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| This is the shit right here... |
Mario Kart 8 is the sequel to either Mario Kart Wii or Mario Kart 7, depending on who you ask. Yes, Wii is technically the sixth entry (not counting the arcade games), but Mario Kart 7 was on a portable system, though the underwater and gliding sections return. In either case, Mario Kart 8 is by far the best the series has to offer (as far as the racing goes) and is definitely the reason to buy a Wii U.
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| Yoshi is pretty mad that Space Princess there cut him off. |
I'll start with the obvious. The game looks amazing. It runs at 60 frames per second on up to two players (three to four drops the speed down to 30fps) and is as good looking as many Xbone and PS4 games I've played/seen. Yes, the art style is not photo realistic, but it was never meant to be. The detail is great. The lighting is gorgeous. The characters are expressive and responsive to their surroundings.
Speaking of responsive, I'm sure you've seen this:
You don't fuck with Luigi.
Joking aside, that brings up another aspect of the game. The highlight reels. You can watch preselected sections of the game, based on everything, items, big hits or view the entire race. It would have been nice to have some sort of video editing program. You can load there highlights to YouTube, which also show up on Miiverse. Here is an example of mine:
Oh, Ludwig, that blue shell must sting. This is a perfect example on how down to the wire some of these races can be. Though some would also argue that my first place was unearned and luck game me that placement, but.... eh.
The balancing of the items is a lot better this time around. The Wii version of item balancing make a return in the Frantic Mode setting, which means that default works a lot differently. Powerful items are lessened in frequency and there is a counter to the blue shell...
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| BIATCH! |
Speaking of new items, there are several. Coins that increase your overall speed return from Mario Kart 7 (as well as the original Super Mario Kart), the Piranha Plant (Super Mario 3D World), the Fire Flower and the Boomerang (which you can throw up to three times, unless you grab an item in between throws).
The hook of this game is the antigravity sections. When you run over a blue strip you can drive on walls and ceilings, which is awesome. Your driving mechanics change to where you can get boosts off of hitting the other drivers as well as strategically placed bumpers. This changes the dynamics of the race in ways you wouldn't expect (see Rainbow Road - MK8).
The online is great. Frankly it has worked better for me than Halo 4 lately. The tournaments and custom modes give it lots of replay value. I recently knocked out the time trials, which gave me the final stamps. Speaking of stamps, I wish that the stamps were available to use in any post, rather than the stamp option in the main menus of the games that support them (which I think need to become all of the games, at least all of the first party Nintendo games). Chat works with friends list members in the lobby, but not in the game.
The only weaknesses in Mario Kart 8 are the Battle Mode and the character roster. Battle Mode no longer has arenas, so you have to have non race.... races on tracks, while trying to
The roster has the seven Koopalings from Super Mario Bros. 3 fame, but is missing Diddy Kong and Dry Bones (some would say Bowser Jr., but the seven Koopalings are cooler anyway). I would have liked to see Nabbit as a welcome addition to the cast, but instead we have five baby characters. Five?
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| So many damn babies, this isn't even all of them. |
Baby Mario is fine, because he basically has his own game series. B. Rosalina had no reason to be introduced at all. Metal Mario may be the third version of Mario in the game, but he is really cool to play as. Pink Gold Peach is... yes a third version of Princess Peach... but to be honest, she is my jam. I really like playing as PGP, her weight, handling and size really play to my strengths.
Screw it, Pink Gold Peach is okay with me. 5 babies suck though.
Despite the negatives, which are mostly trivial, Mario Kart 8 is the reason to get a Wii U. The online is great, the local multiplayer is just as good. The roster may be a little lacking, but the kart selection is great. The customization helps you forge an identity and define your play style. Plus until the end of July, you get a free game (I got Wii Party U as I already had two of the games). This game didn't sell 1.2 million in its first weekend for no reason.
9 out of 10 Luigi Death Stares
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