Mario Kart 8 Review!

I can't even begin to tell you how big of a Mario Kart fan I am.  I was deprived of the fun until Double Dash, but since then I have more than made up for my lack of pre Gamecube Mario Kart time.  Friday Mario Kart 8 arrived on the wii u and I guess I will review it since I have to be at work NOT able to play it.  Separation anxiety anyone? 

Now as big of a fan as I am I will start off saying this game does not get a 10 out of 10 from me.  Sigh.. and it's not (mostly) for gameplay reasons, but for stupid things that were left out of the interface.  Let's go ahead and get the flaws out of the way so I can fangirl over it's awesomeness.. I give it a 7.5 out of 10.   

Number one thing that bugs me which is the main reason it gets a 7.5.  There is no on screen map! (Unless I'm just an idiot and can't find the options which also seem to fail to exist in Grand Prix anyways)  There is a tiny map on the wii pad display but I can honestly tell you I didn't even notice what was on it until after my first race.. Who actually looks down at the gamepad during the race?  Or who even uses the gamepad?  It's a GIANT horn.  That's it.  Maybe there is/should be a way to turn off the gamepad display and display ranking/items people have/a map.. on the big screen like previous versions?  Like in Donkey Kong too.. You can turn off the pad display to save battery life..  This is the only racing game in existence without a map!  I guess they really want to make getting inked impossible, yet it doesn't seem to phase the computer drivers as much as it used to.  I don't know.. It's a big deal for me.  

Another kind of annoying thing is when you complete a race the automatic selection is view highlights.  Not next race.  I usually have no interest in watching my highlight reel.. Unless it was something awesome.  Like my first mushroom acceleration to avoid a blue shell.  But sadly that didn't make the highlight reel?? I just think NEXT RACE should be the default first thing.

1. A minor thing.. There are no times after you complete the race.  I like to see how much faster or slower I was than my opponents.  Unless it's also on the gamepad, which I don't think it is.. But anyways  I happen to use a pro controller.  Much easier.  And is it fair one person has the opportunity to look at a map while everyone else who doesn't have a gamepad doesn't?  I mean not that you're actually going to look at it.  Or are they trying to promote the gamepad?  Can you even buy standalone ones yet?  (No..)  Would you want to? (Probably Not..)

Small issues that just bug me..

They definitely nerfed take off boosts.  I just feel like it's a lot slower of a take off than previous games, but on a side note for this, the fire boosting out of your car looks awesome.  Very detailed.  I didn't take off anything for this, it's more of just a personal thing here.   

The piranha plant powerup is pretty useless.  For me anyways.  It seems to boost you but somehow doesn't.  And usually I can never get close enough to anyone to use it and it just seems to screw my rhythm up.  

And lastly they give you a lot of kart customizations (Karts, Wheels, and Parachutes) to unlock, many of which have the exact same stats.  And I feel there weren't enough characters to unlock.  Especially since there is no King Boo!  :(  Take the million "baby" characters out and put more classic players in.  I'm honestly tired of "baby" everything.

And now for the good.  Typical Mario Kart awesomeness.  Mario Kart is the best ever.  It cheats you so hard but you just can't stop.  Gotta get those stars.. Gotta 3 star every cup.. 

Mario Kart in HD is the best thing ever!  I can't even begin to describe how crisp and awesome it looks.  The 16 new levels are all really cool.  My favorite has to be Mount Wario.  It's a segment race down a ski slope.  I also like the Cloudtop cruise level a lot.  150cc races still screw you over in every way possible!  I did finally manage to star all the cups to unlock mirror mode though.

The Karts are all very interesting and unique looking.  My favorite is the carousel Kart.  It seems to be a pretty solid Kart too which I'm pumped for because I LOVE carnival stuff.  I also like the cool parachute options.  And tires are tires..  I go with the button ones more than anything.  The trike seems to be my second favorite car just because it handles drifts like no ones business.  (I'm a heavy drifter)

So cool customizations, and cool new levels (Both Rainbow roads are too easy though!) The game runs very smooth except a small amount of lag in the menus when switching characters..  Not sure what is up with that.  I haven't tried online mode yet.  Was too focused on unlocking everything for our Mario Kart party this weekend.

The boomerang powerup is useful if you have good aim.  I was hit and miss with it.  It will take some time getting use to I'm sure.  Overall I like it.  I also like how you do get some better powerups even in 2nd or first place.  It's normally a coin (which are used to unlock Kart customizations), but you do get some better stuff more often than previous titles it seems.

And for the last thing that's what seems to be the main feature Nintendo wants to display.. Highlight reels.  It's cool you have the option to upload your awesome moments straight to youtube.  I actually had a pretty sweet finish and was able to upload it right from the gamepad.  Baby peach was annoying me all race, but I took her out with a fireball right at the finish line and won!  It's cool, but I'd rather a better interface than social network focus.  Still cool though.  A nice way to gloat your awesomeness to friends.   Here's my video.