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"Mario Kart 8 DLC 2 (Wii U)"

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Mon 27/04/15 at 08:51
Moderator
"possibly impossible"
Posts: 24,985
Mario Kart 8 is the first of Nintendo's Kart racing series to dare to use DLC, something Nintendo themselves have really tried to stay away from until this generation.

However, it seems when Nintendo do something like DLC, they don't do it by halves. Well, they do, they split this DLC into 2 packages, but what I mean is that they don't just package up some second rate courses that could have been included with the main game.

While the first set of DLC focussed on Zelda for several of its courses and characters, the new set has an Animal Crossing theme. There are certainly enough fans of the series out there to get excited about this and on examination it seems to be the perfect match.

As with the last set, there are 4 new courses on offer in the Crossing cup and another 4 in the Bell cup. Most of these are from previous entries to the series. Baby Park is a basic style oval race course from the under-rated Gamecube Double Dash. There it was pretty basically designed but here it's a huge mario-centric theme park complete with those rocking boats flying over the track and roller coasters in the background. The simple track design makes for a super-fact pedal-to-the-metal race.

Cheese Land is as odd as the name suggests. I really don't remember playing this in Super Circuit, but here it's a brilliant homage to the yellow foodstuff. There are the dreaded chain chomps to deal with after landing a flying jump, which can be tricky to navigate and the whole course is very, very yellow. You can almost smell the cheese.

Neo Bowser City is a mashup of Fzero and Mario that appeared on the 3DS and Wii games and makes a welcome re-appearance here with its huge skyscrapers and underground tunnels. Ribbon Road is brilliantly designed on a kids bedroom. It may have been done before in games like Micro Machines, but as a Mario Kart track it works fantastically and there are plenty of nods to Nintendo toys to look out for in the background.

Super Bell Subway is a tight cornered race through an underground train station, and Big Blue is an F-Zero course re-created as a Mario Kart track, complete with power up strips and plenty of whizzy upside down parts. Pretty much something for everyone in these tracks, then.

Wild Wood is a deep forest track that has some wonderful scenery and a brilliant river that speeds your kart up as it floats down the rapids. Another long jump onto a small platform means that you'll need your wits about you in faster karts.

But the real star of the DLC show is the Animal Crossing track. It changes with the seasons and feels like 4 different tracks depending on whether you're getting the Autumn leaves, summer rays of sun or spring and winter seasonal weather. While the layout is pretty straight-forward, the scenery and interactive items (fruit and leaves) give you plenty of power-up opportunities.

Along with the tracks there are 2 new characters from Animal Crossing, the villager (which can be either boy or girl) and the lovely Isabelle, plus Dry Bowser and his cool new ride, the Bone Rattler. The City Tripper, P-Wing vehicles add to the feel of their respective courses, too.

Alongside the release of the 200cc karts, which completely change the way that the game plays, this new DLC pack, much like the one before it, add so much more than a bunch of new scenery to the game. Now if only other companies would sit up and take notice of the quality this DLC provides...

10/10
Tue 28/04/15 at 20:58
Regular
"And in last place.."
Posts: 2,054
I only really notice the track layout although tend to notice it a bit late at 200cc.

Whist I never took to the game, the track is certainly very Animal Crossing.
Tue 28/04/15 at 17:51
Moderator
"possibly impossible"
Posts: 24,985
But you have different power-ups, interactive items and different scenery in each season. Ok, it's the same track layout, but you know what I mean. Perhaps it's me just being an Animal Crossing fan. I did love seeing all the characters standing outside watching the race and the mash-up soundtrack.
Tue 28/04/15 at 16:10
Staff Moderator
"Show Me Your Moves"
Posts: 2,255
Agreed.

Even though ExciteBike has the same number of load-outs, they all feel different.
Tue 28/04/15 at 11:25
Regular
"And in last place.."
Posts: 2,054
I'm never one to bother with DLC but the Mario Kart DLC has been of high quality and great value.

I've seen it said in a few reviews but I still don't think the Animal Crossing track feels like 4 different courses with the seasonal changes. The visual change is nice but it still feels the same to me.
Mon 27/04/15 at 23:58
Moderator
"possibly impossible"
Posts: 24,985
Yeah, 200cc is the game changer but I wanted to focus on the tracks.

