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REVIEW: MARIO KART 8 DELUXE - SWITCH

1/5/2017

24 Comments

 
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Confession time: I've not played a Mario Kart game in years. Except... get this... I actually have! I merely thought I hadn't. What a twist in the narrative, eh?

Also: I was a ghost all along. 

In going back over the series, I've realised that it was pretty much only Mario Kart Wii that I skipped altogether. I mean, obviously I bought it... but I made the mistake of buying it with that awful steering wheel thing. You know: the one you slotted the Wiimote into, which made it feel like you were a 5 year-old waving a paper plate around.

"Brrm brrm! I'm a car driver now!"

I hated the experience so much that it put me off the game altogether.

I'd even forgotten that I'd bought the various handheld instalments. I guess, for whatever reason, my stupid brain couldn't handle the notion that I'd played as many as eight Mario Karts. Regardless, ever since Mario Kart 64, the series stopped having an impact on me. In short: I hadn't truly loved a Mario Kart since the original.

Part of my problem is that much of the entertainment I got from that Super NES classic derived from the balloon-bursting battle mode. Making the series all polygonal buggered that up for me; you couldn't see your opponents until they were right on top of you, because the arenas were all sprawling and multi-levelled. How we'd chortle upon seeing a mate whizz past on the other side of a low wall, but not being able to get to them. 

Tainted by all this, of course I skipped Mario Kart 8 when it first came out on the Wii U. Now that I've played Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, however, I accept that might've been a mistake. ​You see... it's really good. Like, really, really good. In fact, it had much the same effect on me as Breath of the Wild - plastering a massive, soppy, grin across my face.

It's basically the video game version of that ruddy Faceapp thing that's currently clogging up social media.

Oh look: It's Hitler as a grinning baby! LOL; Doctor Crippen is really smiling in this one! And here we have Pol Pot as a teenage girl! ROFFLES!!!!
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'BORD TO DEATH
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a smorgasbord of lovely, arriving with the original Mario Kart 8 tracks, plus all those Nintendo released later as DLC; there are more tracks, characters, and customisable vehicles than you can insert a frond into.

Tracks twist through 360-degrees, and encompass not just classic courses from the series history, but are inspired by other games from Nintendo's back catalogue. If you're yearning for a brand new F-Zero or Excitebike... well... you almost get it here.

It's tight and thrilling, and the difficulty slowly creeps up as you work your way through the difficulty levels, until it becomes an eye-watering challenge. It's a perfectly balanced learning curve, the racing game for people who don't like racing games.

Best of all, the various Battle Modes - apparently, the part of Deluxe with the most significant upgrade from the Wii U incarnation - are brilliant.

As well as a version of balloon-bursting which is the most fun I've had with balloon-bursting since the original, there's a great mode called Renegade Roundup, which basically plays like a cops-and-robbers chase. There's also a race to collect the most coins, and a Mario Kart take on capture the flag. Suffice to say, you get your money's worth.

Of course, this comes into its own due to the Switch's portability, and splittable JoyCon controllers. And - get this - they work just fine. It's a perfect marriage of software and hardware, succeeding in bringing the series back to its hysterical multiplayer roots.
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PERFECT VISION
In almost every respect, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is about as perfect a version of Mario Kart as you could get. However, I say this with a few minor qualifications.

Nintendo has included both auto-steering and auto-acceleration. I get that; they're a family-friendly company, and this makes the game accessible to everyone, regardless of age or ability. However, these features are switched on by default, and nothing in the game nor the non-existent documentation make this clear.

Consequently, I got all the way through the 20CC tracks wondering why the game felt like it was on rails, why it would nudge me away from shortcuts if I didn't react to them fast enough, or steer me back to the centre of the track, away from the edges. I don't mind this feature being there... but to not flag it up as an on-screen option seems like a weird oversight, particularly when so much of the rest off the game is perfect.

Also, we probably do need to discuss the fact that - as rounded and stuffed as it is - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a three year-old game. Plenty of people skipped it on the Wii U, but, as gorgeous as it looks, there's little here to suggest the Switch is a more powerful machine. Side-by-side comparisons suggest the graphics are virtually identical.

