New Super Mario Bros. U Wii U

Released on 30/11/2012

Mario and Luigi bounce onto Wii U in New Super Mario Bros. U!

The Super Mario Brothers make their HD debut as traditional Mario side-scrolling gameplay get a massive visual boost, some great new features and the chance to bring your Mii into the fun for the very first time!

Key Features of New Super Mario Bros. U on Wii U

• Explore new areas of the Mushroom Kingdom with one giant world map!
• Gain exciting new skills from Power Ups and Yoshis
• Exciting new multiplayer modes for you and your Miis
• Fun new gameplay using the Wii U Game Pad
• Play and share your Mario fun through the Miiverse

Mario, Luigi and Toad are back in a brand new adventure – in a brand new land! Bowser has changed his usual plans of kidnapping Princess Peach, and instead invades her castle, using a giant mechanical arm to toss our heroes far, far away. It's up to them to make their way home through this strange land in order to save the Princess.

This new land features a large, seamless world map, the first time such a map has appeared in a side-scrolling Mario Title in over 20 years! This map houses all the interconnected courses and worlds, letting you play them in the order you choose and offering the chance to find the hidden exits and shortcuts that can change the layout of the map!

The worlds may be new, but there are plenty of features that will be familiar to long-time players of Super Mario Bros, each with new and exciting twists! Power-Ups make a return, with some older ones offering new abilities – mini-mushrooms now let you run up walls! – while all-new Power-Ups include the Flying Squirrel Suit, giving Mario limited flight as he floats through the air.

Baby Yoshis of varying colours also return, with each different colour offering a different treat! Blue Yoshi spits bubbles that can trap your enemies, Yellow Yoshi can help light-up dark area, and Purple Yoshi will expand like a balloon and let you take to the air!

There's a new creature on the prowl, too – the Nabbit! The Nabbit has stolen things from Toad and it's up to you to, well, Nab him when you see him! He'll appear randomly throughout the game, and if you do manage to Nab him you'll also earn a powerful P-Acom which will fly you continuously through the rest of the stage.

The Wii U Game Pad brings something new to multiplayer games. Boost Mode is fun for up to five players – four using Wii Remotes to leap around as normal, and the fifth using the Game Pad to assist them by killing enemies, and moving blocks and creating platforms to get through tricky areas or grab hard to reach items. You can also switch game play from the TV to the Game Pad at any time and continue playing even when others are watching the TV.

New Super Mario Bros. U also offers host of new game modes. Some are single player, some multiplayer, and each adds a fun and exciting new twist to the traditional Mario gameplay. First up is Challenge Mode, which dares you to fulfil specific objectives like completing a level without touching the ground, without collecting a single coin, or within a certain time. There are four single-player Challenges – Time Attack, coin Collection, 1-Up Rally and Special, which offers all kinds of other challenges.

There are also Boost Mode Challenges for two players, one using the Game Pad, the other a Wii remote, introducing co-operative speed runs for the first time in the series. The player using the Game Pad can manipulate enemies and objects in real-time to find the fast route through any level.

Boost Rush is another new feature where speed is of the essence. The level will scroll automatically, getting faster as you collect your coins and pushing you to complete it as quickly as possible. Coin Battle is a fun mode for up to five players (one on the Game Pad, the others using Wii Remotes) competing to collect the most coins. The Game Pad can be used like in Boost Mode to get harder to reach coins and even block the paths of other players. It can also be used to customise the coin layout in these courses.

During the multiplayer modes, you can play as your Mii for the first time in a side-scrolling Mario adventure, but that's not the end of your Mii's interaction with the game. Through the Miiverse you can connect with other players, see their comments and accomplishments and leave your own feedback for others.

Downloadable copy of New Super Mario Bros U Available

Please Note: New Super Mario Bros U for Nintendo Wii U is 1.7 GB.
Check that you have enough space on your Nintendo Wii U to download and install this title.

• Mario, Mass Effect and Batman: Nintendo reveals Wii U line up

  Nintendo has rolled out details on the games planned for its upcoming Wii U console, and it seems there'll be something for everyone when the machine launches later this year.

  With comparable graphics and power to the current Xbox and PlayStation models, and with an iPad-style tablet controller, the Wii U has attracted a lot of interest from developers who avoided its less muscular predecessor. That'll be why Mass Effect 3 will debut on the system when it launches, alongside other hardcore treats such as a new "Armoured Edition" of Batman: Arkham City. Cult Japanese developer Platinum, responsible for games like Bayonetta and Vanquish, is working on an action-packed cartoon strategy game called P-100.

  The Nintendo faithful will be well served by the return of many beloved franchises, including the long awaited Pikmin 3, in which players control a crowd of cute miniature aliens in a puzzle-based adventure. There'll also be New Super Mario Bros U as well as Paper Mario: Sticker Star, which promises an innovative sticker-based combat system. There's also Game & Wario, a minigame compilation in the style of the awesome WarioWare.

