On Friday, the 30th of May, Nintendo released the newest entry into their flagship series, Mario Kart, on the Wii U. How does the newest installment stack up to previous titles? Find out below.
Mario Kart 8 follows the tried and true formula the series has followed from its origins on the SNES, which entails the introducing a few new elements item, kart, and character wise, introducing many new and retaining old tracks from previous entries, and an addition to the racing formula to keep the series fresh. While the bulk of the actual racing formula doesn't stray from the well known of previous entries, the new element added in this installment is anti-gravity. The anti-gravity portion of Mario Kart 8 allows for 90°, upside down, and other impossible portions of new and old tracks to be navigated with ease, which makes for new exciting twists in an array of different tracks. While the anti-gravity element is interesting, and can change certain tracks' whole dynamics, overall it doesn't impact gameplay as heavily as previous titles' changes have in the past, such as introducing gliders, underwater tracks, and 2 racers to a kart.
Apart from the new racing element introduced in new Mario Kart entries, a highly anticipated feature of new installments is the character roster. However, while 8 features 30 characters (an overall rise of 4 from Mario Kart Wii), a large portion of these 30 consist of each and every Koopaling. While featuring the Koopalings is a bonus for fans of the 7 member clan, they and 2 metal versions of regular characters are the bulk of newly introduced characters, and many newcomers from the Wii and 3DS Mario Kart installments were left out of this game, making for an overall less diverse cast of characters. However, with the array of new tracks and items present in Mario Kart 8, character diversity is made up for.. for the most part.
Overall, I really enjoyed Mario Kart 8. With new racing elements, new tracks, new sharing features, and more reliable online play, Mario Kart 8 really does mark a high for the series, and really could become a system seller for the struggling Wii U.
What did you think of the new Mario Kart 8? Do you have a Wii U, or will this convince you to pick up one of your own? Post in the comments below, and I'll see you in the next review!
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