Any Mario Kart game will provide a solid local multiplayer experience, but in our eyes Mario Kart 8 stands tall above all of them. It's by far the most balanced game in the series, tweaking its established formula to perfection while addressing many issues fans have been complaining about for years. The most pivotal being that you can finally counter the blue shell! It still has the power to ruin your perfect race on the final bloody straight, but if you have a turbo mushroom or a super horn it will do nothing to impede your victory. Speaking of items, there are several new additions that will most likely become fan favourites. The Flower Boomerang will return to you after you've fired it, meaning that even if you miss your initial shot you can still manage to hit someone if you line up behind them before it gets back to you. Cheeky! And let's not forget the Piranha Flower that casually munches on anyone that's close to you and the Crazy Eight that gives you a whopping eight items for the price of one! It also has a fantastic selection of courses. Classics like the much-loved Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64 have been touched up to incorporate the game's awesome anti-gravity and gliding mechanics, while new ones like Mount Wario are some of best the series has ever produced. The changes in the old courses will surprise you, but the new ones will most likely blow your socks off with their creativity. Kart customisations from Mario Kart 7 have also carried over, giving obsessive-compulsives a new way to annoy their friends as they spend an unnecessary amount of time combining different parts to make the best kart possible. We just want to race, damnit! There's no contest that Mario Kart 8 offers the best local multiplayer around today. The new items, customisation options and fantastic courses combined with the polished, beautiful HD visuals create a melting pot of awesome that's hard to look away from. Sure, you could play it online, but do all of your friends have a Wii U and a copy of the game? Yeah, we didn't think so. Did we miss any of your favourite games out? Or do you think that local multiplayer should go the way of the Dodo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
