Mario Kart 8

Game: Mario Kart 8
System: WiiU
Genre: Racing
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Release date: May 30, 2014

Pros: Amazing track design; new anti-gravity mechanics; gorgeous graphics; strong, varied soundtrack
Cons: Battle mode


Since 1992, when Super Mario Kart first popularized the kart racing sub-genre, the Mario Kart series has been the video game industry's premiere kart racer. Challengers to the throne have come and gone over the past twenty years, but none have managed to unseat Mario Kart, which has relied on fundamentally-sound mechanics, addictive local and, increasingly, online multi-player options, and a stable of familiar Nintendo mascots to drive sales. Never before, however, have the developers at Nintendo EAD released a kart game, or any racing game for that matter, as deep, rewarding, and immersive as Mario Kart 8, the latest and greatest kart racer from Nintendo's evergreen franchise. 

Whereas recent installments of Mario Kart have felt, at times, like variations on a theme, Mario Kart 8, for the first time in a generation, feels like a brand new game, built from the ground up. The game looks different, it sounds different, and, most notably, it plays different. Yes, it borrows some of the ideas, systems, and even tracks from earlier games in the series, but it re-purposes them in such a way to produce something entirely new. This is a game with newly found confidence and maneuverability, thanks in no small part to the spatial freedom allowed by Mario Kart 8's greatest gift, anti-gravity. 

Mario races along an anti-gravity section.

Anti-gravity goes a long way in Mario Kart 8, not just by providing the visceral thrill of driving up walls and along ceilings, but also by adding another level of strategy to each race and by opening up new physical space in which to drive. Even in Mario Kart 7, which allowed racers to glide through the air and dive under the waves, each track was neatly defined by barriers left and right, and by Newton's law of universal gravitation. In Mario Kart 8 those barriers are much more fluid and changeable. Players might speed horizontally across the face of a mighty dam or bounce off bumpers in a section of track suspended in space above a busy airport (how is that not a violation of FAA regulations?).

The end result is an amazing collection of tracks, arguably the best in the series. Stand-outs among the 16 original courses include Thwomp Ruins, Twisted Mansion, Mount Wario, and Cloudtop Cruise. Even the 16 retro tracks, which are usually borrowed wholesale from previous entries, are refreshed in Mario Kart 8. They feel new again, and, in many cases, better.

All these new ideas and courses wouldn't mean much, however, if it weren't for a solid mechanical foundation underpinning the game. Luckily, Mario Kart performs almost impossibly well, with a subtly altered driving system that welcomes in novices and provides enough depth and challenge for experts. In terms of presentation and performance, the game is a home run. Fluid animation, gorgeous environments, and amazing attention to detail make each track a joy to race through, offline and online. Then there's the soundtrack, recorded with a full, live orchestra, a first for the Mario Kart series. It's jazzy, it's bold, it's a perfect complement to the lavish production that is Mario Kart 8.

The only real flaw in the game is its battle mode, which eschews brand new battle arenas in favor of standard racing courses. Consequently, players will drive along each course searching, often in vain, for opposing players. At best, it's a diverting game of joust; at worst it's a painfully boring game of hide and seek.

Mario Kart 8 can be played locally via splitscreen or online with 12 players.

It's a relatively small flaw, however, when the entire Mario Kart 8 package is considered. Mechanically, the game provides enough control options and strategies to satisfy both the greenest novice and the most seasoned veteran; structurally and spatially, the game allows players to discover heights and spaces previously unexplored; and technically, the game is steady and silky smooth offline with a group of friends or online with strangers from around the world. Add to that some of Nintendo's most verdant and opulent visuals and an enlivening soundtrack and the outcome is the best racing game ever made, and an early contender for game of the generation.