Topic: Mario Kart 8 Review

[NWR_Lindy]

What I find ironic is that all of the sites that gave this game a high score love Mario Kart TV, but Neal remains unimpressed because it's a novelty that doesn't add to the game's GAMEPLAY.  Marinate on that.

This game has three major areas: Single-player, Battle Mode, Online Multiplayer.  From what Neal is saying, single-player is vanilla and about as much of a retread as you can get. Battle Mode is disappointing and comes across as pretty lazy.  Mario Kart TV is a side feature that's a novelty, and he wishes that it would have been axed instead for a revamp of one of the aforementioned areas that haven't seen any considerable change, or have in fact become worse from previous installments, in his estimation.

All that said, a 7.5 seems like a pretty legit score to me. To me a 7.5 is a good game with some serious flaws, that may not be everybody's cup of tea. Neal has outlined what he considers those flaws to be. Makes sense to me.

[Shaymin]

How apropos that a Mario Kart review thread spawns so many drive-bys.

The concerns about Battle Mode don't bug me because for me, the next good Mario Kart battle mode will be the first. So I might go higher when my game arrives because Battle Mode means more to Neal. Thing is, I don't know and won't until the first week of June.

If you're worried about this affecting the Metacritic... door's over there, don't let it hit ya where the good Lord split ya.

[Wah]

Mario kart DS battle was amazing shaymin

[BlackNMild2k1]

To me is just sounds like another case of Nintendo focusing on all the wrong things for the right reasons.

Where they needed to do something new and different, they didn't need to do it at the expense of the things we already loved and expected to be improved upon. This is the story of Iwata and his Wii U.

[TheBigK]

Good review, Neal. Informative and raw. I like it. I can completely understand where your scoring comes from and your review substantiates it completely. I'm surprised and disappointed by the changes to the battle mode. The days of Block Fort and Big Donut chaos are over... Mario Kart TV seems like a neat little addition, albeit completely unnecessary. I don't see myself using it ever, but I guess it's cool for those who will. It really seems like Mario Kart Wii or 7 with a new coat of HD paint. I never expected the 1P campaign to change from previous instalments, but I'm always hoping they'll switch it up a little bit. Sadly, this is not the case. I wish they'd make a mission mode just like Mario Kart DS. For what it is, I don't think it's worth the $65 CAD ($75 w/ tax) price tag so I'll probably hold off for a little while.


I do have a question, though. What are the controls like? I know you can use GamePad, Pro Controller, and Wii Remote, but can you use the Classic Controller? If I do get this at some point, I refuse to shell out another $50 just to play it with a traditional controller. Did they improve button mapping since Wii? I found Wii's Classic Controller controls to be rather awkward, especially with tricks being mapped to the D-pad and items only usable with the L button.

[BlackNMild2k1]

NO BLOCK FORT!? .....NINTENDO!!!!!!

 


contemplates cancelling MK8 pre-order....
remembers free game for buying.... reconsiders.

[pokepal148]

For me it's basically 'I can pick up this and get pikmin 3 for free so I can play that if I want to.

[Windy]

I think its just getting to be the same old same old with these Mariokarts. I just sold my MK7 and imbactually going to skip on this one. I never played 7. I thought I would play a lot with the online play but it just didn't feel right. 8 has had so much hype I feel like I've already played the game. Its also not enough for me to buy a Wii-U. Now if Dragon Quest X gets ported the Wii--U will be mine! Haha

[Evan_B]

Yeesh, this escalated. Quickly, poorly, whatever.

Ultimately, my mind just continues to flit back to Neal's closing remark, which is really what seems to be what ticks most people off about this review (aside from the ridiculous fanboyism). It's a really harsh note to end on and makes Neal's "It's a good game with flaws" message seem more like a sting from an embittered, nostalgic fan.

[Phil]

This topic has turned into one of the many things I freaking deplore about this industry. smfh

[Soren]

I do have a question, though. What are the controls like? I know you can use GamePad, Pro Controller, and Wii Remote, but can you use the Classic Controller?

