Games

8 reasons why you need Mario Kart 8

Mario's new kart racer is the best Wii U game yet.

Written by Chris Scullion

4 min readPublished on 10.12.2016 · 14:29 UTC

Has there ever been a bad Mario Kart game? The plumber has been leading the way since speeding around the track on SNES and from Mario Kart 64 to Double Dash and the 3DS game Mario Kart 7, Nintendo's racing game has always delivered. Yet we reckon Mario Kart 8 is the best title in the series so far.

In fact, it's probably the best reason to get a Wii U. Here are eight reasons why you need to get yourself down to the shops pronto and get racing!

It's got loads of new characters

Mario Kart 8 has a total of 30 playable characters from the Mario universe, nine of which are making their first ever Mario Kart appearance. The majority of these new slots are taken up by the Koopalings, Bowser's children. They've previously been boss enemies in the likes of Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros Wii so it's about time they got in on the action.

You can race upside-down

The biggest new addition to Mario Kart's gameplay is the ability to race upside-down, thanks to new anti-gravity sections. Some parts of the track are magnetic fields that can't be driven on with normal wheels. Instead, the wheels on your kart will fold in, like the DeLorean in Back to the Future, and you'll be able to hover above the magnetic field. Because you're stuck to it, this means you can race up walls and along ceilings. It's a head-spinner.

It's the first ever HD Mario Kart

Nintendo always makes the best-looking games on their own systems, but Mario Kart 8 is easily the most stunning game they've ever released. This is the first ever Mario Kart with full HD graphics and it shows – the level of detail on the characters, the karts and the tracks is breathtaking and it all runs at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second when you're playing with one or two players.

The new items are brilliant

Mario Kart's as much about the items as it is about the racing, and Mario Kart 8 has a few cracking new additions. The boomerang gives you three chances to smack opponents in front of you, while the Piranha Plant lets you chomp enemies and items that are daft enough to get near you. Our favourite by far though is the Horn power-up, which can be triggered to let off a deafening blast that destroys anything around it – even blue shells.

Mario Kart TV is ace

Replays have been part of Mario Kart games for a while but we bet you've never really bothered with them before. That's all going to change with Mario Kart TV, a new feature which lets you customise the replays then watch them in super slow motion to really appreciate how amazing it looks. You can then share your favourite replays with other players, or even post them to YouTube through the game's built-in YouTube uploader.

You can race on classic Mario Kart tracks

Mario Kart 8 features 16 brand new tracks taking you around the likes of an airport, a snowy mountain and a water-based theme park, but it also continues the series' tradition of featuring remastered versions of old tracks. 16 classic tracks from older games are available, going all the way back to the original Super Mario Kart on the SNES, and each have new added elements like anti-gravity sections, underwater sections or massive jumps.

It's still the best four-player game ever

Everyone focuses on online multiplayer these days, but Mario Kart continues to prove that there's still nothing better than getting a group of mates crowded round the telly, shouting at each other. Up to four players can play Mario Kart 8 together, with all manner of control methods supported. One player can sue the GamePad, while others can use Wii Remotes, Nunchuks, Wii U Pro Controllers or Wii Classic Controllers – whatever's lying about, you can use it.

It's got cracking online multiplayer too

Of course, not everyone has three mates handy at all times, and some people may want to put their skills against the rest of the world to see how they stack up. That's where Mario Kart 8's online multiplayer comes into play, with up to 12 racers from all over the world taking part in races and tournaments to see who's the best. If you thought it was fun with four players, wait until you try it with twelve.

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