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If there's one Nintendo franchise that can be counted on to deliver the goods time and again, it's Mario Kart. As perhaps the most iterative of its hallowed franchises, each new instalment further refines the formula in ways typically reserved for competitive fighting games. In this regard Mario Kart 8 is no exception and presents, in many ways, the most radical departure the series has seen in more than a decade. Tracks now twist and turn about in a gravity-defying WipEout/F-Zero manner while visual complexity is on a whole new level compared to previous offerings. But has Nintendo retained that oh-so-perfect balance between sharp, colourful visuals and a smooth, consistent frame-rate? Failing to nail down this aspect of the game could seriously hurt the experience and tarnish a near-perfect track record.That's not something we were worried about, of course. This is Nintendo, after all, which have become well-known for its ability to produce digital gold that surpasses the hardware limitations of the host platform. Last year we heaped praise upon Super Mario 3D World for delivering one of the most polished experiences in console gaming, and we expected to find the same thing here with Mario Kart 8. To a degree, this is true, but in looking closer at the game we've uncovered some unexpected surprises. While it's a beautiful game with phenomenal attention to detail, it's also one that doesn't quite match the impossibly high level of polish we've come to expect from Nintendo on Wii U.
Starting from the top, then, there has been a surprising amount of confusion surrounding the resolution of the game with some sources even suggesting a native 1080p presentation. We can finally put that rumour to rest right here and confirm that Mario Kart 8 instead operates at what is effectively the console's standard 1280x720. Of course, considering the quality of the visuals, this can hardly be considered a disappointment especially when other developers are struggling to hit 1080p consistently on more powerful hardware. What is surprising, however, is the complete omission of anti-aliasing in any form. At the very least, Nintendo has previously utilised a basic edge-smoothing algorithm across its Wii U titles and such a feature could have demonstrably improved image quality without a serious performance hit. As it stands, however, we're left with a heavily aliased presentation filled with obvious stair-stepping and pixel-crawling artefacts throughout most scenes. Busier areas can even result in a loss of detail to the point of reducing visibility.
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