  Nintendo Land, which has been dubbed the Wii U equivalent of Wii Sports, features numerous solo and multiplayer challenges based on classic Nintendo series. The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, Luigi's Ghost Mansion, Animal Crossing: Sweet Days, Donkey Kong's Crash Course and Takamaru's Ninja Castle are just some of the titles revealed.

  The Wii U is scheduled for launch at the end of 2012, with the aim of getting it on UK shelves in time for Christmas.

• Miyamoto would like to make a first-person shooter

  Cheery Nintendo man Shigeru Miyamoto is best known as the creator behind bright, family-friendly games such as Mario, Legend of Zelda and Nintendogs, but he's admitted that, if he had the time, he'd quite like to try his hand at a first-person shooter.

  "I actually do kind of want to make a first-person shooter but I don't have time," Miyamoto revealed in an interview with Kotaku. "Having that 3D space that in theory you are in and being able to look around and explore that, particularly being able to do that in conjunction with another person, is very interesting."

  He's even given some thought as to how the genre could work on the upcoming Wii U to create a fully immersive 360 degree experience using the console's touchscreen game pad controller. "If you're playing a first-person shooter and you have the game up on the television screen and you have your subscreen below, within that game world you're able to turn in all directions around you. Obviously that would be very fun," Miyamoto explained. "If you have two people doing that in the same room, that could create a very fun and unique gameplay experience."

  The Wii U launches later this year in Japan, with Miyamoto's Pikmin 3 slated to be one of the leading launch titles.
  

• New Super Mario Bros. U - Preview

  
  

  

  Good Old Mario

  'Good Old Super Mario Bros. U' might be a more apt name for Nintendo's first Wii U Mario game, if our early impressions are anything to go by. Don't get us wrong, the title looks set to feature all the charm and delightful platform gameplay Nintendo and its chubby mascot have become synonymous with over the last few decades, but much of the gameplay just doesn't feel very new - not at this stage anyway.

  The few levels shown off to date offer more of the tried and tested 2D side-scrolling gameplay we've become accustomed to in recent years through the New Super Mario Bros titles for Wii and DS. As ever, Mario's platforming physics are perfectly tuned, with the plump plumber's easily controllable weight and momentum making it a joy to bounce through green and rocky Mushroom Kingdom environments, and to manoeuvre across rotating stars acting as platforms against the stunning backdrop of a starry night sky - perhaps the most immediate difference to past games in the series is the crisp high definition visuals offered by Nintendo's new console, which is a welcome first for the long-running franchise.

  

  Up to five people can now play the game simultaneously, with four leaping around the level using sideways-turned Wii Remotes and another tapping the Wii U GamePad's touch screen to kill enemies or place blocks in the game world to make platforms. There's a limit to the number of blocks you can create and they disappear after a set time, but you can still have a substantial impact on proceedings. You can assist friends by blocking off deadly chasms or building a pathway into the sky to reach hidden objects, or, more mischievously, you can punish cocky players by blocking pathways and covering the entrances to pipes. It's a cool addition, but gameplay-wise, the person with the GamePad appears to be getting the short straw at the moment, which doesn't seem like an ideal way to introduce a new controller.

  Power-Ups

  New Super Mario Bros. U will introduce a number of new power-ups to assist players throughout the adventure. While most of them are being kept under wraps for now, the Squirrel Suit gives Mario a single shot of altitude before he glides back to Earth, providing alternative ways to scale structures, approach enemies and attain hard to reach collectibles.

  

  Various baby Yoshis lying around levels have special powers too. Grab a blue one and he'll spit out enemy-trapping bubbles, while yellow ones help illuminate dark stages. Purple Yoshis enable you to launch Mario into the sky, much like the Squirrel suit, but the difference here is that you can keep tapping jump to get more boosts of height before your little dinosaur friend runs out of puff and deflates.

  Overall, New Super Mario Bros. U feels like a fairly safe Wii U launch game for Nintendo, at least from the experiences we've had with an early version of the title consisting of three levels. Nevertheless, we're sure the company has plenty of exciting surprises lined up to be revealed in the run-up to release, and even if that wasn't the case, the game being just a slight improvement on the excellent New Super Mario Bros Wii would be a major treat.

  Published: 12/07/2012

• New Super Mario Bros. U - Preview

  
  

  

  The U's Brothers

  Every Nintendo console must launch with a Mario game, and the Wii U certainly won't be an exception: when the eccentric machine finally lands later this year, it'll be doing so with New Super Mario Bros. U, an extension of the 2D series that's now becoming so familiar that its prefix feels a little disingenuous.

  But it's hard to be cynical about a return to the Mushroom Kingdom, not to mention unwise - the formula may be well-worn, but part of its appeal is seeing how Nintendo manages to breath new life into it with each retelling.

