If you have people to play the game with, whether it be family, real life friends, or online friends, Mario Kart 8 is worth a purchase. Few things match the chaos and hilarity of trash talking during a frantic race. We actually have a DGN tournament group set up both in game and on Skype so if you're interested in joining after purchasing the game, shoot Locke a message.
Delving into greater specifics, Mario Kart 8 is one of the more skill based games in the series. Irksome items including blue shells are rarer and counters exist (here being the super horn). That said, despite the game's solid balance, some questionable decisions stick out such as coins being items this time around. The ability to hold onto only one item at a time ensures greater strategic play reminiscent of Double Dash. The major pitfall to avoid is snowballing in the early game. Once a racer gains a substantial lead one lap in, it's difficult to bring them down. The bottom of the pack, on the other hand, is one of the crazier rubber banding Mario Kart kill fests. Racers who are behind need to hold onto their item to use at an appropriate time in order to gain the advantage although the plethora of items being thrown out can be a mess to follow.
Online racing is far from perfect; however, it's been smoothed out substantially. Finding a lobby is a quick process and once in game, connection issues are sparsely seen. The most frequent connection problems seem to appear right when entering online or in a lobby after everyone has voted on a track. This is probably due to the large number of people playing the game right now considering it is a new release. Returning to game lobbies for a minute, the issue of certain courses constantly being spammed is no longer present since players are given a choice of three preselected courses or a random option ensuring every track sees play time. The competitive private scene is also catered to with tournaments replacing MK7's communities, putting greater emphasis on larger congregations of players.
The biggest disappointment lies in Mario Kart 8's battle mode. Who knows what the reasoning behind removing unique battle stages in favor of duking it out on tracks was. This change shifts a fun distraction mode to a forgettable experience. Most of the tracks selected for battle mode are fairly long making finding opponents tedious and boring.
Some kinks in the road aside, Mario Kart 8 is up there with the likes of Super Mario 3D World and The Wind Waker HD as the definitive Wii U game. The online play might not be Xbox Live or PSN quality, but it's the best Nintendo has ever accomplished. Of course, the biggest draw is what Nintendo has always done right: Bringing people together to have a damn good time.
Thanks guys!
