Five Reasons You’re Buying a Wii U for Mario Kart 8

Upside down racing? Iggy Koopa? Gorgeous graphics? Sold!

Plenty of people want to buy a Wii U, but will hold off until Nintendo drops the price even further or a long-awaited game arrives. For many players, that game is Mario Kart 8. The newest edition to the franchise appears to be the biggest and most impressive yet.  System seller? You can bet your red turtle shell it is.

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Don’t fight the urge to free your wallet. Mario Kart 8 will make you splurge because…

Mario Kart Brings People Together, and Not in a Call of Duty Way 

 

Don’t get us wrong. Plenty of gamers frag each other in Call of Duty games and love every gun-firing second (us included), but Mario Kart is on a whole other level of user friendliness. Regardless of age and gender, just about everyone wants to get down with some Mario Kart.  Chalk that up to the games being ridiculously easy to understand and play. You don’t have to memorize complicated button presses or spend hours customizing a character.  You hit the gas and gun for first place while dropping banana peels along the track. A definite party pleaser for two or more.

You Can Drive Upside Down, Along the Walls and Fly

 

Early Mario Kart games were of the “putt, putt, putt” variety. Fun, but you kept the wheels firmly planted on the ground. That changes with Mario Kart 8. The introduction of hovercraft-like vehicles lets you literally drive up walls, and Nintendo designed a bunch of twisty tracks that’ll see you riding upside down. It’s one part F-Zero, one part Sonic the Hedgehog and several cups of Mario Kart rolled into one awesome-looking package. The thought of possibly getting motion sickness has never seemed so inviting; Mario Kart 7 fans will be happy to know that hang gliding returns.

It Looks Amazing, Easily the Prettiest Mario Kart Yet

The Wii U receives unwanted criticism for not being as powerful as Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and marginally better than Xbox 360 and PS3. That’s nuts, because Nintendo always manages to take full advantage of the hardware to produce some of the finest graphics at the highest resolutions. Naturally, Mario Kart 8 is no exception. Look at this beautiful game. Whether you’re whizzing through an airport under a summer sky or navigating your way past a course filled with tasty-looking desserts, this is without question one of most gorgeous titles you’ll see all year.

Psst, both it and the Wii U can be yours for roughly $50 less than a PS4.

So Many Awesome Characters

 

If you’re a longtime Mario Kart player, familiar faces like Mario, Yoshi and Princess Peach are no big surprise. Taking this a big step further, Nintendo added seven Koopalings (Bowser’s bratty kids) to the roster. This includes such ugly faces as Iggy, Larry and Lemmy joining an already star-studded cast of famous video game characters. Donkey Kong? Wario? Baby Mario? Heck, Baby Luigi? Let the video game nostalgia drip into your body.

Mario Kart 8 is a Complete Game 

 

For all we know, Nintendo may introduce new tracks and characters months after release, but for now, you don’t have to spend extra cash to upgrade your Mario Kart 8 experience. Everything’s on the disc, without pesky microtransactions preventing you from enjoying what this game has to offer.  Considering the opposite is true for many games these days, we strongly recommend going for what should be a great value that includes multiple control options, offline play and cool online community features that showcase 12-person races and the ability to share clips with the world.

Look for Mario Kart 8 this May! The Wii U, of course, is available now.

Tell us what you’re most looking forward to in Mario Kart 8.


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Prima Games Staff
The staff at Prima Games.