Mario Kart 8 - Wii U

Who says that sibling rivalry dies when you reach adulthood? For Christmas, my brother and his family got a Wii U. Guess who bought one before New Year’s. That’s right, it would be me. And this is despite not playing my Wii much at all during 2014. I also had to buy the latest version of my favorite Wii game – Mario Kart 8. Yes, it is just as awesome as I expected it to be. If you’ve played any of the previous seven versions of this game, you know the basics. You are racing against 11 other characters around fantastic courses trying to get first place in various cups. Depending on where you place in each of the four races, you earn points that determine your overall place in the cup. So what’s different this time around? There are new courses, for starters. About half of the courses are new or at least new variations on familiar themes. Of these, my favorites in the Twisted Mansion (a haunted house), Toad Harbor, and Sunshine Airport. Then there are 16 retro courses from the previous versions of the game. Since this is only the third Mario Kart I’ve bought, there are plenty on here I don’t recognize, but I do enjoy playing the familiar Moo Moo Meadow and Grumble Volcano from the Wii, the last version I bought. And a couple of the courses are one long race instead of going around the same course for three laps. For those, we get check points. If you are familiar with the Wii version, the controls will be familiar as well. Once again, you can use your Wiimote and tilt it to control your car. Or you can use your Nunchuck controller. And yes, the game pad controller that comes with the Wii U can also be used as a controller with either tilt or thumb stick control. There are a couple of changes to game play from the last version. They have brought the use of coins back to the game. They had used them in the very first Mario Kart, the one of the SNES. (And yes, that’s the other one I have.) Collecting coins will increase your speed. It’s a small amount, but I can see the boost at times. You start with somewhere between zero (1st place) and 5 (12th place) and can collect up to 10. They are scattered around the maps. Of course, you lose three each time you are hit by an object or drive off the edge of the map. (And if you do drive off the edge, they actually put you back on course faster than before, too.) In addition to being on the maps, coins might be hiding in the mystery boxes you can pick up along the way. If that is your prize, you’ll find two coins. Other new surprises are plants that will attack your fellow races and gobble up coins, a boomerang, and fire power. Of course, there are plenty of the old standbys like Bullet Bill, red and green shells, and invincibility. The final change to the game is the gravity defying part of the game. Parts of the courses allow you to race up walls and even upside down. There are clear indicators in the game when this is happening. It really doesn’t change how your car operates, but it is fun to think about. Oh, and if you crash into an opponent in this section of a course, you get a boost! Obviously, this is more prevalent on the new courses, but they’ve switched up a few of the old courses to let you do this as well. In addition to the traditional races, you can also do timed trials and fight battles to pop your opponent’s balloons. And you can race by yourself or with up to four people in the same room. Plus they’ve brought back the ability to play against people all over the world thanks to the internet. One or two people per machine can log in and race or battle to their hearts content. One change here I really like is that at the start of each new race, you are given a choice from three randomly selected courses. Everyone votes for one of those three and then the game randomly selects the course you actually race. If those three really don’t appeal to you, you do have a fourth choice – random, which will randomly pick any course in the system not necessarily one of those three courses. Overall, this cuts down significantly on those annoying people on line who always select the same course over and over again. There are a couple of things I don’t like about this game. First, the rankings and course map don’t appear in part of the TV screen but on the GamePad during the race. Any time I glance down to see those things, I lose track of where I am on the TV screen. Maybe I’ll get used to it as I go along. I’m also not happy that they have developed some extra content that is for sale separately. Oh, we get as many courses with this version as we did for the Wii, so they aren’t skimping on us, but after spending $60 for this game, it seems a shame that I have to pay extra for the final few characters and courses. I’ve resisted – so far, but I have a feeling I will wind up buying them. The game looks and sounds great. The picture is crisp and the sounds effects are fun. Both are definitely a step up from the last version, but what else would you expect from new video game system that uses an HDMI cable. Of course, it’s all still highly stylized cartoon action, but for what it is, it looks great. I’d been debating for a while about buying the new system, but I’m glad I did. So far, I’ve been concentrating on Mario Kart 8, just because it’s always been a favorite franchise. I’m sure I’ll be racing around these tracks for some time to come.

