You didn't really expect Nintendo to not create a new Mario Kart title for its flagship home console, did you?  The company has announced that Mario Kart 8 is coming to the Wii U in spring 2014.  Combining elements of Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7, this new entry in the series looks to play it safe with familiar elements such as motorbikes, underwater racing, and hang-glider attachments for karts, but there's something new happening here as well.  Taking a nod from Doc Brown's beloved DeLorean from Back to the Future II, kart wheels can now flip up into a horizontal position to run parallel with the road allowing for travel up vertical surfaces and even upside down.  Mario and friends need no longer be slaves to gravity!  Adding this extra component adds a fresh new angle to a franchise that thrives on familiarity.  Watch this trailer to see the new trick in action.  It looks like more of the same overall, but more of the same is also really fun, so I'm fine with the repetition in this case.