amp316 said:

Before I start commenting: I actually haven't bought the game yet, so I'm basing this upon my knowledge of MK in general, and your comments.

Don't get me wrong.  It's better than about 99.999% of the other video games ever made, but it has it's issues.  

The three star ranking now means nothing - I remember how tough it was to get a three star ranking on Mario Kart Wii.  There was a real sense of accomplishment.  No one knew what the real requirements were for getting one on a Grand Prix, but it was speculated that it invloved how many laps you lead, not going offroad, the amount of time that you won by, the amount of times you had to do the GP without getting one, etc, etc.  You had to be pretty much perfect on all 24 GPs.  Now you only have to not lose a race.  That's all.  Being that I am a masochist, I don't care for this at all.  The kicker is that now when you get the three star ranking it doesn't even show up next to your name online.  It was a real badge of honor.  Now it doesn't show up, because eveyone that plays enough will eventually get one.  Everybody wins!

Well that sucks. I had 3 stars in the Wii version and I can remember that I worked my ass off to get it. Playig against other 3 stared racers online always gave that sense of "this shit's real" moment, and it's sad that they removed both the difficulty of getting it and the bragging rights.

Getting a coin as my "weapon" while in 1st, 2nd, or sometimes  even 3rd - It used to be that when you were close to the front of the pack that you'd get a banana peel, maybe 3 peels (if you're lucky), or a green shell.  You could drag these behind you to protect your position.  Now I'll be in 1st and get a coin (Getting 10 let's you achieve top speed BTW).  Nothing is worse than seeing a heatseeking red shell ready to go straight up your tail pipe and there being nothing that you can do about it.  Maybe some of you freaks like this, but I'm not one of them.  Also,  I remember when you could get to top speed by using skill and pulling off a drift.  Not since the coin mechanic was introduced in MK7.

The coin feature was stupid in MK7, this made it even worse. As if it didn't suck to be in first place before. 

The way that the VR is handled is horrible - VR is the number that shows up next to your name which is supposed to represent your skill level.  In Mario Kart Wii it was handled great.  Everyone started out at 5000 and 9999 was the max.  If you saw someone with a 9500 or above next to their name you knew that you were dealing with a pretty darned good racer.  Now it uses the same method of ranking as MK 7.  You start out at 1000 and now can go up to 99,999 I'm assuming.  A racer with a higher number than you isn't neccessarily consistently better.  They just play the game more than you.

I love the way the new SB approaches this. I had 8700 in ranking in the Wii game, and I remember being proud of it. The problem was that you lost so many points when you lost, and got so few for winning. It was brutal, but I loved it. Still, having the "for fun" option would be great, so you could just play without being worried that you would loose a lot of points. This new system doesn't sound so good, but I'll have to try it out for myself.

There is an abysmal selection of horn sounds - If you are a Koopaling, your horn sounds like a kid's toy would on acid and if you're anyone else it sounds like a duck's fart in the wind. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm not as good at this game as I was at Mario Kart Wii - This is the biggest flaw of the game.  It shares many similarities with Mario Kart 7.  The biggest, being that it isn't Mario Kart Wii.  It reminds me of when I was a young Doctor Who fan and Peter Davison refused to be Tom Baker.  I couldn't stand him for it.  I know many of you love MK:DD and some of you sickos think DK 64 is the best, but you you are wrong.  Why?  It is my opinion and my opinion is always right (to me).

So there you have it.  Mario Kart 8 is probably my favorite game this generation thus far, but it has it's share of problems.  Have you found any others or do you find it to be perfect?  

The coin item can be a little frustrating because sometimes you end up losing and there's simply nothing you can do about it because you are afforded no defense(red shells are pretty much guaranteed for those in second and third place). Previously there was at least the risk/reward of whether you held onto your tenth banana peel or attempted to ruin the racing line of those behind you, now they are items that you simply can't afford to just throw away.

Also, I got hit twice by the same blue shell the other day! What the frick!? I was in a comfortable first place on Doughnut Plains and with little warning was unceremoniously taken out by a blue shell traveling along the ground at high velocity. It continued on its merry way for a moment, then paused, as though suddenly thinking better of its first effort, launched itself into the air and attacked me from above with gusto, just to make sure the job was done properly . On one hand I admire the dedication but I have to say that is uncalled for!