Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 is a return of one of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises, and is just as chaotic as ever.

The amount of options and modes is not as large as we were expecting, but when it comes to the game itself, Nintendo proves that they know how to make great games. A must-have for Wii U users.

This game is amazing and makes us wonder why Wii U is not selling well. If you are wondering what is the most fun game available on the next gen consoles, the answer is very simple: Mario Kart 8.

With some new great features added to the classic recipe, with beautiful graphics and spectacular races, Mario Kart 8 looks like the killer app the Wii U was waiting for.

No revolution here, but still it’s an absolute must-have for every Wii U owner. [08/2014, p.68]

It largely does what it needs to do, what you would want it to do, and does so with just enough distinction to make it stand out among the many other sequels in this series.

Despite this game’s gleaming high-definition sheen, there’s little doubt this granddaddy of the karting genre is beginning to show its age.

amazing game, really ahead of it's time. hard to top my favorite game of all time (mkw) but this was very close.

It isn’t a bad game, but the roster is good but inferior to MK Wii, and the battle is really bad, even worse than on Mario Kart World.

Good game. Just i was waiting more fun than Double Dash but i feel Double Dash is the best Mario Kart on my opinion

The item balance was done perfectly in Mario Kart 7, but now, luck is your best friend in this unfair sequel. Even when you play at your best, especially in online races, you will frequently acquire coins from item boxes. Another flaw is the character roster; where is Diddy Kong and Dry Bones? Instead of giving us these original characters (and more), we get five babies, two palette swaps, and the seven minions for Bowser. This is the worst list of characters yet, and it would have been nice to play as different colors of Yoshi and Toad. Finally, the Battle Mode is complete garbage now; you only have eight battle courses, and they are all race tracks. I'm pretty sure you get the idea. As for the good, it's not enough to revive this ridiculous game. The visuals are indeed the best, the controls are smooth, the music is mostly fantastic, but the amount of courses should have increased from 32 to about 50. What about the gameplay? Well, it is extremely simple, and it didn't change a whole lot. I wish Mario Kart 8 was more like it's hand-held predecessor, but with more content to boot. In its current state, you will be severely disappointed, so rent it before you buy it.

This is, without a doubt, the biggest letdown in the Mario Kart series, a middle finger salute to the fans. Mario Kart 8 is a result of taking out everything that makes Mario Kart good, and leaves in the bad. Mario Kart 7 was pretty much the refined Mario Kart of the series, but that doesn't mean there was nothing to improve upon. They could have at least tried to make it on par with 7, but instead it was like they deliberately held back on this one. Were they trying to make sure there was enough to improve upon with Mario Kart 9? Because you don't do that. You don't try and make a sequel less than perfect so you can make the next sequel better. That's just a blatant, lazy excuse for money. To be a little more specific on why this game is bad - remember Mario Kart Wii, with its sloppy controls and rubber band AI? It's back in 8, maybe even worse this time around. How can they take such a step backwards? The stage design is also incredibly flat and uninspired, ironic given the anti-gravity feature, and that in itself is not utilised at all because I barely felt like I was going anit-gravity, and the stages are still flat. It's very upsetting to see Mario Kart, of all franchises, become a lifeless shell of what it once was. 8 is the unlucky number for Mario spin-off sequels, it seems. This is the Mario Party 8 of the series, proof that people are getting sick of the series. Mario Kart will no longer be the big party game hit it once was, because even the biggest Mario Kart fans will have little good to say about this slump in the series. If we're very lucky, by Mario Kart 9 they will realise what they did wrong with this one and win everyone back - but let's face it, that's not very likely. Go away, Mario Kart. We don't like you anymore.