Tuesday ReviewsDay : Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 has been out for a little over two weeks now and it is proving to be a system seller for the Wii U. It has nearly quadrupled sales since the release of the game. The Wii U has a lot of hope in the coming months when more people realize how great this game is and also Super Smash Bros. U comes out in Holiday 2014. But for now lets take a look at what makes this game one of, if not the, best games on the Wii U.

Gameplay

This kart racer feels tremendous. Many hardcore fans are not particularly fond of motion controls, but like Mario Kart Wii, you have options. The motion controls work fine and can be fun to use but difficult to master. The majority of karters I know do not even use them anyways. Most of my time played was using the Nyko Pro Commander Controller, a less expensive Wii U Pro Controller, and it felt great. I also spent some time using the Classic Controller and a Wii mote and Nun Chuck as well which worked just as well as Mario Kart Wii. One thing about the gameplay is that players really need to take a couple of test runs with their karts before deciding whether they love or hate this game. There is a lot of customization options and if you do not know what you are looking to make, it is very easy to fool yourself as you take a turn that is way too wide as you go off the track.

Also it is noted that Nintendo seemed to actually take a step away from their casual gamer in that automatic controls are left out. In order to really compete, players need to learn the drifting mechanics. It is not that a brand new person to the game cannot pick it up and understand what is going on, but they will just need to learn a bit more before they will be getting consistent trophy wins.

Game Modes

The game modes in this title do not change much from the more recent Mario Karts. You have your Grand Prix, Battle, Time Trials, and One or Two-Player Online. In any racing game I would not ask for much more. Grand Prix is pretty standard but can now be played with 4 players and you will still be able to unlock characters and kart pieces. Stamps also make their way into this title being able to unlock them in a Grand Prix and in Time Trials.

The most impressive thing about this title has to be its online function though. It is fast, easy and you never once have to get yelled at by a five year old. The lack of voice chat does need to be fixed in the future because people should be able to talk to their friends if they want to. But the lack of voice does not wreck the experience. There has not been any sort of lag in my experience of playing. Both one and two player online work wonderfully and brings a nice challenge to players who may have mastered racing against the computer.

It cannot be left out what everyone was dreading from before the game had even been released. Battle Mode is rough. Now there are no Stadiums but you actually battle it out on some of the tracks that you race on. It is just too large to enjoy. There is a lot more driving around looking for racers rather than battling those said racers. DLC anyone?

Graphics



What can I say that you do not already know? HD Nintendo is the best thing that Nintendo could have done to breathe new life into every single one of their franchises. When you go back and look at Mario Kart Wii or even Double Dash, you will notice that the graphics actually still look really good, but everything that is going on in Mario Kart 8 just blows them out of the water. The courses are so deep it is easy to try to focus on something in the background as you go right into a wall. This is probably the best looking game on the Wii U so far or at least right there with Mario 3D World.

Lifespan

Considering that my friends and I played Mario Kart Wii consistently up until this newest Kart has been released, I cannot see much changing. The game is gorgeous, it plays great, and the level design of the tracks are fresh and fun. The newly revamped online mode is a welcome addition and the tournament modes that finally give players some customization in terms of items can make for some very fun options for players. One of the few downsides of this title is in its lifespan though in that there are only 32 tracks. Yes, this may seem like a good amount, but that was the same number that we got in Mario Kart Wii. The joy of playing a course for the first time is something that we really only get to experience once every five years or so and it just makes this gamer sad that if there is not DLC in the works, it is going to be a long wait until we see some new racing magic from Nintendo.

Overall

This is arguably the most balanced, beautiful, customizable, and fun Mario Kart of all time. The online modes take the racer to the next level and will keep people racing for time to come because of just how smooth you can race with people from all over the world. The game is not perfect though. The Battle Mode can be easily skipped. No growth on the amount of tracks is a little sad. And I did not mention it because really this does not hold the game back in any way but I cannot keep this statement out of this review. I really disagree with the character roster. As I have mentioned in my Mario Kart DLC pitch, about half of the roster is made up of koopalings, babies, and metals. The lack of variety hurts when I am choosing a character and I feel like I am picking sticking with one character that would not normally be my first choice. Maybe that leaked DLC footage will come true one day but for now it is just lacking. DLC can go a long way and I probably would have given it a full 10/10 if there were 8 more tracks, some variety in characters, and a better battle mode but I cannot say the game as-is is perfect. But Mario Kart 8 is still a great game with so much else going right that I would recommend to anyone, Nintendo fan or not.