Mario kart 8 is the greatest mario kart game since 64. While I did enjoy the gamecube-mk7 mario karts the were always just a bit to chaotic and more lucked based. All the mario karts are of coarse luck based and this on is no diffrent when it comes to that however its more balanced and even though small amount of luck is needed prepare to practice your driving skills as well you will need it online and on mirror mode. Hardware wize this game looks amazing for being on the wii u and i'd say surpasses most ps4/xbone games. I say this because the graphics keep the game running smooth while looking absolutly beautiful at the same time. The game is truely a work of art. The sound on this game is great to I recomend playing on surround sound if available. Surprizingly the karts sound like actual gokarts, mopeds, etc, even more so then most driving simulation games have done so far. As for the soundtrack its really good the more jazzish soundtrack on a few of the tracks flows very well with the races. Of coarse when it comes to mario kart none of that hardware and sound really matters as long as the game is fun. Which is where this game really shines. As mentined earlier the game is a lot more balanced you will see more green and red turtle shells then you will bullets, blue shells, other items that effect everybody in this version and its also slightly easier to dodge the red ones as well you have to be close up for a gurenteed hit. Of coarse you will still see plenty of items that effect everyone to so blue shells still cost races occasionally. However if you have the new item the super horn you can dodge it if you use it correctly. Also As usual there are 16 new coarses and 16 coarses from older games. The new tracks are amazing in this game as are *most* the older tracks. Most ofThe older tracks in this on are changed a lot so the feel new I like to think of it as new tracks inspired by the older ones The newest thing about this game is the anti gravity mode which turns the world of mario kart upside down. You will be driving up walls on ceilings and everything which really shakes things up. When your in this mode if you hit someone it actually speeds both players up so it leads to intresting things. Of coarse there is also new power ups such as the pirhana plant, superhorn, and a few others that replaced older ons that are sadly missing such as boo, fake question blocks. Also returning from Mk7 is underwater and hang gliding which was the best part about that on. With all that being said there is a few things wrong with this version of mario kart. Most importantly the battle mode is broken no more battle coarses instead you fight on regular coarses which is just plain lame and lazy on nintendos part. Also some of the n64 coarses are barely reconizeable toads turnpike has 4 lanes of traffic with them going in diffrent ways which competly kills the challenge of the original on mirror mode. Yoshis valley also tells what place your in which even though originally it was supposed to it was more fun not knowing. However don't let those minor nitpicks change your mind unless your big into the battle mode, the racing and multiplayer is the greatest mario kart has been in years and if you dont have a wii u you need to get on for this game along with 3d world. Also before july if you register this game on club nintendo you get a free game

Mario Kart 8 is a fun and colorful racing game that’s great for family game nights or casual play. The graphics are sharp, the tracks are creative, and the character roster is enjoyable. It’s easy to pick up and play, but some of the more advanced tracks and online races can be challenging for beginners. The game is entertaining for both solo and multiplayer modes, though younger players or newcomers may need a few rounds to get the hang of drifting and item use. Overall, it’s a solid addition to any Wii U collection, but it’s not without its occasional frustrations during competitive play. Pros: Fun, colorful tracks with engaging graphics Variety of characters and vehicles Great for solo or multiplayer fun Classic Mario Kart mechanics that are enjoyable Cons: Steeper learning curve on some advanced tracks Online races can be competitive and frustrating for new players Requires motion controls or familiarity with Wii U setup Mario Kart 8 is an entertaining racing game with lots of content and replay value. It’s perfect for family play and Mario Kart fans, though beginners may need a little practice to fully enjoy the competitive aspects.

