Originally published June 24, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
Ray Willmott reviews Mario Kart 8 on Wii U…
If there’s one Nintendo game you can rely on to be gold-standard, it’s Mario Kart. Look back at every iteration over the years and it’s hard to dispute the evidence. Nintendo know how to make a great Kart racer and the good news is, with Mario Kart 8, the Wii U has yet another killer app.
There’s a whole new series of courses in the game, including one of the best renditions of Rainbow Road and Bowser’s Castle ever released. Other great tracks like Shy Guy Falls, Toad Harbour and Twisted Mansion really showcase Nintendo vivid imagination at its finest.
As with other titles, retro courses also play a role and you can experience classic courses dating back as far as the original Mario Kart, through to the likes of Double Dash, Super Circuit and more. Mario Kart 8 brings a few key changes to the game, and perhaps the most prominent among them are the four new power-ups, with the Piranha Plant and Boomerang Flower being the crème of the crop. Interestingly, there are also some restrictions. Players can now only hold and use the power up that they currently have, so even if they’ve got their green shells and banana skin ready to deploy, they can’t stack items by hitting a question box.
As with Mario Kart 7, players can glide across long distances and drive through underwater caverns on their route to their finish line. There is also the added benefit of the Wii U Gamepad, which includes full Off-TV support. However, if you do play MK8 on your TV set, you can use the GamePad as a mini map, or an oversized horn which…well, is just good for gimmicky fun. The other major addition is anti-gravity, which enables racers to stick to walls and ceilings in an effort to get ahead of their competitors. Unsurprisingly, it works beautifully well both offline and on.
And it wouldn’t be a Wii U title without Miiverse integration. So far, this is the best use of Miiverse we’ve seen from any Wii U game to date. Mario Kart TV is introduced with MK8 and enables players to share their videos on Miiverse, allowing people to comment and share these videos within and outside of their community. On top of all that, there are a ton of racers to use and unlock and a variety of ways to customise your cars and bikes with different wheel sizes, glider shapes and vehicle frames. This, combined with the weight of your racer, can be an important early tactic to ensure you win the cup or tournament you’re competing for.
Mario Kart 8 is one of the most addicting and engaging multiplayer experiences you can find on any platform right now and is surprisingly more in-depth and tactical than its predecessor. In addition to being the first time fully orchestrated music and HD graphics have been brought to the franchise, as well as the most interactive, stable online experience the franchise has ever seen, Mario Kart 8 is just incredibly good-hearted, feature-packed fun. This is a statement of quality that reassures Wii U owners that their purchase was justified. Even after thirty years of great games and memorable experiences, Nintendo prove that if you stick with them, greatness also awaits.
Review – 10/10
Ray Willmott is a freelancer for various gaming websites and even runs his own. He also writes novels. Follow him on Twitter
