And, of course, there are plenty of items you can use to slow down other racers.Īll the Mario Kart mainstay items like shells (including the much-maligned blue shell), boost mushrooms, lighting, and super stars are here, along with a few new ones. Sliding and drifting are still important, with long drifts causing blue sparks to fire behind your kart, signaling you can use one of two tiers of boosts.

It's pure arcade kart racing, with acceleration and brake buttons and no gears to be seen. The mechanics have hardly been untouched since Mario Kart 7. Read Our LEGO City Undercover (Nintendo Wii U) Review It's still cartoonish, but the look is fantastic for this style of game. The Wii U can push better textures and lighting effects than the Wii ($129.98 at Amazon UK), making some of the courses quite beautiful. Whether you play it on your HDTV or on the less-than-HD Wii U Gamepad, it's eye-catching, colorful, and striking. Since the Wii U is Nintendo's first HD game system, Mario Kart 8 is Nintendo's first HD Mario Kart game, and it looks excellent. Who needs a story when you have go-karts and crazy tracks? You choose one of a few dozen different characters from the Mario games and race on the kart, motorcycle, ATV, or hot rod of your choice. In other words, Mario Kart 8 doesn't have a plot.

Mario Kart is one of those strange Mario sub-series where all the good and bad guys are total bros who hang out, play golf, and go go-karting with each other. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. ( Read our editorial mission.)

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