Mario Kart 8 is just around the bend, and we can’t wait to start sending those red shells flying around the Mushroom Kingdom.
It’s been getting rave reviews prior to its May 30th release, with many hailing it as the best Wii U game to date. Nintendo will certainly be hoping that it pulls the Wii U out of its current sales slump, but while it remains to be seen whether or not this will be the case, there’s no doubt that there’s a lot of feverish anticipation for the series’ debut on Nintendo’s latest console.
Before you lay down your pre-order for the game, though, you’re going to want to know all of its ins-and-outs to decide whether or not the game is worth buying. If you’re a Wii U owner then the likelihood if you’ll be picking it up anyway, but if you’re not, then is this the game that should finally convince you to plump down the cash and invest in one?
In order to help you make a more well-informed decision, here’s our guide on everything you need to know about Mario Kart 8
Mario Kart 8: Everything You Need to Know
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Mario Kart TV lets you customize and share your replays
One of the best new features in Mario Kart 8 is MKTV, which lets you take the replay from your previous race and edit it, before sharing it with your friends.
MKTV keeps it simple with its customization options, meaning that you won't have to put on your glasses and go in-depth just to make a 30-second clip. There's options to select the length of your clip, which racer(s) you want the clip to feature, and what you want the focus of the clip to be, from items through to drifting and action.You can even choose to play sections of the clip in slow-motion.
This footage can then be uploaded to YouTube directly from the game, which marks a huge leap in the right direction for Nintendo, or put it on Mario Kart TV. If you choose to upload it to Mario Kart TV, you can still link your friends to the footage via a web-based service. From here you can also watch a variety of highlights from Mario Kart players worldwide.
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The items are much more balanced
Mario Kart Wii was derided by long-time Mario Kart fans for its emphasis on the importance of items. Hurling a Red Shell at a friend before overtaking them has always been one of the best things about the series, but in Mario Kart Wii the abundance of overpowered items specifically designed to make it possible for someone with little skill to somehow take first place were irritating, to say the least.
Thankfully, Mario Kart 8 has once again put an emphasis on skill rather than chaos, meaning that a good player will defeat a bad player (almost) all of the time. While the likes of the Blue Shell and the almost-as-annoying Bullet Bill make a return, they don't provide the same unfair advantage as they did in Mario Kart Wii. No longer can someone in last place find themselves battling it out in the top three due to being rewarded all the good items, and no longer will shooting into first place in the early stages of a race prove to be a major disadvantage.
While those reared on Mario Kart Wii may find this a little off-putting, for series veterans it will be the very best facet of Mario Kart 8, and will ensure that no Wiimotes will be thrown through TVs in frustration as Blue Shell after Red Shell after Lightning Bolt sends the best racer on the track to the very back of the pack.
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Improved, but still perfunctory, online gameplay
If you played Mario Kart Wii online, then you know that it was a relatively accomplished addition to the game that was hugely surprising given Nintendo's reluctance to embrace the whole "Internet" thing. Its handheld successor, Mario Kart 7, also featured the best online ever seen in a Nintendo game, so it's the hope of many that Nintendo has embraced online with open arms in Mario Kart 8.
Unfortunately, Mario Kart 8 still sees Nintendo assuming a parental role when it comes to online play, with voice chat only being made available in friends-only matches and in-game text messages completely out of the equation, so if you want to set up a game with friends you're going to have to arrange it using some other means.
However, Mario Kart 8 does boast some online improvements. Aside from being a generally smoother experience, Nintendo also gives players the opportunity to create online tournaments, with the rules, courses and other details being completely left up to the tournament creator to decide upon. This is definitely a neat addition that will inject some added longevity into a game that already boasts tons of replayability.
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Gliders, propellers and coins have been thrown into the mix
Mario Kart 8 takes most of its cues from the 3DS's Mario Kart 7 rather Mario Kart Wii, with several featured that were both introduced and reintroduced in the handheld title making their way to the series' Wii U debut.
For starters, coins have made another appearance. The gold coins you pick up on the track improve the speed of your kart, with you being able to pick up a maximum of two. Being hit by an item or obstacle will cause you to lose some of your coins, therefore encouraging you to race with much more care.
Vehicle attachments such as gliders, which allow your kart to soar through the sky, and propellers, which allow you to drive underwater, have also been included after their debut in Mario Kart 7. Gliders can once again be mixed and matched with any kart, ranging from a parachute to a Bowser kite.
Vehicles can also be customized, with a large selection of different karts, bikes and wheels. This means that players can swap around parts until they find the vehicle that is right for them, adding an extra layer of strategy to the game.
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It looks more beautiful than ever
With a 1080p resolution and running on 60fps, Mario Kart 8 is without a doubt the best-looking Nintendo game to date. While Super Mario 3D World was no doubt a pretty game, Mario Kart 8 is an example of Nintendo really hitting its stride when it comes to taking advantage of the Wii U's hardware, and pushing it to compete with the more technically impressive games currently offered by Sony and Microsoft.
Mario Kart 8's gorgeous visuals maintain their high quality even in the game's two-player split-screen mode, but in four-player split-screen it unfortunately suffers. As the game's frames per second are slashed from 60 to 30, reviews have stated that there's a notable dip in quality in terms of its performance. While it's reportedly not a crippling downgrade, it's not considered negligible, either.
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Antigravity isn't just a gimmick
Mario Kart 8 introduces antigravity racing to the series, with the karts becoming makeshift hovercrafts when hurtling around improbably steep terrain. What initially seemed to be a superfluous addition in order to introduce some F-Zero esque loop-the-loops into the mix, antigravity actually introduces a big change in the way the game plays.
Colliding with opponents during an antigravity section will earn you a speed boost, allowing you to strategically pinball yourself abetween your rivals in order to gain momentum. In previous Mario Kart games, bumping into an opponent was a big no-no due to the risks almost always outbalancing the rewards. While heavy racers such as Bowser and Donkey Kong needn't worry about collisions due to their large stature, lighter racers would never want to race within a close proximity to their opponents as one nudge could easily send them falling down a position or two on the leaderboard.
With these antigravity sections, Nintendo has leveled the playing field between characters, and has introduced a new mechanic for the series' stalwarts to get to grips with. It also ensures that it's not just the item pick-ups that will introduce chaos to each race, as antigravity essentially turns each course into a high-octane game of bumper cars.