Its as good as any other Mario Kart. The graphics are amazing and the added customization is awesome. I have only a couple of complaints. the first is the map selection. I know I know, there always have been 8 Grand Prix's. I just wish nintendo would pull some extra maps from previous games etiher as a DLC or inside the game as a extra set. While the new maps are nice, I find them to be short and more about the new racing mechanics (or gimmicks) than taking advantage of how wonderful the game looks. The game contains 32 tracks (which is a decent amount) but you spend 3 short laps on each one. But this is how MK has always been, so I can't dock them a star for that. The second point I want to make is about the items. This Mario Kart seems to almost be less about how well you race, and more abotu what items you get. This seems to be the case much more than any previous game. In particular it seems that red shells are much more common while the new items (boomerang and fire flower) dont show up as much where they should be (1-5th places) if you are in 2nd place or behind, you can almost expect a full out red shell war. When I play this with m brother, i can be just cruising along in first place while he has the fight of his life in 2nd. it isnt uncommon get steamrolled from 2nd to 8th getting hit by item after item. Items need to be re balanced. Another mechanic that sort of ruins the fun is the drifting mechanic, or more specifically how easy it is to use it. All you have to do is sit behind someone for a few seconds, and then you get to speed by them with the equivalent of a mushroom. So if your just barely ahead of someone in a close race, they can just speed ahead of you just because they are behind you. The mechanic either needs to be less intense, and/or harder to pull off. Both of these issues I find to be happening frequently and combined take a half star away. Nintendo's character selection in MK8 isnt the best. They removed good alternate skins such as dry-bones and dry bowser, and replaced them with pink-gold peach and metal mario. They also added all 7 Koopalings to the game which is rather annoying. While some people might enjoy 9 different koopas to choose from. i find it to make up a boring roster. It doesnt particularly affect me as I actually like lemmy and I race with Luigi/ Waluigi most of the time. On to some good news. The Kart customization is amazing, there are soo many possibilities to fit your play style. If you like to drft and have a need for speed like i do, you can make a Kart with good speed and traction with low handing. or maybe you're on of those guys who wants to pick Bowser in the heaviest Kart just so you can bash everyone off the track (Weight is really noticeable in MK8) The characters themselves are part of the customization as well. They each have their own stats for example, large characters like mario and up have higher speed than babies who have much better handling. They all have trade offs, which might not be good if you just feel like playing a single character. The game itself looks amazing and im definitely giving more respect to Nintendo. they are making some beautiful games. The maps are detailed for as little time as you spend in a area and the karts are equally impressive. Buy the game before the 30th (or was it the 31st) of July this year and get a free game from club nintendo. (you must have the code from inside the case) im not sure if the eStore counts

