Mario Kart 8 races into pole position

Just as many fans are complaining about lacklustre offerings on Nintendo’s flagship Wii U console, the company delivers a home run with the release of Mario Kart 8.

The latest entry takes everything that made previous versions of Mario Kart great and cranks the revolutions per minute.

From the carts and racers, many of which must be unlocked by winning races, to the tracks, to a nifty instant replay feature, breathes new life into the 22-year-old franchise.

Fans know the deal. Mario and his friends gather for a race in a very Formula One-like environment against Bowser, his minions and other characters from the Super Mario titles. This race is different because you can bump, shoot, blind and even shrink other racers. That’s on top of the tracks which are full of pitfalls, livestock, various booby traps and other headaches specifically designed to throw you off your game.

This time, the title’s developers added another dimension to the off-the-wall hilarity. Racers now have the ability to hover. The ability allows them to scale walls by driving straight up them and traverse roller-coaster-like loops. That’s in addition to the hang glider or parachute that your cart is equipped with allowing them to soar through the air as needed, passing over obstacles and other racers after coming off of any one of the game’s numerous ramps.

In short, there’s an awful lot go- ing on all at once in Mario Kart 8. But, really, it’s all great heart-pounding fun.

One welcome little addition to the game is a highlight reel or instant replay system that allows racers to see the highlights of each race after that race has been completed.

It’s nice, because in the heat of the race with everything going on, you often miss a few things that your probably should have stopped and laughed at.

The highlights are shot at an angle where you can see the drivers’ faces and the expressions after they have been hit by a bomb, bumped off the track or passed by another racer add to the hilarity.

Multi-player modes, allowing up to four players to race each other, as well as battle mode, which lets players compete headto-head against one another in order to pop three balloons attached to opponent’s cart are also back.

Mario Kart 8 is just another example of how Nintendo makes their naysayers look foolish. Despite any challenges it may be facing with regards to selling its flagship Wii U console, the company still knows how to make great games.

Make no mistake, Mario Kart 8 is a great game that will appeal to gamers, racing fans and even casual observers of all ages.