Mario Kart 8 Review by FD
Wii U Reviews
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Mario Kart 8 Review

Mario Kart 8 brings another fun installment to the series without interrupting its classic gameplay. It maintains the same tight level design, beautiful art style, and non-stop action to provide hours of enjoyment. This time around the courses are more dynamic, the power-ups are well balanced, and the online play provides endless amounts of fun.

Mario Kart 8 looks stunning. Nintendo always knows how to utilize their hardware to the maximum potential and make their games a wonder to watch. Between the framerate and the animations, MK8 runs smooth as silk. You get the sense of speed and competition without any hiccups. Each character has subtle differences as they race and utilize power-ups.

The course design is impressive from both a graphics and gameplay perspective. The levels looks gorgeous and they really immerse you in the world. When you enter a course like “Sweet Sweet Canyon” all you can think about is how appetizing all the sweets look. The retro courses also offer great nostalgia for the veteran players. Seeing high definition versions of SNES, N64 and DS courses blows your mind. It goes beyond what your imagination gave you in the past.
 

Mario Kart 8 Review by Forrest Dworsky


The courses also integrate antigravity sections seamlessly. You can drive and boost along walls, fly over huge gaps, and launch off of ramps. This offers more variety and alternate paths. Tricking off of ramps gives you a slight boost. Some courses also dynamically change due to the environment. Courses will crumble and evolve, piranha plants will chomp at you, and obstacles will collide with you to keep you on your toes.

The single player primarily revolves around the Grand Prix where you can race against the AI on three different difficulty levels. You’ll be clashing with your opponents while picking up power-ups and racing for first place. Online mode supports up to 12 players where you can race or battle anyone in the world. Unfortunately the battle mode features the same exact courses as the races.

There’s also an interesting new feature, Mario Kart TV. In MKTV you can record and edit highlights from your best races and share them with your friends. This is the first Nintendo game to offer this level of recording and sharing option.

MK8 receives a 9 out of 10. If you pickup this game, it’s primarily for the fun and the multiplayer. The replay value comes from challenging yourself on the courses and against your friends. There’s a full roster of characters and vehicle customizations to unlock as you sample every mode in the game.

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