Like most people, I bought a Wii U for the New Smash Bros, LOZ, Animal Crossing and so on. And I've been anxiously awaiting this games arrival for a long time, as I pre-ordered it the second it was available on amazon. The last game I can say I truly enjoyed on the Wii U, was Super Mario 3D World, and boy am I glad the wait for a new great game is over. This game is AMAZING! I've played every entry since SMK and have loved each one since, as they all brought new ideas to the table. Mario Kart 8 takes the reigns as my favorite title in the series though, no question! This has got to be THE best racing game Nintendo has ever created. It's so much more tasty and rich than the ones before it. So first off, the gamepad controls for this game feel very nice. Being used to the wii remote, I was surprised at how natural the conversion to the gamepad felt. I prefer using the analog sticks opposed to the gamepad's gyroscope though. The gamepad is just a little too big to be leaning back and forth!:/ I also like how they incorporated the gamepads screen into the game. If you're playing on the T.V. you can easily switch to gamepad-only mode with the touch of a button, there's also another little button you can press to see where everyone is on the track! Very convenient! Some people may complain that the gamepad screen isn't being used enough, but come on, lets be honest... There's not much you can do with the gamepad in this game. You're racing! You want to keep your eye's on ONE screen! Next, the graphics. Sweet baby Jesus this game is beautiful. I can't describe the feeling of seeing an HD Mario Kart game, it's completely different from seeing the videos of it in reviews on YouTube. Once you own this game and you play it on your TV... Then and only then you can truly see how nice this game looks. My favorite track has got to be Twisted mansion (i'm a sucker for anything spooky!). Nintendo, like always, does a great job in course variety and it's no different in this game either as each one is COMPLETELY different from the one before it. They stuck to the traditional 16 re-made old tracks, and 16 brand spankin new ones. I love this tradition as it eases us into new territory in the series. There's tons of throwbacks in here though! Also, I don't know if anyone else likes to do this too, but to really appreciate the game more.. i go on time trials and just explore the tracks to their entirety. I know I'm gonna have fun doing that on this game considering all the detail they put into it, and how nice it looks!! Next, the ANTI-GRAVITY! Wow, You ever play a mario kart game and just be like "man, I wish I could just drive on the walls.. And then onto the ceiling! Well, now you can. The first course showcases this and man it feeds some sort of hunger I had. I love this feature along with the gliding they incorporated (which was first used in Mario Kart 7) So happy these have been added to the main series. Oh, and you can drive UNDERWATER NOW TOO. Fun little things like this make a game all the more enjoyable! And finally, the MUSIC! The music Is amazing. If there's one company you can count on for making great music along with their games, it's nintendo, I mean come on. Pokemon, LOZ, Smash Bros, Super Mario. Big band music with sweet guitar solos and jazzy songs? Yes please! Loving the music so far, 10/10 !:) Last, THE BAD. Honestly, it's pretty tough to find anything bad about this game.. I haven't had any real issues with it. I wish next time instead of 32 tracks, they would add some more more cause I managed to race and beat every single one in about 2-3 hours. Then again, I'm not sure if I really do want more tracks. Maybe 32 is perfect! Nintendo knows balance. Another thing.. WHERE IS THE TRACK CREATOR? I would absolutely love to make my own track. Nintendo understood that people like to be creative in games back in 2008 with smash bros brawl with the stage creator.. We haven't changed, nintendo! We like to make our own stuff! Hopefully the next entry will allow this. No biggie though. I'm really happy with this game!! If you own a Wii U, you have to get this game. It's a no-brainer!:) Thank you for taking the time to read this!

It's a sad day for Nintendo's Mario Kart franchise. The most recent installment is sorely lacking for controls and fun. First the positive - one of the most visual stunning games in the series with great back drops and cool player animations. Unfortunately, that is the end of the good stuff. Mario related games, while not always the best graphically, have been leaders in quick response controls and high enjoyment. This game falls far short of that with poor responding controls and almost PS One like load times. The carts & bikes drive like furniture through a tar pit with sluggish at best response times. The drift system has been ruined with a gargantuan annoying hop at the start of the drift that takes away control and offers little gain for speed. Unfortunately the tracks are filled with tight angle turns that require drifting so be prepared to spend a lot of time trying to guess the best angle slide for the upcoming turn. Maybe they should call it Mario Kart Sk8te as you spend most of the course trying to find the best way to slide versus actually steering through the obstacles. The new items are ok but not outstanding and the loss of carry for an extra item in inventory is poor change. The computer AI is predictable and missing the frantic fun of previous installments. The overall speed of the game is slow with little difference between 50 cc & 150 cc. Also an unfortunate side effect of the above changes results in a lack of ability to catch up to computer AI characters. Less items, poor drift, and poor control means that if you have a crash early you won't catch up at all. Sadly this doesn't apply in reverse as the computer makes all the turns perfectly! Overall this is one of the poorest games released in some time. Sure it's great to look at but obviously Nintendo sacrificed control and fun for better looking water and backgrounds. I wish they would stick to what they are good at which is fast, fun , easy to control games good for the entire family.

