As my 200TH post on this Forum, I wanted to do something a little special that commemorates the small Milestone. So, I decided to review one of my current favorite games : Mario Kart 8. I will be as honest on the title as I possibly can, but just know that when I review ANYTHING I tend to give it the benefit of the doubt.
GAMEPLAY:
The presentation of Mario Kart is so vibrant, lively, colorful, popping, and beautiful. It is the definition of "Nintendo Magic". From a Jazzy orchestra, to the lively stages, to the new Anti-gravity race tracks, it REALLY refreshes the series. It also feels like the game is alive and has its own personality. The retro stages are a breath of fresh air for nostalgics as well. Just seeing Royal Raceway from my N64 days all modern with HD graphics gave me goosebumps! It has some of the best retro stages from the past Mario Karts ( From Donut Plains 3 in SNES, to Yoshi's Valley in N64, some stages from the GBA, DS, 3DS, and Wii versions). The new stages are gorgeous as well. Just gliding thru the Air in with the help of a booster in a Spain-Like Airport while a plane hovers over you just feels cool!
Also many stages have its unique short cuts that are at first tough to find and master to do, but with mediocre practice it would be cake to do afterwards. The real challenge is doing these short cuts with a bunch of human players throwing shells and bumping you off the roads in it's online mode.
With 30 + characters (16 Standard, 14 Hidden) and over dozens of Kart combinations per character, choice is a non issue here. Most of the 32+ stages available are different from each other, so a kart combination that worked in one stage might not be successful in another, especially when going up against the time trails ghost.
Grand Prix is great in itself. If this game had NO ONLINE mode I'd say Grand Prix and Vs. Mode and Time Trials is worth the price of admission. Even an old Mario Kart Vet would have trouble with the 150cc mode. Even if you get all Gold trophies in all cups is not enough, for if you are a completionist you will want to get the Three star trophies for each cup. It is only awarded if you rank 1st in the 4 races of a cup. So this in itself can have you coming back for more in no time.
Time Trials mode is also challenging. The Developers ghosts are pretty much the best you can face for a released game, and with 32 stages to play in and each one of them having a challenging ghost to beat, this will have you playing and going back as well. It also allows you to practice stages as well if one area is giving trouble, or to even find a short cut!
Online mode is GREAT and the bread and butter of MK8. There is little to no lag in the gameplay, you can just join a race immediately. If you thought the bots were tough, wait till you race against 11 other humans who have the same knowledge of the game as you. Even if you aren't 1st all the time, you are still rated fairly after every race, and are awarded a certain amount of points so you won't feel too discouraged. But if you constantly rank last, your points will be deducted. All players start at a 1000 points, and the points you get at the end of the race depend on the points of other racers you place higher than. With replay, you can save your favorite races and stream it on Mario Kart TV (its own MK dedicated channel in the game) on the Miiverse, or even on Youtube! Indeed sharing your most memorable events in MK with others is no problem and a huge plus on the game!
My problems with online though is that YOU CAN'T USE THE MIC! What?? C'mon Nintendo. How could CoD Ghost have mic capabilities and YOUR OWN GAME WON'T? This could have REALLY showcased the game more. I always feel like talking to other players as we are waiting for the next race. Maybe Nintendo wanted to make it REALLY Kid friendly by not allowing the chance of children to hear other players curse but they could have put parental controls for parents to mute all communications for their kids, and problem solved. The only way to communicate with other players thru MK8 is with pre-made REALLY GENERNAL msgs Nintendo made a list of saying things like : Hello, I'll get you next time!, I'm Excited, this is my last race, and Bye!. Another pet peeve of online mode is that the system doesn't notify you when you receive a msg from another player during gameplay. I went about 2 days before I realized another player cursed me out... 
Then there's battle mode (or lack there of). Battle mode is set up entirely of RACES STAGES, MEANING THEY ARE NO STAGES DEDICATED FOR BATTLE MODE! Another HUGE pet peeve. Some of my nostalgic moments were green shell pwning friends from the top of the colored blocks in Block Fort for N64. When we wanted to relive this, it was impossible! I really hope Nintendo gets their act together and includes a battle mode pack via DLC. Truth be told I only played this mode about twice, since I'm really annoyed and not impressed with what they did with it AT ALL.
Graphics:
It is easily one of the best looking games so far in this generation (that's right I said it). Just shows you can still make a great looking game even with a so called "technologically challenged" console. The animations are smooth and hilarious, there's no loss of frame rates (that i've noticed anyway), the stages are vibrate, colorful and beautiful, and the characters fully detailed. Looks as if you are watching a cartoon with Mario character in it.
Sound
The choice to make the music Orchestral was genius and adds to the overall presentation. It adds to the stages and gives it a special chemistry. The sound and the animations go so well together that's why I feel the game has it's own personality to it. It's upbeat, jazzy, and hip. Makes band geeks proud to be band geeks.
The Voice acting with character is good too, but not great. I still consider the Mario Kart 64 voice acting the best in the series.
Controls
This is the best use for the gamepad. It only feels clunky using it for like 5 mins, then it's like your wouldn't want to play it any other way. Again this is using the Analog sticks on the pad, not the motion controls. I’ve played it many times on it’s small screen without a problem!
If you play with the motion controls with the gamepaDs however, that's a different story. That is still a challenge for me. Since you play with both, I will omit playing with it from the final rating.
Verdict
Mario Kart has some REALLY deep flaws, but it's MANY strengths really over shadow the few big ones it has. It literally sucks you in the World of Mario Kart once more with it's anti-gravity feature, jazzy soundtrack, colorful and vibrant stages,and a bigger cast of characters than ever!That and the potential of DLC coming soon, it looks like gamers will be playing MK8 for months, if not YEARS to come.
Note that when MK8 first came out it didn't have an on screen map for the tracks. Many Nintendo fans were appalled at this, so Nintendo actually added one in there last update of the game. Who knows, maybe it's just a matter of time before we see battle mode stages and a more interactive online experience!
PROS:
Easy controls. Beautiful Graphics. Vast selection of racers and kart customs. New stages and many retro stages. Little to no online lags. Races are easy to join online. 5 different game modes.
Cons:
No "Classic" Battle Mode. Limited Communication with players online while playing.
PRESENTATION: 9.5
GRAPHICS: 9.0
SOUND: 8.5
CONTROLS: 9.0
LASTING APPEAL: 9.0? (Maybe with added DLC throughout the months? Much higher!)
Happy Gaming!