It's certainly a little too fast on some of the more winding tracks, though.
Mon 27/04/15 at 17:20
Regular
"And in last place.."
Posts: 2,054
Butch wrote:
though trying to '3 Star' everything on 200cc is slowly wearing me down...

I found it hard enough to do on 150cc and I've still to manage it on a few of the mirrored tracks.

Played 2 cups in 200cc and managed bronze and gold so far. With the gold I was practically on the finishing line when I got hit and that 1st place would have bagged the 3 stars.
Mon 27/04/15 at 16:16
Staff Moderator
"Show Me Your Moves"
Posts: 2,255
I think the greatest addition with this last update wasn't the extra tracks and DLC (though I love Bowser City) it was 200cc mode.

It makes the game completely mental, Excite Bike and Baby Park are properly manic, but this mode really shines on the two F-Zero tracks (and is probably the closest we will get to a new FZ game) especially with 10 coins when you git all the boosts.

As I've never played Animal Crossing, I wasn't as impressed with this pack as the first, but it was still well worth the money, though trying to '3 Star' everything on 200cc is slowly wearing me down...
Mon 27/04/15 at 08:51
Moderator
"possibly impossible"
Posts: 24,985
Mario Kart 8 is the first of Nintendo's Kart racing series to dare to use DLC, something Nintendo themselves have really tried to stay away from until this generation.

However, it seems when Nintendo do something like DLC, they don't do it by halves. Well, they do, they split this DLC into 2 packages, but what I mean is that they don't just package up some second rate courses that could have been included with the main game.

While the first set of DLC focussed on Zelda for several of its courses and characters, the new set has an Animal Crossing theme. There are certainly enough fans of the series out there to get excited about this and on examination it seems to be the perfect match.

As with the last set, there are 4 new courses on offer in the Crossing cup and another 4 in the Bell cup. Most of these are from previous entries to the series. Baby Park is a basic style oval race course from the under-rated Gamecube Double Dash. There it was pretty basically designed but here it's a huge mario-centric theme park complete with those rocking boats flying over the track and roller coasters in the background. The simple track design makes for a super-fact pedal-to-the-metal race.

Cheese Land is as odd as the name suggests. I really don't remember playing this in Super Circuit, but here it's a brilliant homage to the yellow foodstuff. There are the dreaded chain chomps to deal with after landing a flying jump, which can be tricky to navigate and the whole course is very, very yellow. You can almost smell the cheese.

Neo Bowser City is a mashup of Fzero and Mario that appeared on the 3DS and Wii games and makes a welcome re-appearance here with its huge skyscrapers and underground tunnels. Ribbon Road is brilliantly designed on a kids bedroom. It may have been done before in games like Micro Machines, but as a Mario Kart track it works fantastically and there are plenty of nods to Nintendo toys to look out for in the background.

Super Bell Subway is a tight cornered race through an underground train station, and Big Blue is an F-Zero course re-created as a Mario Kart track, complete with power up strips and plenty of whizzy upside down parts. Pretty much something for everyone in these tracks, then.

Wild Wood is a deep forest track that has some wonderful scenery and a brilliant river that speeds your kart up as it floats down the rapids. Another long jump onto a small platform means that you'll need your wits about you in faster karts.

But the real star of the DLC show is the Animal Crossing track. It changes with the seasons and feels like 4 different tracks depending on whether you're getting the Autumn leaves, summer rays of sun or spring and winter seasonal weather. While the layout is pretty straight-forward, the scenery and interactive items (fruit and leaves) give you plenty of power-up opportunities.

Along with the tracks there are 2 new characters from Animal Crossing, the villager (which can be either boy or girl) and the lovely Isabelle, plus Dry Bowser and his cool new ride, the Bone Rattler. The City Tripper, P-Wing vehicles add to the feel of their respective courses, too.

Alongside the release of the 200cc karts, which completely change the way that the game plays, this new DLC pack, much like the one before it, add so much more than a bunch of new scenery to the game. Now if only other companies would sit up and take notice of the quality this DLC provides...

10/10

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