This is an issue when you consider that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is only Nintendo's second major release for the Switch... and it's basically a re-release. Plus, Nintendo isn't going to be having any kind of major presence at the up coming Electronic Entertainment Expo - during which many fans were holding out for some major announcements - and questions remain over the company's Switch strategy.
DELIGHT
Taken as it is, however, and speaking as someone who never played the Wii U version, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a pure delight. I've been away for games for the best part of a month, because life got in the way, but this was the perfect game to "water" my "plants".

It's as much fun as video games get - a bright, breezy, uncynical, accessible, game that just wants to make players happy.

And it did. It cheered me right up.

SUMMARY: Interactive prozac. 
SCORE: 8 out of 8.
FROM THE ARCHIVE:
​TEN UNDERRATED GAMES WHICH MUST APPEAR ON THE SUPER NINTENDO CLASSIC
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: WHY THE SWITCH IS GOING TO OUTLIVE THE XBOX SCORPIO - BY MR BIFFO
REVIEW: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA - BREATH OF THE WILD (SWITCH, WII U - SWITCH VERSION TESTED)
24 Comments
Alan burger
1/5/2017 09:50:47 am

And how did the cartridge taste compared to Zelda?

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Kelvin Green link
1/5/2017 10:57:16 am

Mario Kart Wii is great, Biffster, but only with a controller. It's a bit naff with the Wiimote.

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Ben
2/5/2017 01:09:25 pm

I play it with the Wii remote and nunchuck, the motion control is easier to use for tricks and wheelies than the d-pad

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John Kelp
1/5/2017 11:05:40 am

Mario Kart on the SNES was the last game I played that enraged me to the point of ripping the controller out and hurling it at the wall.
Good times. I wish I was still such a bad loser, such a shame we have to grow up.

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Meatballs-me-branch-me-do
1/5/2017 11:38:48 pm

Nobody made you. Top Spin 2 on the 360 cost me two controllers, and both the Donkey Kong thing in Nintendoland and the badminton in Mario Party 10 came close were it not for how expensive the Gamepad is. I suppose I just shouldn't play net-and-racquet based games but they're just about the only sports games I like.

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Wallace Dollace
2/5/2017 12:41:44 pm

Alright John, I can remember you losing your temper playing games back in the 90s,I can still see you smashing your head and both fists against your bedroom walls while playing plok, I can't believe that game would wind you up so much, another case you lost your rag was when I was eating some wagon wheels i accidently got some chocolate on your precious controller, I've never been punched so hard,have you still got anger issues?

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John Kelp
2/5/2017 12:56:10 pm

Is that really you Podge? How's it dangling mate?

Anger issues have been cured mostly (thanks to a therapist). I do still get a bit twitchy if I see a pair of MC Hammer 'parachute pants' though. So we'd better keep away from each other if you still insist on wearing them everywhere you go.

Wallace Dollace
2/5/2017 01:51:41 pm

Yeah, John, its podgy but nobody calls me that anymore, most people call me slim now.I haven't worn parachute trousers since 1998. I'm glad you have sorted your life out,the violent outbursts were getting out of hand,do remember when you pulled lumps of my hair out because I accidentally tripped your gran up? I don't think I'll ever get over that.

Spiney O'Sullivan
1/5/2017 11:30:07 am

Auto-steering and autoacceleration on by default? Doesn't that just make it a video?

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Chinny
1/5/2017 11:59:22 am

Nintendo flogging the same game over and over again. They haven't had an original thought since 1995!

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Spiney O'Sullivan
1/5/2017 12:08:44 pm

To be fair, the demand is there for exactly that. Games like Mario Kart and Smash Bros are must-haves in each generation since nobody else focuses on couch-based multiplayer like Nintendo.

Until Zelda BOTW, those were the only two Wii I games I even owned.

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Rich
1/5/2017 01:18:12 pm

Wii Sports?

