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[DICKS AHOY]

Character-specific items were a god awful item idea in Double Dash!! and they'd be a god awful item idea now, but I mostly agree with everything else. Battle Mode and the mixed roster are what stand out the most to me.

Core-game itself is excellent though, probably the most I've played an MK at launch.

 

[Jirotrom]

How do you guys get 3 stars in a cup?

 

[VanWinkle]

I agree so much. I mean, my goodness, there's not even A SETTINGS MENU. No control options, music and sfx volume adjustments, NOTHING.

 

[MiamiWesker]

This thread is exactly why I have never cared about this series. I need a good campaign in my racers, the barebones crap of MK games is pathetic. Online is fun but I can only do the same thing over and over with no sense of progress for a small amount of time.

 

[StayDead]

How do you guys get 3 stars in a cup?

In this game you just need to come 1st in every race.

 

[Chet Rippo]

How do you guys get 3 stars in a cup?

Get first in every race.

 

[phanphare]

I agree so much. I mean, my goodness, there's not even A SETTINGS MENU. No control options, music and sfx volume adjustments, NOTHING.

this is honestly the only thing that bugs me about the game

 

[Haunted]

I agree so much. I mean, my goodness, there's not even A SETTINGS MENU. No control options, music and sfx volume adjustments, NOTHING.

Seriously baffling.

Can't even customize the gamepad usage properly.

How do you guys get 3 stars in a cup?

dominate every race

 

[Alex]

It's a very enjoyable game. The polish on visuals and music is wonderful, the base mechanics are solid as ever, courses are great, online suite works very well (though MK TV is way too clunky for me to want to use) and it was worth the money.

That said I am a little saddened how bare it is and how little was added. I normally really don't mind same-y sequels but this is really, really same-y even by Nintendo standards and comes across as a primped up Mario Kart 7 DLC pack. I dumped tons of time into Mario Kart 7 not that long ago, so it's one of the stronger feelings of deja vu I've had from a game. I can totally live without the Battle Mode, though it was fun on occasion but I was really hoping for some more single player content or more online modes or just some actual deviation from last time.

I mean It's genuinely good stuff, I rushed out and dropped $60 on it and would do it again but man I'd love to see them go through a really meaningful revision with this series with some new ideas and modes. The core doesn't even need to change, I'm not after innovation just...add more parameters and goals.

 

[leng jai]

this is honestly the only thing that bugs me about the game

Nintendo always emphasises music over sound effects in their sound mix. I'd prefer it to be more balanced. The sound design in their games is getting too repetitive.

 

[Jirotrom]

thanks folks

 

[BruiserBear]

I agree that the game is lacking all sorts of features you'd expect from a game in 2014, but I guess I've just given up on Nintendo going above and beyond these days.

I only buy a Nintendo game a couple times a year at this point.

 

[espher]

Personally, I play primarily for online against/with friends nowadays.

I acknowledge a lack of a single-player mode but I couldn't be bothered to slog through the SART one, and a proper battle mode would be a nice-to-have but not my primary focus, so I'm willing to overlook missing features that I don't really care about, I guess.

The lack of an options menu is the biggest thing for me, though oddly for the first time in a long time I've had zero problems with a game on stock settings for sound/controls.

 

[JaseMath]

I appreciate the effort Nintendo put toward the tracks. Other than that, the game is firmly in C+ territory at best. It has 12+ throwaway/filler characters, barebones online, and It's missing settings...all of them.

 

[StayDead]

I agree that the game is lacking all sorts of features you'd expect from a game in 2014, but I guess I've just given up on Nintendo going above and beyond these days.

I only buy a Nintendo game a couple times a year at this point.

When I see someone saying something like this I honestly can't tell if they've even played the game at this point.

This is by far and away the best Mario Kart game to date and I hate to tell a lot of people who want single player, Kart games much like Fighting Games are designed for party based multiplayer and the multiplayer in this is a hell of a lot of fun to play with people of all skill levels.