Gaf confirms Classic Controller Pro.


Why was the video review wiped off the face of the earth YouTube?

[ResettisCousin]

The review uses the word 'recent' repeatedly. "Recent Mario Kart" I, for one, don't own a 3DS. Mario Kart Wii came out in 2008 -- SIX years ago. I don't consider that recent in video game terms. The review says that many of the tracks are new and unique and extremely fun, yet says the campaign - the structure within which you play these extremely fun tracks - is boring with the ONLY saving grace being essentially co-op. Wouldn't playing fun, new-feeling and unique tracks be the 'saving grace'? The review barely mentions what effect zero gravity has on the gameplay in terms of shortcuts or 'spin boosting'. And there is no discussion about the new power-ups, time trials, nor a a description of the kart parts to unlock. These are some of the reasons, aside from the tacky closing, that the review falls short. Of course some of the long time fans and staff might say this is a complaint about the numerical score, but it's anything but. The fact is this review does NOT meet the standard of detail and usefulness this site should have for the biggest game we've seen and will see in many months on WiiU.

[Sarail]

I feel that the score is very fitting - brilliant, actually. Kudos to Neal and Daan for calling out the game for what it does with this iteration. Am I excited to purchase and play it, though? GOOD HEAVENS, YES.

As I've mentioned to both Lindy and Neal on the Twitters and what-have-yous, I feel that in order for Mario Kart to truly evolve, it needs to take on some sort of merit-based/exp gains type of system embedded into its GP single-player mode. I want to feel as if I'm truly progressing - getting better with EXP that I can apply to certain racing stats in my driver and/or kart. Keep in the customisation options for creating a unique kart (that stuff is great!), and then expand on it. We have a Wii U GamePad in our hands, correct? Let us draw and create logos/art/etc. on our karts for true customisation (anyone who dares draw a penis and/or similar whatnots get banned from online play.)

As for the tracks themselves... Seriously, and hear me out on this, please. MAKE THEM BIGGER. And do away with the four tracks in one cup method. By that, I mean go the route of Gran Tourismo or other similar GP racing games (I'll explain!) Mario Circuit, right? Ok. So, Mario Circuit has a specific leg of the track you'll race in in the beginning stages of the game - call it Amateur difficulty to start. So track circuit will be titled Mario Circuit 1 (throwback to the SMK days.) On MC1, you'll notice as you race this particular leg of the track, that certain track paths are blocked off by rails - these paths leads to harder turns, more difficult terrain, etc. that you'll later come back to in say Mario Circuit 2 or 3...or even 4. On the track map, you'll only see the path you're able to drive on, though, based on the circuit number you're racing.

I feel that this method, in creating larger, more expansive tracks, would open up the series to having WAY more options to race on - without having to resort to half of the game being retro tracks all of the time. And instead of cups, you have difficulty levels that have a much larger list of tracks to race on - garnering points and statistics as you race your way up the leader board. At the end of a specific difficulty level, you'll win that difficulty level's cup (sure, have it mushroom shaped for the first one.) :

As for battle mode? Why can't we have both? I much prefer the VS. racing mode over balloon battle (Mario Kart is about racing, after all), but I'd love to have an extensive balloon battle mode with lots of arenas themed from each of the specific courses. And, of course, Block Fort. : Gotta have Block Fort. And for the love of all that is holy and pure, BRING BACK THE 360 SPIN MOVE from the N64 game! Gah. That element was brilliant in multiplayer battles.

But anyhow. Long post is long. That's my two pennies worth. Good job, Neal and Daan.

[Penguin_Of_Thyme]

We're making a revised version of the video review. In the past, one of the criticisms we got about our video reviews was that the narration was basically just the written review in voice form. We wanted to try something a little different this time with Neal using a basic outline for the narration instead of an exact script. I think as a companion to the written review it worked fine, but a ton of people on YouTube didn't read the written review and I feel were unfairly condemning Neal's opinion of the game. The updated video review is going to use Neal's written text almost to the exact word with him adding a few extra thoughts on the new gravity mechanics. It should be ready Friday morning. Hope that explains things.

