Mario Kart 8 is a beautiful, fun kart racer that introduces sound new ideas to Nintendo’s 22-year old franchise. While it doesn't reach Double Dash-levels of risk and experimentation, Mario Kart 8 builds on the series' most essential aspects better than any of its predecessors. Twisting U-turns, a blistering sense of speed, skillful track designs, robust tournament and online features, and gorgeous graphics fall into lockstep all at once. The end result shouldn't come as a surprise: Mario Kart 8 is the king of the mascot kart circuit, and it gave me hours of enjoyment.
Right from the starting line, Nintendo’s emphasis on re-tuning Mario Kart 8 in a meaningful way is apparent, and everything moves at a faster pace. Characters and vehicle customization parts unlock quickly, Lakitu helps you recover faster, and new items like the Piranha Plant and Boomerang Flower make for useful additions without throwing off Mario Kart’s delicate balance. And finally, Blue Shell-haters rejoice: the new Super Horn stops the much-maligned comeback mechanic dead in its tracks, allowing skill to prevail more often than ever before.