Where do I start with this game! This game is so enjoyable and just about anyone can pick it up and play! Literally two five year olds picked up this game and within a matter of minutes had the controls down! Hats off to Nintendo for that! This is a great family game! For starters I want to point out that if you register this game with Club Nintendo, you receive one of the four following games for FREE! Legend of Zelda Wind Waker HD Pikimin 3 Wii Party U Super Mario Bros. U Be sure to register your code before July 31st to receive this special promotion, as you are getting two games for under $60! Ok. On to the controllers. With this game you can use any combination of the Wii U Gamepad, Pro Controller, or Wii Plus Controller. This is not like Super Mario Bros. U, where if you use the Gamepad, you aren't actually using it or can use it to play if you are using a combination of the other controllers to play. The Wii U Gamepad functions like a regular controller in combination of the other controllers. Plenty of reviewers have covered the gameplay so I won't touch on that much. The one nuisance that I have found in this game is the powerups. If you are in the lead, forget about getting any sort of speed boosters! You will either continuously get green shell or coin. I think this is Nintendo's way of trying to keep the game balanced, but considering that you can get blue shelled at any point, it would be nice to get a speed booster to get ahead enough to where you can recover without everyone passing you. The Game is divided into 3 different types of cup races. 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. Most players will blast through 50cc with 3 stars no problem! The 100cc is much tougher and the 150cc is nightmarish if you haven't mastered the tracks! The online multiplayer aspect of the game is wonderful. For anyone who just picked up the game, I suggest playing through all three, 50cc, 100cc and 150cc and trying to get all three stars before playing online multiplayer. I started right after finishing the 50cc and placed last almost every time. I thought I was something special after easily finishing the 50cc portion of the game but I wasn't. The game has a very balanced feel to it and it is rather enjoyable! Call of Duty will continue to collect dust for a while because this game is hard to put down! You don't have to be a fan of the Mario Kart series to enjoy this. This is my first Mario Kart game since the N64 and I am so glad I picked it up. Games like this make are what make the Wii U a worthy purchase! If you have any questions that I may not have covered, please feel free to ask and I hope this review helped!

My 10 year old and I love Mario Kart, as well as the Sonic racing games. My son has been waiting for this for a long time. I have as well just for the fun I can have with him. The good - the graphics really are well done for Mario Kart. Granted, we're not talking Infamous Second Son here or Watchdogs Or even Assassin's Creed 4, but for Mario Kart, it looks really good. Crisp graphics, vibrant colors, everything really looks great. The additional surfaces are a nice addition. My son is used to the flying aspect from his 3DS and Mario Kart 7, but I like the "stick to the walls" addition in this one. Some levels don't do the "90 degrees up in the air" parts of the track where that's necessary, but they *DO* offer that "ride on the wall" option in some sections of some of the normally flat tracks. Helps get you up out of the normal area and gives you a few extra turbo sections to speed up on. But in the normal course of racing, that "up in the air stick to the wall" section really isn't that noticeable since you're seeing everything relative to YOUR point of view, so whether you're racing flat on the ground or up 90 degrees in the air, you just see the flat surface you're racing on, so your perspective is the same regardless unless you pay close attention to the horizon to see the changes. But it really is just more of the same. The tracks look nicer, but for the ones that are duplicates of previous tracks, it's just the same thing but looking better. My biggest complaint is the drifting. It's not as "nice" as earlier Mario Kart games, or as good as the Sega Sonic racing games. There's not as much control over drifting here, it doesn't control the "more drift or less drift" as much as the others. And I wish they had done the triggers as the forward / reverse acceleration, rather than the A button. It's more awkward for us to hold the A button on the gamepad to go forward and use triggers to drift as it would've been to use the trigger for acceleration and the A button to drift. I haven't dug yet into any controller customizations, so we'll see if we can adjust that, but out of the box I wish they had done it differently. Many levels have random things in different parts of the tracks as obstacles, and I like that bit of randomness. One level has trollies, another has, obviously, the cows we're used to. One has rolling objects. Sometimes they're on the right side, sometimes they're in the middle, so it adds a bit of "you better pay attention" to the levels since you may have to drift more, or less, on some turns depending on what random thing you may hit around or after that turn. There seems to not be as much integration with the Game Pad as I would've liked. You see the track and your position on it, you see who's in what position as far as the 1st through 12th go. Personally, I wish they would've done the rear view in the mostly unused middle portion of the Game Pad. And we won't even go into the decision someone made to not allow a two player local race without split screen. Even Sonic's racing game allows the person on the gamepad to have the whole gamepad screen to themselves, and the person racing using the TV to have that whole screen for their view. There's no excuse for this forced split screen in a local two player game. The initial load times are a noticeable amount longer than the last Wii game, but that's to be expected with the more detailed tracks and higher graphics. And for the "Doesn't matter but still, really?" category is the theme music while in the menus. I can shut out the world and hear the Mario Kart theme from the Wii game and I enjoyed it. This music in here for the menus really is a bit of a letdown comparatively, sounds more like what some late night show would have their band playing as the credits roll at the end. Not inspired at all, but as I said, that doesn't count since it has nothing to do with gameplay, just something they COULD have done better. I also wish the default after the race wasn't "watch highlights" but "next race" since I have a tendency to hit the A button after races to skip all the superfluous stuff. In this that drops you to watching movies of your race. Fortunately if you're impatient and hit the A button and get dumped into the replay, the immediate default option is to get out of it again, so it's not too bad. Bottom line - if you or your kid likes Mario Kart, this is worth getting. Bit of things here and there that make it less than maybe it could have been, but it still beats playing the original Wii Mario Kart over and over. Nice change of pace, still the "insanely simplistic" controls of Mario Kart on the Wii compared to Sonic or something else, so it's still a great game for kids to enjoy, which is really where this made its mark anyway. You won't want this for realistic racing, it's not even on part with the Sega Sonic series for control and racing and difference between air, sea, and land even though this is brand new and the other has been around for a couple years. But there is SOMETHING about Mario Kart that just makes it a timeless classic, and this is an enjoyable romp with better graphics, new levels and better looking old levels... Side note - so far I've only been hit ONCE by the annoying blue bomb that targets first place racers, and I've been in first place for 16 or 20 races... I really dislike that thing, and it's always one of the biggest annoyances in the Mario Kart games, but in this version, it's not NEARLY as prevalent as it's been in previous versions. Although I have to admit this is still the only game that can make me swear so profusely anyway... And there's at least a pickup you can hold onto that stops the blue shell from hitting you. Worth getting for any Mario Kart fan, just be aware it still has its drawbacks... And a bonus so far after playing it as long as I have (11 days now) is that so far, at least for me, it's been completely bug free. Not often a new game comes out for newer consoles that doesn't have *SOME* bug to deal with. But in here so far, not a single glitch. If they'd fix the split screen requirement for two people, this would become a 5 star game despite the other small annoyances.

