DLC Review: Mario Kart 8 Pack 2

For my Review on Mario Kart 8, click here!
For my Review on the 1st DLC Pack, click here!

While the second pack of DLC for Mario Kart 8 debuted sometime last month (I don't remember, the month could be wrong), it only took me till just now to realize that we had it from pre-ordering both packs. So as such I spent some time with the 2 new cups along with the the other goodies this came with. This pack, much like the first, came with new stages, old revamped ones, characters and karts/bikes. Getting into them, the cups (Crossing and Bell) consisted of 2 classic courses and 2 brand new ones. You better believe F-Zero made a comeback with another iconic stage in Big Blue which I'll get into more down below. For reviewing this pack, I played through both cups in the 50cc Engine class.

Starting off with the Crossing Cup, everyone's favorite crazy stage Baby Park from Double Dash got remade with a ton of more gorgeous visuals as well as stretches being turned into zero-gravity areas. Cheese Land from the GBA entry also returned although to be quite honest I don't remember that level at all. The new stages included Wild Woods which you can glimpse on the left and a level based around Animal Crossing New Leaf. The latter one had you travel through various areas that can be found in your own town that you run in the game. From forest areas to the beach, there's even an appearance by everyone's helpful mole Mr. Resetti. If you remember when I discussed the Zelda stage how Nintendo went crazy with the references and cosmetic changes, that can be seen here. Although to be honest I thought the coins were going to be turned into bells. Unless they were?

The ending music to that stage also made me chuckle since it's the same theme heard when you visit Brewster for a cup of coffee. The Bell cup amped up the level intensity level with the 3DS course Neo Bowser City. Here you're racing through a cyber punk like city run by Bowser himself and I absolutely loved the visuals. Ribbon Road was very bright and colorful and I loved the Super Bell Subway course. There you basically traveled within a subway system that had varying branched off paths which took you through the underground.

For Big Blue, Nintendo did the same things with its Mute City course from the starting sound clip, to having the recovery pads be used to gather up coins. What I didn't expect was that the course's design was that of 3 different sections over 1 long stretch. The music was also very well done and I just love what they did with this new version of Big Blue's theme. There's also the fact that it's basically one giant water slide. The HD visuals are stunning and gorgeous and much like the first pack, you do get your money's worth. I didn't really try the different vehicles or characters but you get the Villager (Male or Female), Isabelle, and Dry Bowser.

Should you Buy this DLC?
Yes! Priced the same as the first, you get brand new tracks with gorgeous visuals and jam packed tracks. There's also the addition of the new 200cc Engine Class for those veterans looking for a real racing challenge!