xbox One and Scorpio. Someone on Twitter said there was “fps parity” between Xbox One and Scorpio in multiplayer, intimating that Xbox One owners would be “holding back” people who plonk down cash on the nicer model....

Tempted to make some of it Given that my wife is in the later stages ofpregnancyI’ve been cooking more often than usual, and I’m pretty proud of a recent sauteed spinach recipe I’ve concocted (she needs more iron!) among other main courses. But this series ofMonster Hunterdishes from Twitter user Ki-Ki’s wife deserves a legitimate chef kissy fingers emote in real life. I just did it. Modeled after an in-game dish (you can see the comparison in the gallery below), they go above and beyond and even add in various odds and ends to spice up the presentation a bit....

Following on the heels of theirgorgeous cover designsinspired by the style ofBioShock Infinite, Game Informer has posted some new screenshots of the title. Setting aside the steampunk aesthetic and awesome walrus moustache for a second, the thing that keeps striking me is howbrighteverything is. I would have to think it much harder to make things look great when you aren’t resorting to dim lighting or a low-contrast color palette. Beautiful stuff and I can’t wait to see how it holds up to my naked (and willing, but demure) eyes....

No rub a dub dub in the tub Compile Heart’sMugen Souls Z, a sequel to PS3 RPGMugen Souls, will be coming to Europe and North America in 2014 courtesy of NIS America. My guess is there is a “Z” in the sequel’s title because it looks enough like a “2” to confuse me, without my contacts, into thinking the title made sense. NIS’ press release also noted, “Due to the sensitive nature of some content, NIS America has decided to edit certain aspects of this title for its North American and European releases....

Many indie titles in the past several years have taken visual inspiration from previous generations. Some draw from the NES and SNES eras, but lately more are taking cues from the PS1/N64 generation. These distinctive visual echoes from years past have undoubtedly made it far easier to appreciate the aesthetic while playing something notably contemporary. At least, that’s how I view many of these games, since occasional visits to previous generations can sometimes be painful....

Also,Alan Wake Remastered Bayonetta 3is the big one this week. Goodnight everybody! But for real, this is the only game Nintendo has chosen to highlight as a featured game in their Nintendo Download announcement, which makes sense given that they’re publishing it. There is a lot of other stuff coming out too, includingAlan Wake Remastered,which our own Jonathan Holmes covered here. You can also find a rundown of “scary activities” in various games below....

But also timeless When I heard that this weekend would mark the tenth anniversary since the launch ofThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, I thought two things. One, “Holy shit, it’s been ten years sinceOblivioncame out?” Two, “Holy shit, it’s only been ten years sinceOblivioncame out?” Oblivionfeels like a game that happened a lifetime ago, but it also feels like something I just played yesterday. I’m sure there is a glib remark someone could make about “Hur hur, that’s becauseFallout 4is justOblivionwith guns” but I don’t mean it like that....

Seasonal updates every nine weeks [Update:This article has been updated with new information revealed in the time since launch.] During theOverwatch 2Reveal Eventthis morning, Blizzard elaborated (somewhat!) on its free-to-play launch and what’s in the content pipeline for this live-service sequel. If you’ve been waiting to hear more about PvE, welp, that wasn’t the focus of today’s stream — and the new story missions won’t be playable until 2023 — but we’ve got a roadmap for PvP and confirmation thatloot boxes are outand a battle pass format is in....

Survey suggets growing interest in the platform Buyer’s remorse is a term I often hear associated with the PlayStation Vita, and while I may not necessarily share that feeling, it seems prevalent enough to note, and rightfully so. Since its launch, the platform has faced struggling sales, strong competition and a surprisingly slow adoption rate among major developers. Despite this, Sony has pledged to continue support for their latest handheld, and following the results of a recentGDC survey, that support may have paid off....