Splatoon?

Arms?

They pretty much have a new IP with each console.

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DEAN
1/5/2017 01:47:06 pm

I don't particularly agree with that but it doesn't matter.
I look at it like buying a new album by your favourite band... something like that.

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Jareth Smith
2/5/2017 11:13:19 am

Right, because all those CoD and GTA clones on the PS4 and Xbox One are so original!

Nintendo use the same franchises but they innovate within the franchise. That's a bit different from simply regurgitating the same premise repeatedly. Plus, the vast majority of these "same game"s are met with critical acclaim; in other words, the games are brilliant. Just look at Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Be less lazy with your logic, dude.

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Owen L
1/5/2017 12:21:27 pm

While all the Mario Karts are great, I'm finding that each generation seems to be taking the series away from its roots established in the first game and towards a maximally accessible party racer. While on paper that sounds good—and is good from a purely casual perspective—to achieve that, it is becoming homogenised, generic, and on rails. The unique character and play style of the original isn't there anymore, and the game is a frustrating nightmare thanks to the repeated shitstorm of simultaneous weapon hits from every kart around you which can prevent you making any progress. It quite literally has become “random kart” just to cater for the lowest common denominator, and to maximise sales and profit from the IP.

I’ve always felt a good solution to this fun-killing problem for people who like a bit more depth to their Mario kart experience isn’t to simply return to the roots, but to correctly and fully cater for all audiences in a smarter way. Namely to design the game around your choice of play mode; in addition to modern generic party mode which is now the default, there should be a classic mode. Similarly so for the multiplayer offerings. It’s all very well to try new thigs, but the successful older things shouldn’t be jettisoned.

Same can be said of the Mario Party series. New stuff in 10 was great, but the older style of play was just dropped completely, even though it had fans, thereby making unnecessary resentment to the newer game style. Honour your audiences (note plural), Nintendo.

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Meatballs-me-branch-me-do
1/5/2017 11:35:39 pm

You mean you don't like riding around in the same fucking cart as the other players, making sure you experience everything together?

I look forward to Mario Party 11, which will be able to send notifications to your mummy's phone that you've finished and she can come wipe your bum-bum for you.

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mummy
2/5/2017 10:03:42 am

He was actually making the point that the increased amount of hand holding, in the form of rubber banding and laughably transparent 'balanced' item doling, has killed any sort of competitive edge the game has had, and made it a soft, toothless, pointless-for-anyone-but-children exercise. He is very much on the side of wiping his own arse

Jareth Smith
2/5/2017 11:10:29 am

I don't agree in the slightest. Mario Kart 8 is the masterpiece in the series, followed by the Wii version and SNES original. If you play the online races/tournaments with up to 12 expert players across the world, the "hand holding" isn't there at all. It's full on exhilaration, mayhem, and difficulty.

Deluxe is a goddamn work of genius and I'll be thumping hundreds of hours into it over the next few years.

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Waynan The Barbarian
1/5/2017 08:26:49 pm

The auto accelerate and smart steering can be turned off on the pause menu during a race. You're welcome Mr B.

Strange that Nintendo have chosen those settings as default but hey ho.

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Mr Biffo
1/5/2017 10:21:33 pm

Yes, yes yes... I know that NOW.

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Waynan The Barbarian
2/5/2017 12:21:00 pm

To be fair, it took me a Google search to find out how to do it as it's not exactly advertised in the options

Jareth Smith
2/5/2017 11:08:13 am

I'd already put 200+ hours into Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U - the game is just genius. Now I've spent all weekend on the Switch version. The minor updates are brilliant and add a new dimension. It really is just a celebration of what makes video games so wonderful. Perfection.

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Fancy Pants
2/5/2017 07:50:19 pm

As a veteran of the Wii U version I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the Switch version has noticeably superior graphics. I assume they have had a resolution bump and seem to have more in the way of effects as well. Tip - if your controller loses sync the audto accelerate etc is all turned back on once you resync.

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Q
3/5/2017 09:05:17 pm

Roffle!

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