I know it's just a point, but darn it go up!

Good scores, only one ruining the fun so far.

Great score and one percent off from my prediction.

Then buy it for several games instead:

Mario Kart 8

Super Mario 3D World

NSMB U + NSL U

Wind Waker HD

The Wonderful 101

Pikmin 3

Lego City Undercover

ZombiU

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

Rayman Legends (the best version by far thanks to the GamePad)

Batman Arkham City (the best version by far thanks to the GamePad)

Splinter Cell Blacklist (as above)

Deus Ex (as above)

You can host friend only races, you just cant invite anybody. You have to tell them via an external way such as a forum, text, FB etc.
Either that or they accidently stumble across it =P

nintendoworld looking for clicks ..............

annnnnnnndnnndnddddd should have been 90. I blame you Nintendo![world!]

I have to say that the NWR review surprises me. Althought the score is low, them addresing some problems in their review was something I feared.

"Two standouts for me were Toad’s Turnpike and Rainbow Road, both from Mario Kart 64 originally."

Basically what I have been saying, MK64 is still the best MK ever.

On the other hand:

"While sometimes the courses seem more focused on being a graphical spectacle, the way some courses evolve and change, such as Thwomp Ruins, is awesome."

Just what I thought. Some tracks looked plain boring and looks like some focused on just being pretty. Nintendo really is a good HD developer, and looks like reviewrs likes Nintendo to became a good HD developer, just like the ones years ago focusing on better graphics rather than gameplay.

And it continues:

"Outside of the shiny HD graphics, the big new addition for Mario Kart 8 is Mario Kart TV. Technically, it is very impressive. As far as I can tell, the game records your recent races, allowing you to customize your very own highlight reel using a few different options with little to no load times. You can even post that highlight reel to Miiverse or YouTube (YouTube functionality was not up at the time of the review)."

It seems Nintendo made a good job in regards of MKTV.

MK64 battle mode is still the god:

"The biggest bummer of all is Battle mode. Instead of featuring arenas, you can choose between eight modified regular courses. The foundation is sound, as it becomes more of a jousting match as you circle around the course attacking other players, but the lack of an on-screen map makes finding other players difficult on the large circuitous tracks."

As expected.

For conclusion, I'll wait for your impressions:

"I like playing Mario Kart 8. I think it’s a satisfactory entry in the series, but nothing more. The final package ends up feeling like someone who covers themselves in makeup to hide the fact that they are 10 years older than they are pretending to be."

I get it now! Thanks for helping clarify that. 

It sucks that you have to invite friends that way but It won't bother me much, I use that method for MH3U. 

Wow an 89... that's like a 96+ over hyped game that gets released now and then

I find it odd that Ninty is sending all these review copies so soon before the official release. Theres still 2 weeks to go. =(

lol @ NintendoWorld's reasoning. Knocking Mario Kart 8 because it's a Mario Kart game. Fail reviewer logic at it's finest!