Set to release less than 24 hours from now, Mario Kart 8 has been tearing up the review circuit for quite a while: it’s been two weeks since the earliest critiques appeared, to be exact. I quite liked the game myself, but you may have noticed I refrained from getting too technical when discussing presentation, referring to the graphics as “HD” despite reports of 1080p fidelity. The reason was because, though faint, I could still make out the occasional jagged edge when playing up close on my monitor, and it seems Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry has indeed confirmed my suspicions. The game runs in 720p.
Mario Kart 8 certainly hides its sub-full HD resolution better than most games I’ve played, and despite what appears to be a buttery smooth 60 frames per second, the Foundry also discovered that the game occasionally dips to 59fps. I suspect there’s a method to the madness; after all, could the loss of one measly frame really be a hardware performance limitation? Instead, it seems more likely that the adjustment was made to prevent screen-tearing, which, as seen with some PC titles, can oddly occur less often at 59 than 60. It was also pointed out that the frame drop only occurs when CPU opponents are enabled, so we may never really know the true reason. Eurogamer seems to think a patch could fix the issue, but contrary to my eye for 720 vs. 1080 differentiation, I will openly admit that I can’t spot a single frame drop no matter how hard I try. To be honest, I’m thankful that I can’t.
Nintendo has bundles ready to go if you’re looking to jump in on some MK action (these are now confirmed for the U.S. as well), and registering the game with Club Nintendo will actually net you a second game free of charge. The selection isn’t mind-boggling, but if you haven’t played Wind Waker (or haven’t in many years, at least) the offer becomes a lot more attractive. Regardless, I’m mainly looking forward to smoking 12-year-olds online when Mario Kart 8 releases tomorrow – I’ve known the courses for weeks!
