With Turbo on pole position?

21 years have passed since that Mario Kart is a snapped to drive against his friends and rivals races. 21 years in which the number has steadily improved. Can Mario Kart 8 build on the high quality of its predecessor?
In short: No. It is not connected with the quality of its predecessors and rivals. It trumps immeasurably!

Technology:

The fact that the Wii U is the hardware behind the Xbox One or PS4, needless to tell anyone. What should hear her necessarily, however is that Mario Kart looks outrageously good. As good as a next-gen title should look like!
Well, fair to say that this is also due to the cartoon moderate style that Nintendo used in almost all games. But if a game with such a graphic and stylistic perfection is delivered, that is not matter. The image is rendered in 720p and upscaled to 1080p, which is more than adequate. The result is a graphic that looks simply mistaken and is by far the most beautiful game that Nintendo has ever conjured. The textures are sharp, the animations wonderful, the lighting effects of the absolute Hammer. If you drive on a road and it's all properly reflected in the puddles and the route is breathed in a great, sunny light, then sees the plain of terrific. In addition still contributes the excellent track design. Nintendo is not stingy with details and breathes the routes simply insane amount of life a. In single player mode the game is running plus constant with buttery 60 frames per second. In multiplayer is shut down on the series so far typical 30 frames per second.
The combination of style, technique and track design harmonizes just so so well together that this game visually with currently plays in the top league ... assuming you can always start with the style of Nintendo something!
The sound and music can also be heard. All songs were professionally recorded by a band, what you can hear clearly. The music is a real treat for the ears!
Simply brilliant appearance with grandiose music - Mario Kart 8 has become technically something very big!

Gameplay:

Mario Kart 8 is overall very conservative. However, it seems to me that Nintendo has placed great emphasis on a good balancing. The last series parts were always more item-focused. Clear plays the player's can also play a role, but ultimately could quickly lead to an unfortunate Abfolger of items that you fall from first to last place shortly before the finish line.
The strong relevance of the items remained in Mario Kart 8. Items still have significant influence on the outcome of a race. But Nintendo has eliminated some problems. An example of the strong itemausrichtung past series parts is the blue spiked armor. There was almost no way this ward sense. For other items, there was free after the rock-scissors-paper-principle usually always items to ward off attacks. When spiked armor that was not the case until now!
Nintendo has built a trumpet whose sound can around you repel all attacks. Including the sting tank, as long as the whistle is used at the right time. It is this element is representative of the strong revised Balancing of Mario Kart 8. A similar example is Lakitu who puts an after falling back onto the track. In Mario Kart 8 goes much faster by equipping, so you will not be ripped out of the race long.
This greatly revised balancing is the game just really good. Everything harmonizes better than one would expect from the last series parts.

You can choose from, as long as you have them all unlocked more than 30 characters from the Mario universe. Our vehicle we must, as usual of Mario Kart 7, from 3 elements, the body or the model (kart or motorcycle), the tires and the slider, assemble. That worked in the predecessor and work here also.

The most central, new element, the anti-gravitational elements on the tracks. You can order at predetermined locations on the walls, or even drive upside down. This new element brings another feature with it: While you are traveling on an anti-gravity part of the route, you can ram other players to gain a turbo boost. This applies at the same time but also for the players to be rammed. And the weight is not outside admitted. If you collide as a lightweight driver a heavyweight, the Turbo can quickly backfire because you bounce uncontrollably. Again, this is one of the new little things, which focus heavily on the skill of the player.
What this new element but still brings with it, is an outstandingly good track design. If you say that Nintendo with this track design makes everything better than its predecessors and the competition, which is simply an understatement. Nintendo makes it so good that it can wipe the floor with the entire competition. Very, very big cinema!

Overall, we get, as now offer typical of the series, 32 routes. 16 all-new and 16 old tracks reinterpreted. The design of all routes is simply terrific and also reinterpreted routes past titles are easily implemented great.

Generally Gameplay Mario Kart 8 thus makes no mistakes. It perfected a series that Nintendo has made large more than 21 years.

Multiplayer:

This is reflected in the multiplayer of course up to an element just as again. Local can play with up to four players play online with 12 players.
The online mode has become really big and exceeds all online features of previous Nintendo titles. The performance is right, Laggs are not noticed.
Players can even create tournaments and make for these rules. In the lobby before a race even a voice chat is active. Mario Kart 8 thus provides a strong multiplayer mode.

The only criticism is the balloon mode. Nintendo was of his routes (fully justified) probably so convinced that they thought that the routes can also serve for the balloon mode. So the familiar mode no longer plays in designated, special arenas, but on the normal routes of the game. And that does not work. You drive through the area more than to shoot each other. And that's just for one mode where it just does not arrive to the race, a problem. Even such a strong issue that their best strokes mode directly from your head.
But that's a problem, I can forgive if the rest of the game was easily implemented perfectly. And that's the case here!

Additionally, there is Mario Kart TV, a channel that can be accessed directly from the game. At the end of a race again looked at and worked with a rudimentary editing tool. Here the focus can be directed to different driver and it can camera modes as Action Item or be selected. For this purpose the length of the video can be specified. The shortest length is a compilation of 30 seconds, the longest is the complete race.
12 This video stores locally Mario Kart TV, so you can always look at the last 12 races.
You can send your edited video but also directly into the Internet and ask for Mario Kart Online TV.
These videos can then be viewed under mariokart.tv in the browser of your PC.
But Nintendo understands that even Youtube for players is an important platform. You can send your videos then upload directly to Youtube ... and then also link the Miiverse. The Miiverse has been adjusted accordingly, that your uploaded on Youtube Videos are displayed directly in the articles. Really good!

Mario Kart 8 thus a real blockbuster of a game has become. But Nintendo is not enough to enrich you with Mario Kart 8. As with every game from Nintendo is a card for the Club Nintendo Stars. Mario Kart 8 goes a step further and take part in a bonus game action. If you registered the game via the included code in Club Nintendo and filling the questionnaire, you will receive at the end of a download code from a game from a selected list. This must be entered only in the shop on the console eventually. Available Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Game & Wario, Pikmin 3, Zelda Wind Waker HD, Sonic Lost World, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Wii U Party, The Wonderful 101 or Monster Hunter Tri. The prerequisite here for that her game registered until 31.7.2014, because until then is this action. Ie: buy Mario Kart 8 and receive a match from the list for free download now.

Conclusion:
Mario Kart 8 has a weak spot - the balloon mode. Everything else in this game is adjacent to a perfection, as we know them only by Nintendo. Mario Kart 8 is for absolutely every Wii U - a must-have owners. And people who do not have a Wii U, should at least now think with Mario Kart 8, after titles such as Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze or The Wonderful 101, whether an acquisition of the console but not worth it!