You can do the grandprixs with up to 4 people in the same room, or you can go onlline with 2 of you and maybe it's me being easily pleased, but those two features alone are enough for me.

I don't need some tacked on story mode, much like I hate when good single player games add tacked on terrible multiplayer because they think they need to. Mario Kart should stick tok what it's good at and by god has it done it.

 

[oatmeal]

Agree with all points. I'm hoping for some meaty DLC.

 

[prag16]

You're not wrong exactly. But the core gameplay is absolutely incredible. I can't complain.

 

[Randdalf]

I don't really understand the calls for content, when most of that content is a superfluous structure around the actual gameplay. The only thing that was rushed here is the battle mode, and so far as I can remember it has more features than Mario Kart Wii did. People need to forget the notion of content as a wrapper for gameplay (I really blame achievements and Ubisoft for this), content is the tracks, the karts, the characters and the variety in gameplay all of which MK8 has in abundance. If you need a challenge, then make one yourself! For instance, there's no formal all-track tour in this game but you can certainly do your own one through Vs. Mode.

 

[Omnii-chan]

Oh yeah, after single player, the game kind of sucks.
Local multiplayer is AWFUL. Especially battle mode.

Not sure about online because it's Mario Kart... I've never and probably will never play it online.

 

[Gradivus]

Good game so far, I enjoy it a lot more than the previous Mario Kart on the Wii.

I've beaten 50/100cc cups with 3 stars so far and onto the 150 cc.

 

[Yuterald]

Gotta agree. The singleplayer is pretty lame. You think what with the treatment Smash Bros. games get with their checklists/walls of unlocks and various game modes that some of that DNA would spill over into their other games/Mario Kart, at least to SOME extent. I'm not saying this game could use that "wall" of unlocks, but after having played through all the cups now and checking out the menus/options and such, the game's pretty bare bones.

 

[Marlowe89]

I agree so much. I mean, my goodness, there's not even A SETTINGS MENU. No control options, music and sfx volume adjustments, NOTHING.

For the most part I don't have the slightest issue with this supposed 'lack of content' (who gives a shit about statistics?), but I definitely have to agree with this. You'd think they'd at least have a degree of customization for the tilt controls.

 

[RagnarokX]

I agree that the game is lacking all sorts of features you'd expect from a game in 2014, but I guess I've just given up on Nintendo going above and beyond these days.

I only buy a Nintendo game a couple times a year at this point.

This is the most detailed and polished Mario Kart they ever made. It may lack some features they had before, but when's the last time you saw people going crazy about how a Mario Kart looks? They reworked the retro tracks so much that some of them might as well be considered new tracks.

 

[prag16]

Local multiplayer is AWFUL.

what

Not sure about online because it's Mario Kart... I've never and probably will never play it online.

WHAT

Don't knock it until you try it.

 

[tebunker]

Oh yeah, after single player, the game kind of sucks.
Local multiplayer is AWFUL. Especially battle mode.

Not sure about online because it's Mario Kart... I've never and probably will never play it online.

Insert JackieChanIDONTEVEN.gif

I mean really? Really? REALLY?

Personally, the gameplay is fantastic. Top notch. Would another SP mode help? Sure, but geeze considering the game has gotten at least 2 hours of play every night for a week straight? I cannot for the life of me remember a game that has done that in almost ten years for my wife and myself.

Online is like 30% of that too. The cups have enough challenge, and I don't need a BS mission mode like SART had. I hated the SP in Sonic because the racing was lame and the missions were bad. Maybe if we had the actual game play with creative missions from Nintendo it would be better...

 

[DarthWalden]

I totally agree... Coming from Sega and sonic all stars there feels like a severe lack of things to do... It's all very basic... However the actual gameplay is the best it has ever been and is a massive upgrade over the previous iterations.

