Topic: Mario Kart 8 - OT

My crappy Internet is starting to show its true colours.
Was cruising along in first place on Rainbow Road online when I got a connection error mid-race for the first time, then joined another group and sat through two whole races as spectator just to get another connection error before I actually got to race.

Well today I'm at my cousins place where he got to play Mario Kart 8 for the first time. He had pretty much the same opinions as I about the game: track design just isn't as good as in previous titles. They're too wide (propably because they're also made for motion controls) and they're too easy (you fall off course very rarely). It's still a good game and fun to play but isn't as memorable as some past entries.

CLUB NINTENDO IS UP!!!!!!!! I CAN DOWNLOAD PIKMIN 3!!!!!!!!!!!!

@Mega_Umbreon I hope you don't mind me posting this here so more people can see.

Just got MK8. I got to say, this is the prettiest and most amazing Mario Kart I've ever played. Controls are responsive, the difficulty is insane, which is good, and the online runs very smooth. If you don't have a Wii U, this game will make you buy it. If you have a Wii U, then you must get MK8. Pure fun for everyone.

The most obvious ones are in the retro tracks (donut plains 3 and the rainbow roads). In the SNES original Donut plains 3, you could barely fit 2 karts on the bridges--which is why the first bridge was broken on the side--but now they're so wide there is no danger. Same with the rainbow roads. The original rainbow road was so tricky, it was more about being safe/careful than it was about all-out speed, but that kind of driving challenge has increasingly given way to a random barrage of items in order to win.

Rather than being pinpoint perfect in driving, it's better to languish in 4th or 5th and clean up after others' misfortunes in the final lap.

The game is SO great. Already spent countless hours on the online mode

Only thing im missing is more interaction between players. Why can't I see the profiles of the people im racing and chat/add em to my friend list? It's very isolated in that aspect :/

Hmmm... Really just thinking about trading Monster Hunter 3U in for this and then just replace 3U with MH4 when that comes out.

Silly Waveboy, Trix are for kids!

Too much Mario kart 8 love and not enough dooooooooooooooooooooomed threads.

People need sales data for that.

Mario Kart 8 is on par with Mario Kart 7... which is a bad thing. Mario Kart 7 was mediocre, but hey, at least Mario Kart 8 is more fun than MK7. But still, this game doesn't offer anything new, except for anti-gravity. It's REALLY sad and pathetic that Mario Kart DS has more replay value than MK8 & MK7. Nintendo just doesn't care anymore, do they?

Overall, Mario Kart 8 kind of a rehash, little to no replay value, items are horribly balanced (I got a green shell in 9th place, WTF), the character roster makes me want to vomit, battle mode is atrocious, and the game itself is beyond overrated. Seriously, this isn't 8, 9, or 10/10 material. Sigh. Just another gimped game that will get mindless praise.

6/10

Oh, you poor people, only focusing on the negative. Were you never wowed by anything? The track design? The music?

I think Mario Kart 8 is fantastic.

Here's what I liked about MK8: The core gameplay is still very fun, the graphics are pretty good, and the music is really great. As for the track designs? Eh, dunno. I need to play them more.

Yes, the game is fun to play, but the reply value isn't AS good as the past games. Go play MKDS, and come back to MK8, and you'll notice that MK8's replay value isn't that great.

I liked MK8, and it is amazing, but MKWii was definitely was my favorite. MKWii had tons of great unlockable characters, while 8 had a nice roster, but it could definitely be better. So yeah. :l

So i'm enjoying it but it leaves me feeling like they're giving me less. I feel like it falls short in some aspects. I wish there were more items. Coin items and single bananas are too common. The replays are short. I thought they'd replay the whole race... the slow motion is awesome tho!
I really don't like the character roster either but my favs are there so.... yeah

oh also, It must just be me... but WOW i really don't like the music. normally I'm so impressed by Nintendo's music.

I'm disappointed ... for as long as this game took to come out... I thought there'd be more?... man... Nintendo is letting me down.
Yeah I also agree, Something about it

@SockoMario Can't say I agree with most of the negatives you just listed. I found it to be a big step up from MK Wii (not all of us played 7, and even if you did, moving from the 3DS to the Wii U is, in and of itself, a massive step up.) I've been hooked on the game for days straight and the online really extends the life span, the "horribly balanced" items make the game more interesting. You can't always bank on getting a Bullet Bill in 10th, racing up through to 2nd and then using it to slide into first just before the finish line. Battle mode is surprisingly fun, with enough people, though shortening the courses or maybe giving players an on-screen map wouldn't have gone a miss, and the game seems to get all the praise I feel it deserves. The only argument I agree with is that the roster is entirely disappointing. I'm all for adding baby characters and metal versions and the koopalings are a perfect addition, but why in God's name would you replace perfectly good characters like Birdo and Dry Bones? Heck, King Boo, Diddy Kong, and Bowser Jr. are some of the fan favorites that the series has seen. Why are they being replaced with "another Peach" and "another Rosalina?"

Besides that, the music is great, the attention to detail is astounding, those backdrops are absolutely breath-taking. I can't go online or do a time trial or a grand prix without noticing something new and going "oh, hey! That's a cool little detail!" The track designs are pretty amazing, the community surrounding it ensures there will always be something for me to do with this game (for now, anyways), and to top it all off, the core gameplay is as fun and phenomenal as ever. I can see myself pulling this title out to join a livestream tournament or play with friends or just for a quick run through for months. If they add DLC? All the better. I'd easily give this thing a high rating and wouldn't even think twice. And did I mention the music? Yeah, the music is perfect. I'm seriously considering burning some of my favorite tracks onto a CD to drive around with. Especially N64 Rainbow Road. Oh, God~ @___@

I played Mario Kart 8 with some friends at one of their houses a few hours ago. Here is a highlight reel of our final race:

I was Rosalina, the uploader was Yoshi, and our other friend that was there (House) was Toadette.

There were more races in Grand Prix with other people and CPUs, but the others had to leave, and we decided to turn CPUs off for our versus matches. The other friends that had left hate the highlight reels for some reason.

Just goes to show that you can't please everyone. Most people are praising this game, some find so many negative things to say about it. I for one am loving it, but it is by no means perfect. Nothing is. The roster still needed work, even though having the Koopalings is great. Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach are unnecessary and, when compared to past characters especially, seem like pointless additions. I may sound like I'm being a bit harsh, but mostly I just feel annoyed more than anything. I've played as these two before, and I don't hate them or anything, but it's all about "what could have been". Diddy Kong, Birdo, Dry Bones, etc. should still be here. I'm also still having issues playing online. It seems like it just works randomly, or whenever it feels like it. I'm sick of seeing error codes pop up when finding players. I can only hope this is just because the game is still in it's early days and will smooth out later.

Random thought, but is anyone else playing with the GamePad using the D-pad? I didn't even notice when I first played, but after a couple races I realized I was using the D-pad and not the analog stick. It feels right to me, and it's all I've been using. I tried using the stick for a while, but I didn't like it.

All I can really say is that I enjoy this game a LOT more than Wii or 7.

DS is still my favorite. But man, this one is brilliant! The new tracks are so much fun. Best track designs in the series IMO