With the genius of Mario Kart 7 still blistering our thumbs on the Nintendo 3DS we were a little unsure how much of an impact Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U could have on us. Admittedly, it’s been a few years since the hand held release, but it’s longevity is virtually unparalleled. The good news though is that MK8 delivers even more gaming brilliance, bringing the classic racer back in high definition for the latest generation of Nintendo consoles.
It’s kind of unexpected to play a game from a series you’ve known and loved since childhood and still gaze at the TV in wonder at the genius of it all, but that’s what Nintendo have achieved once again with their 8th game in the series. From our point of view it reiterates perfectly the importance of the big N to gaming as it’s an experience that you just can’t find on any other console. Though it’s got its copy-cat equivalents, none do it quite as perfectly as Mario Kart.
Characters
If we’re honest, we always want more playable characters in MK games, but there’s a pretty big roster to choose from in 8. You start out with 16 main playable characters – Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy, along with their baby equivalents, Yoshi, Toad, Koopa Troopa, Shy Guy, Donkey Kong, Wario, Waluigi and Bowser. However, there are an additional there are 14 characters that you unlock at random as you progress through the game, including your Mii, Rosalina and Baby Rosalina, Lakitu, Toadette, Pink Gold Peach and Kooperlings, Roy, Lemmy, Larry, Wendy, Ludwig and Morton.
The only character that we would have really like to see behind the wheel is Wart, the big baddie from Super Mario Bros. 2. He hasn’t been seen since the game was released back in 1988 and his inclusion in MK8 would have been a pretty big deal, but sadly it’s not to be. All we’re saying is that if Shy Guy can get in the mix, then why not the tyrannical frog too?
Gameplay
As you’d expect from any new Mario Kart release, gameplay excellence is a big part of the overall experience. It builds off a tried and tested format with a little new innovation in the form of some cool new power-up items and the supercharged hover feature that has been added to the series. As a result, you get a great game with lots of possibilities for big fun racing sessions, whether it’s in single player mode, local versus or online multiplayer action.
Single player and local versus game modes are fairly familiar, as they’ve been a part of the series since day one. We’re not massively disgruntled about this as Grand Prix, Time Trial, Battle and Vs Race are all a lot of fun. We would, however, like to see Nintendo try out a few more options to push the boundaries of what’s possible with mode racing games. Open world races, smash and grab and stunt mode could all work well within the MK environment, but unfortunately Nintendo don’t look likely to move away from their proven formula any time soon.
New power-ups include the Boomerang Flower, which takes some getting used to as it hits opponents on its return flight, the Piranha Plant, which bites obstacles and other racers with a little boost of speed with each mouthful, and the Crazy Eight, which gives you eight different items to unlesh. However, perhaps the best new addition to the power up mix is the epic addition of the Super Horn, which you can use on other player that get too close to send them spinning. That probably doesn’t sound like that much of a big deal, and in all fairness it isn’t really, but the Super Horn has another trick up its powerful sleeve as it’s the only power-up in the more recent history of the series that can be used to stop the big blue shell of destructive doom.
The game’s hover feature may not sound that impressive on the face of things, but when you’re playing the game it’s the big difference that makes the game feeling fresh and new. It doesn’t just come in handy, and look pretty epic, as the track goes vertical or you curve upside down, it can also be used to get to speed boosts up on the walls of the tracks, which adds a lot of variation to the gameplay.
Online multiplayer has become a big feature of Mario Kart recently and it’s no different in 8 as it takes things up a notch beyond that of Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7. It’s a perfect experience throughout with lots of great racers to go head-to-head with and relatively short wait times between races. It
The only minor negative we’d say is in the impact on racing of the weight differential of characters and the momentum that can be built up with coin collection and zero mistakes. These were much more noticeable in previous incarnations of the title and while they’re still a part of the action, they should probably be much more integral to the gameplay to ensure things don’t get a bit to flat in terms of character and race variation.
While there are a few minor shortcuts to take advantage of throughout the game, we’re not entirely convinced the Nintendo has done enough to take advantage of the feature. The jumps in the Ghost House tracks in the original Mario Kart game were high octane, adrenaline fuelled fun, giving you a chance to gain a big advantage or catch up breakaway characters if you manage to time things just right, but MK8 doesn’t have that much in the way of comparable experiences. It’s a minor point, but definitely an area for improvement in the series going forward.
Graphics
With the power of the Wii U behind it, Mario Kart 8 brings the most detailed and perfectly animated graphics to the series pushing boundaries of what you might expect from cartoon based visuals. It’s definitely tough to keep focusing on the action on the track when the scenery looks so cool on courses like Moo Moo Meadows and Toad Harbour, but it adds to the sheer, blinding brilliance of the end product, making it feel like you’re playing something a bit special.
If you want to really see how much amazing detail and graphical quality Nintendo has built into the game, watch a replay of one of your races and hit the slow motion replay button. Even slowed down everything is super crisp with the entire range of motion is beautifully rendered at a near granular level to create a visually stunning experience.
Graphics stay just as solid whether you play the main game or take your skills online for multiplayer action. We see graphical flickers, jumps and magical disappearing cars a lot in other games like Watch_Dogs and it has a massive impact on your impression of the game, but in Mario Kart 8 it’s as unwavering, beautifully animated and impressively detailed as ever, no matter how many players you’re going up against.
Overall review
Mario Kart 8 was a real surprise hit for us. We knew we’d enjoy playing it, but we didn’t expect to love it as much as we do. Some might say that our love for Mario games might taint our view of MK8, but if anything it just means we’ve got high expectations and they’re hit right between the eyes by a big blue shell of glory whenever we fire up the Wii U for a race in the Mushroom Kingdom.
From our point of view, it’s a must-play game, no matter what console you currently own, making it a big part of the reasoning to reconsider the Wii U for anyone that hasn’t already bought Nintendo’s 8th generation device. It’s a perfect example of gameplay over having the greatest graphics on the market, but with the hi-def graphics strength of the Wii U, it’s also got the bonus of being a genuinely impressive looking game.
While there’s a little of the past genius that could be thrown back into the mix and some additional forward thinking that could help to take the game forward with new modes of play, we can’t take anything away from Mario Kart 8’s ability to deliver a whole lot of fun ever time it’s spun into action. As a result, we can’t help but give it a very high review, but there are things that Nintendo could work on for future releases in the series. What you can’t fault though is the wobble on Mario’s mustache when he whips around sharp corners.
Mario Kart 8 review: 4.7/5