It feels a little bit like titanfall in that regard but as long as I can play online it will always be fun and challenging

 

[Seik]

I agree so much. I mean, my goodness, there's not even A SETTINGS MENU. No control options, music and sfx volume adjustments, NOTHING.

This.

It felt very bare bone in some departments, it's one chance that the gameplay is so damn good.

 

[-tetsuo-]

It is a pretty bare bones game. The lack of stat tracking online is weird. The lack of even an options menu is just mind boggling.

 

[Spinluck]

Multiplayer focused game is mutiplayer focused.

And even there it is lacking.

 

[Captain Europe]

I totally agree... Coming from Sega and sonic all stars there feels like a severe lack of things to do... It's all very basic... However the actual gameplay is the best it has ever been and is a massive upgrade over the previous iterations.

It feels a little bit like titanfall in that regard but as long as I can play online it will always be fun and challenging

I hear a lot of people praising the SP mode in SART, but MK8 has almost double the amount of tracks SART has. I'd much rather have more tracks to race on than some drift/boost challenges.

 

[Polioliolio]

Oh, I'm with you, OP.

Multiplayer racing is a blast, and despite some sources suggesting 'it's packed with content', it's sorely lacking in content beyond it's 32 courses. 32 is a lot, but it goes by in a flash without any means of mixing it up. Mario Kart fans are quick to deny it, but Sonic and Allstars Racing, what you'd imagine is a second rate ripoff, has far more variety and convenience of play than Mario Kart 8. I just don't get why Nintendo won't compete.

Can anyone answer to me why they no longer list finish times for all racers? I loved seeing just how little time I beat an opponent in a neck and neck finish. I get that it might not work well online, with lag and whatnot, but give me that in Grand Prix, geez.

 

[leng jai]

I hear a lot of people praising the SP mode in SART, but MK8 has almost double the amount of tracks SART has. I'd much rather have more tracks to race on than some drift/boost challenges.

SART might have a better campaign but everything else is so far behind MK that there's no comparison.

 

[Incitemaybe]

I feel ya OP however the core game is so fun for me that those detractors, ranging from shortsighted to unforgivable, don't really bother me. Especially the visuals aspect, they look amazing to me on my 50 inch plasma

 

[Madao]

Yeah, I feel this too. It's a fantastic game that I'll be playing for years, but I feel they short-changed on the single player stuff. Where the hell is my All Cup Tour damn it

Shamefully, I'd pay for any DLC they release too.

this exists in MK8. you just need to set it up manually in Versus mode in single player and put 32 races with each race being random. it was in MKDS and MKW in the same way. sure, you don't get a trophy for it but the coins count and it is a faster way to unlock all the parts.

Good game so far, I enjoy it a lot more than the previous Mario Kart on the Wii.

I've beaten 50/100cc cups with 3 stars so far and onto the 150 cc.

spoiler: if you beat the 150cc cup, it automatically adds the cups for the lower ccs. that's something new that few people have noticed.

 

[Ramirez]

Is it not possible in local mp to have the whole TV for one person while the other uses the pad? I was playing with my son earlier and didn't see an option.

 

[ZSaberLink]

I wouldn't say MK8 is rushed. It's polished but scoped. The things they did (apart from Battle Mode), they did very well. The rest they simply left out. I have a feeling there will be DLC of some sort down the road, whether it would be free or paid I'm not sure though.

 

[riotous]

I've only played MK a few times before Mario Kart 8.

I was a little surprised at the lack of content. It's fun, but my wife was also telling me even the content that's there a lot of it is re-made versions of old tracks?

I "beat" the game on 50CC with 3 stars on 5 of the 8 circuits in a few hours. And it was my first Mario Kart experience in probably a decade.

Definitely plan on playing through it more on higher difficulty, getting as many 3 stars as I can, and I'm not PERSONALLY disappointed.. but it is interesting to me what Nintendo seems to "get away" with. I felt the same way about the 2D SMB game that came out at launch. A $60 short 2D side-scroller.