[NWR_Neal]

Reviews on NWR are not meant to go over every last detail. That's why there are previews, news, etc. It sometimes varies from writer to writer, but I can sum up why I didn't mention things like time trials, zero-g and the like in detail: they weren't that big of a deal to me. If you think that is a failure of the review, then I suggest you read previews and watch Nintendo Directs instead of reading reviews because that seems to be what you would prefer.

"Recent" is a variable term. To me, I used it to separate the Mario Kart games that follow the specific 32 track formila from the older ones. I apologize if that was confusing. I will be mindful of that in the future and try to use a different term.

I would like to reiterate that I did enjoy the game but it burned fast for me. A major part of Mario Kart to me is replaying it. I don't think I will replay this one a lot. So even though I praised the beauty and course design, the structure of the game (specifically the single player) didn't grab me.

[Sundoulos]

More often than not, most of the single player events in Mario Kart games since 64 (with the possible exception o f MK DS) haven't captured my interest for all that long.   I even got bored with MK 7 after a few weeks, and I eventually sold it. 

I enjoy MK Wii more than most did mostly because it is a game that my wife and my children all want to play together; it's one of their favorite things to do.  It's also probably the reason why the Wii U version will be a long-standing hit with us as well.   I imagine that if I primarily played it by myself, I would get bored with it pretty quickly.   

[Penguin_Of_Thyme]

Updated video review is taking longer than I thought. Aiming for this afternoon, but no promises. Thanks!

[Adrock]

Updated video review is taking longer than I thought. Aiming for this afternoon, but no promises. Thanks!

This is bullshit. I rate your post a 7.5. Points deducted for lack of timeliness and innovation.

[NWR_Neal]

Maybe it is because I don't have kids but even the multiplayer didn't grab my friends and me. We gravitated towards playing other local multi games instead. Make of that what you will.

[Soren]

It would have been great to read more about the online portion of the game instead of just the one sentence we got.

[UncleBob]

Since you didn't like it, can you overnight it to me and have it here by tomorrow?  I'd love to surprise the gang at my StreetPass group.

[Oblivion]

Holy ****, the salt in this thread is through the roof. Why is a bad thing that NWR gave the game a 7.5?

[Qbert Farnsworth]

Flawed as it is, and like it or not, aggregate score sites like Metacritic have become a part of the perception of video games. It always irks me when sites will post a low score outlier as it reeks of drawing attention to itself (see GameSpot's review of Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze). There's just a little too much "Hey look at me! I'm docking a lot of points on a game everyone else likes. I'm an independent thinker."

Both this review and GS's DKCTF review dock in inordinate amount of points for the game not feeling new enough. In the age of annual Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed releases, it seems like nitpicking to dock a game that comes out once per platform for merely fitting its genre. It's a racing game, and your Diddy Kong "appease the hub world elephant kart adventure games" are the exception. The fact that Mario Kart lives on while Diddy Kart has not shows that the Grand Prix cup formula is what kart genre fans want. To dock points for fitting a limited genre would be like holding it against Madden games for not having the guts to add more platforming elements.

Beyond that, your criticisms are in line with every other review of the game - most of which docked 1 out of 10 points for them.

[NWR_Neal]

It would have been great to read more about the online portion of the game instead of just the one sentence we got.

You can race online. It runs smoothly. You can play against strangers or with friends. You can only use voice chat (through GamePad only) during lobbies in friend matches. There are also tournaments, which are sort of like mini Grand Prixs you can make, but it's all based on people showing up at a predetermined time, which I'm a little wary of being that useful. If I go online, it'll likely be to play with friends locally and/or online for the hell of it.

[pokepal148]

are people really getting upset about that make-up analogy? Yeesh,

And there are far worse reviews out there, for example.