Mario Kart 8 Reviews
The core racing, driving and course design in Mario Kart 8 is better than any of the seven games that came before it. But battle mode stinks
If you're looking for a whimsical and accessible racing game to play with your friends and family, Mario Kart 8 is one of the best. Just don't expect any additional content outside of the most basic modes.
Mario Kart 8 is a conservative update, choosing to polish and refine rather than reinvent, but it's still as alluring a racer as it ever has been.
Mario Kart 8 is a sterling example of Nintendo at their best as craftsmen, a game whose attention to detail and joy is mostly unsullied by some unfortunate misunderstandings about how people communicate online.
What it lacks in raw innovation it more than makes up for in pure joy. Mario Kart 8's bare-bones presentation is offset by its solid core racing, and is an essential purchase for every Wii U owner who appreciates fun.
The game's 30-character roster has its pros (all hail Metal Mario and Pink Gold Peach) and its cons (too many babies, and the Koopalings aren't all that special either), but there's enough dissimilarity in weight classes that there's always a suitable option in any versus situation.
Mario Kart 8 for the Nintendo Wii U is the best-looking Mario Kart to date (and the first with HD graphics), thanks to some fantastic new and remixed tracks.
Therein lies "Mario Kart 8's" dilemma. The Wii U has the tools to make this a standout game in the series, but instead it's just a pretty look at more of the same. It's still all about racing friends in a chaotic battle for first place. That old form of fun is present, but this latest edition fails to drive the series forward with meaningful change.
Mario Kart 8 warrants another go.
Mario Kart 8 looks spectacular, sounds impressive, and delivers solid racing action worthy of the series. But it's also that rare Nintendo game that manages to be less than the sum of its impressive parts thanks to some ill-advised design choices, half-baked ideas, and gimped Battle Mode.
In its transition to high-definition, Mario Kart 8 preserves the series' strengths, but fails to correct any of its long-standing faults.
I like playing Mario Kart 8. I think it's a satisfactory entry in the series, but nothing more. The final package ends up feeling like someone who covers themselves in makeup to hide the fact that they are 10 years older than they are pretending to be.
I commend Nintendo for crafting a game that continues to cater to those who still love having friends over to compete, but Mario Kart 8 needs to step out of its comfort zone in other ways. Despite this game's gleaming high-definition sheen, there's little doubt this granddaddy of the karting genre is beginning to show its age.
Mario Kart 8 is another decent, if unspectacular effort from Nintendo. The series needs better balancing if skill is to ever become a factor again and the single player mode may be a total slog, but Mario Kart is still a hit where it always mattered: with friends.
Much more than a dolled-up version of its predecessors, Mario Kart 8's new features and refinements make a stale series fun again.
Mario Kart 8 may look different from its pixelated forebears of the '80s and '90s, but it's infused with the same magical spirit and exacting craftsmanship. It's the kind of game that's bound to inspire nostalgia someday.
MK8 is easily a top three contender for best Wii U game. Outside of a few niggling oddities and small blemishes, the pure bliss of soaring across MK8's wonderful courses is as close to gaming perfection as it gets.
All in all, these missing features and changes for the worse are disappointing blemishes on what is still an incredibly enjoyable game. Mario Kart 8 isn't the best game in the series, but it adds enough new visual, gameplay, and track design flourishes to its well-trodden core kart-racing gameplay to be worth a look.