 

[Captain Europe]

SART might have a better campaign but everything else is so far behind MK that there's no comparison.

Yeah, and the online lacks in comparison to MK8's, which is what these games are about.

I've only played MK a few times before Mario Kart 8.

I was a little surprised at the lack of content. It's fun, but my wife was also telling me even the content that's there a lot of it is re-made versions of old tracks?

I "beat" the game on 50CC with 3 stars on 5 of the 8 circuits in a few hours. And it was my first Mario Kart experience in probably a decade.

Definitely plan on playing through it more on higher difficulty, getting as many 3 stars as I can, and I'm not PERSONALLY disappointed.. but it is interesting to me what Nintendo seems to "get away" with. I felt the same way about the 2D SMB game that came out at launch. A $60 short 2D side-scroller.

MK always has 16 new tracks and 16 retro ones. I love the retro tracks this time around, they play completely different from the tracks they are based on.

 

[riotous]

MK always has 16 new tracks and 16 retro ones. I love the retro tracks this time around, they play completely different from the tracks they are based on.

Yeah that's also what my wife said. She knew right away the bottom row of tracks were retro. But she was disappointed in the differences; lol.

 

[Currygan]

Oh yeah, after single player, the game kind of sucks.
Local multiplayer is AWFUL. Especially battle mode.

Not sure about online because it's Mario Kart... I've never and probably will never play it online.

you could have kept your money then
I mean, it's like saying you buy a BF game to play the single player

 

[Captain Europe]

Yeah that's also what my wife said. She knew right away the bottom row of tracks were retro. But she was disappointed in the differences; lol.

Haha, the only tracks I'm disappointed in are the GBA circuit one and music park... I never liked them to begin with lol.

 

[Captain Europe]

Oh yeah, after single player, the game kind of sucks.
Local multiplayer is AWFUL. Especially battle mode.

Not sure about online because it's Mario Kart... I've never and probably will never play it online.

How is local multiplayer awful? It's like every other MK/kart racing game.

 

[lt519]

Agreed, after Mario golf on the 3ds this game is seriously lacking in the single player department. The multilayer is still better than any other out there though, so that's why ultimately people shrug the downfalls off. But,you can point at any game in existence and complain it is missing X feature and Y is really shallow.

People are talking about it too, you just aren't looking.

 

[w00zey]

My cousin and I both kept getting kicked out of rooms tonight pretty cool how easily you can join a friends game.

 

[friskykillface]

I wish we could get a list of all the times we got in a certain place online

i guess Nintendo doesn't want us going emo at all the 12th place finishes

 

[Prototype]

MK8 is like Ground Zeroes in that, what is there is really fucking good. There's just not a lot of it.

 

[oxidax]

One complaint I have right now is that I cant change the button layout. Either the option is not in the game or im not looking hard enough but i dont see it.

 

[K' Dash]

I love this game, but agree with you, with that said, I can't put it down :/

 

[spyroflame0487]

I'm sure it's been mentioned in this thread but there's a few things that really stand out as a problem to me:

- No way to see what Stamps you have without going to post in Miiverse
Is a collection book too much to ask, like with 3D World?

-Too many useless characters
I'm ok with one Metal character, and 2 babies max. We've got 2 Metal Characters, 5 babbies, and 7 Koopalings. Why do we need so many variants? I noted in another thread; stick those things into "skins" for the characters. Then you have more space in the roster to have other characters. WarioWare character suggestion was great

-No stats/options
Where the hell are the options? Where are my stats for races, time trials, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I love Mario Kart 8. It's amazing. But...there's too many things missing from the game that would be complete no brainer things to have. Maybe future updates?

 

[onipex]

I like the battle mode more than the last 3 kart games and never played much of the other modes from the DS game so its no big deal to me. I'll play the racing alone for months.