Mario Kart 8

There's a reason millions of video game players have invested in Mario Kart. It's a satisfying social racing game, highly enjoyable regardless whether you play solo or with friends.

There isn't a fleshed out leveling or ranking system to encourage continued online play. Those weaknesses don't take away from the incredible design on display here, but the game could only be better if they were improved upon.

Admittedly, its gorgeous graphics and jazzy orchestrated soundtrack bolster its presentation, but you’re getting a lot more than just looks with this one – although I spent an awful lot of time gawking at the details in slow-motion, the fast and furious pace of racing with friends both locally and online is what really kept me coming back.

The overall high quality of the game is so impressive that it doesn’t really matter that much that the zero-gravity gimmick barely adds anything that’s truly new. Next time around, though, Nintendo might need to come up with new tricks if it hopes to keep us coming back for more.

Mario Kart is one of my favorite franchises, but it's hard to get excited for the same old thing. But the more I played, the more I appreciated the many small changes, and grew to love my time in the Mushroom Kingdom. And now that yawn has changed to a shout of joy. It's more Mario Kart! I'm happy Nintendo still understands what makes this series so darn fun.

With the addition of new visual capabilities, stellar track design, and a continued slow march toward modern online functionality, this is the best the series has been since the GameCube era. If Mario Kart 8 is showing its age, it’s a spry octogenarian if I ever saw one.

And when the musical swell from Super Mario Galaxy’s Gusty Garden kicks in (aah, the goosebumps!), it does hammer home the fact that this game doesn’t offer anything unique of its own that sets it apart from other kart racers or even other games in the series. As a result, it’s very good--occasionally superb--but not quite exceptional.

I’ve played enough Mario Kart in my life to know that this is the best version of the venerable kart-racer since the Nintendo 64 era. While I never owned Mario Kart Double Dash, this game will prove even more fun for multiplayer-focused fans thanks to expanded online options. If you’ve fallen out of love with the series or you’ve gone without a Wii U this long, you should try for a photo finish at checkout.