Awesome game, kids really enjoyed it. I must say wii u has the best games for kids as compared to sony or xbox. Mario is evergreen

A lot of people kept their job over this game which has taken wii u media by storm for all the right reasons. Drift, drive under water, use piranha plants as a weapon of mass destruction, race playback with rewind and fast forward functions to laugh with your pals or kids over some beautiful tracks and a solid online connection or use multilayer to keep it simple fun. Driving on walls and paragliding will turn the game inside out and show you how much work went into the long hours of preparation. While nintendo has had a tendency of cheaping out on resolutions in the distant past, MK8 proves why they are the dream works of games all over again. They still have the "drive", drive by bike or quad, pink low rider and even a freaking catipillar. I'll leave the rest for you to discover, because there are tons of strange upgrades to smile over. Grab which ever compatible controller you wish to and experience it for yourself.

It arrived in perfect shape. I enjoy playing couch games, and this is hands down one of the best to spend time with wife and friends. It has 8 cups and you can buy another 2. I didn't like much that you can also buy racers, though it has a good 16 of them included, most of them are baby versions of the others. Regardles the tracks are superb and you will spend days trying to master the vehicles, speeds, and tracks. Llego en perfecto estado, me gustan mucho los juegos locales, no hay nada como un juego local sin lag, sin dificultad de conexiones y además divertido, este cumple con todo, gran variedad de pistas, de corredores y de dificultades o velocidades. Incluso puedes comprar mas pistas y corredores si eso no es suficiente. Tiene mucha diversion y rejugabilidad. Altamente recomendado.

Muy bien producto, llego en buenas condiciones y funcionando al 100%

If you loved Mariokart you wouldn’t be disappointed no matter what Nintendo system it was released on.