Nintendo's approach to DLC has been pretty much their same approach to other aspects of online gaming - slower then their competitors on the uptake, but seemingly they sit back and watch what is going on before putting their own slant on things. Mario Kart 8's DLC is chock full of content at a reasonable price.

The first of the two announced DLC packs (ignoring the Mercedes Benz one) has just been released, with the second pack releasing in May 2015. Both packs come with three new characters, two new cups (with eight tracks) and four new vehicles. If you buy both packs you also get eight new colour skins for Yoshi and Shy Guy.

The Legend of Zelda is the focus of the first pack, with Link as a playable character, a horse-shaped Master Kart and a Hyrule course. Bizarrely the other two characters are Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach rather than other Zelda characters. The titular princess seems like a weird oversight, and surely everyone wants to play as Tingle, right?

It is not only the Zelda series that gets some loving in this pack however, as F-Zero's Mute City is a playable track and the famous Blue Falcon kart joins the variety of vehicles at your disposal. While Nintendo fans have been yearning for a new F-Zero game for over a decade now, it seems for the time being we'll have to make do with it being sprinkled into other games.

With both the Zelda and F-Zero tracks Nintendo has paid real attention to detail and has been able to bring them into the mix well. The music manages to meld the source material with Mario Kart 8's own distinctive sound, while the tracks themselves contain charming little touches that are bound to please fans. For example, coins are replaced by rupees in the Zelda track and boost pads are replaced by yellow chevrons Mute City. Mario Kart 8's courses were full of great details to explore as you raced past and thankfully Nintendo hasn't tried to coast by for this expansion, providing the same level of detail.

The eight tracks contain a mixture of retro tracks (with the SNES Rainbow Road level bringing the number of colourful death-traps up to three) and new tracks. While the SNES Rainbow Road and Excitebike Arena feel flatter than their gravity-defying companions, Nintendo has still provided a solid range of tracks that are bound to extend the life of this ever-popular title. There are some weak points (Ice Ice Outpost's two intertwined tracks sounds good conceptually, but felt a bit lifeless) but they're offset by some very strong levels. Mute City and Hyrule Circuit will please fans, while Dragon Driftway is a beautiful Edo-inspired course with intricate attention to detail.

Fans seem to be keen on Link, if online races are anything to go by, and it seems that Nintendo might be testing the water. While only one other DLC pack has been announced for now, we could well end up getting more and more franchises on board as time goes by. Perhaps Nintendo has one eye on a 'Nintendo Kart' title, although the never-ending popularity of the Mario Kart franchise makes it tough to call.

The first DLC pack contains a great range of tracks and introduces two beloved Nintendo franchises to the mix. While we know the upcoming Animal Crossing pack will be made of the same ingredients, it's almost a shame the very lacklustre Battle mode isn't given some new tracks. Hopefully one day that will come, but that's not to discredit the great addition that can be found in this bargain bundle. Buying this is a no-brainer.