  And when it comes to launching a console, an even bigger part of the appeal of a Mario game is seeing how new concepts and new hardware are explored and explained through the mascot, a thrill we've had before with the brilliant parallaxes of Super Mario World, the 3D of Super Mario 64 and the giddy invention of Super Mario Galaxy.

  New Super Mario Bros. Wii U faces up to a stiff legacy, then, and it's got the tough order of trying to explain one of Nintendo's odder hardware concepts. The Wii U's GamePad is put to good use, and is utilized in several smart and pleasing ways.

  

  Plumb Jam

  First off it's home to one of the more abstract promises of the Wii U, asynchronous multiplayer (not the kind of thing we'd imagine being sprawled on the back of the box, and certainly not the kind of thing we'd imagine the millions that were wooed by the Wii are going to get all sweaty about). It's a complex name for a simple concept, really: while up to four players can play with Wii remotes, one can use the GamePad to orchestrate a little chaos, placing platforms that will either help or hinder the other players.

  It's smart and cute, and inspires the kind of friendly living-room rivalry that the Wii U's been designed to create. The GamePad's other real use is just as smart, and a little more breathtaking too; it's possible to play the game using the Pad's screen alone, untethering you from the television and giving you the freedom that the Wii Us's also been designed to foster.

  As a proof of concept for what the Wii U allows it's a success: there's no perceptible lag in the play, and the second screen acquits itself well thanks to a well defined palette and a pleasantly crisp resolution.

  

  Super Vision

  It's impressive, for sure, but the real treat of New Super Mario Bros. Wii U is seeing the Mushroom Kingdom being rendered in HD for the very first time, and the world of crayon colours and gentle imagination all look breathtaking when viewed in 720p.

  And what of the game itself? It's Mario, of course, so it hardly needs explaining - there's the trademark level of thought and craft that's been placed in the design and lends an effortless air to its action, and it's been boosted by a couple of extra features. The squirrel suit is an excellent riff on the tanooki suit of old, allowing Mario to glide through threads of coins.

  New Super Mario Bros. Wii U is traditional, for sure, and for all of its innovations it doesn't quite seem to have the inventiveness that marked out the likes of Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy. What it does have, though, is pedigree, and it's a proven product that's likely to be one of the must-have titles when the Wii U finally launches.

• Everything you need to know about the Wii U launch

  Nintendo's new console, the Wii U, launches in the UK from November 30th and you can secure yours now from GAME from just £259.

  The console comes in two different packages. The basic edition comes with the 8Gb White Wii U console and the new touchscreen gamepad controller. It'll work with existing Wii remotes as well as the Wii sensor bar. If you don't have those, you can buy them separately in a starter pack.

  Alternatively you can opt for the premium black console, for £309.99. This comes with a 32Gb console and gamepad, plus a sensor bar, HDMI cable and membership of Nintendo's Premium Network which will allow you to earn points every time you buy Wii U software. The premium bundle also includes a copy of Nintendo Land, a cool minigame compilation featuring dozens of classic Nintendo stars.

  Finally, if minigames aren't your thing, check out the £349.99 ZombiU bundle with comes with a copy of Ubisoft's grisly horror game as well as a Pro Controller joypad.

  What else can you pick up on launch day? Seven games will be on the shelves, with loads more to follow in the following months. NintendoLand and ZombiU will be available as standalone games, of course, and no Nintendo console would be complete without a Mario game, so make room for New Super Mario Bros U. Platform fans can also look forward to the fantastic Rayman Legends, the sequel to the wonderful Rayman Origins and a Wii U exclusive. Those with a more hardcore mindset, meanwhile, will be able to take home Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, FIFA 13 and Mass Effect 3: Special Edition on launch day.

  If, for some reason, that doesn't keep you busy then the coming months will bring dozens more titles, including Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition, Transformers Prime, 007 Legends, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Assassin's Creed III, Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition and Darksiders II.

  Published: 14/09/2012

• Nintendo's Wii U will be region locked

  Bad news for anyone thinking of importing a Wii U console from America or Japan. Nintendo has confirmed that the console will be region locked, meaning that it will only play games from the region it was purchased in.

  This doesn't come as much of a surprise, given that the Wii, 3DS and DS have all been strictly limited to local software in order to cut down on importers bagging games early and cheaply.

  It does, however, mean that demand for the UK console will be higher than ever. The Wii U, which uses a new touch pad controller as well as the Wii remote, launches on November 30th in a variety of bundles. The basic console comes with 8Gb of storage and can be picked up for £259.99. The premium console, with 32Gb of storage and a copy of NintendoLand, is just £309.99.

  For the truly hardcore, the ZombiU bundle includes the premium console plus a Pro Controller joypad and a copy of Ubisoft's grisly horror game, ZombiU. All premium bundles also include a subscription to Nintendo Premium, which will allow you to earn points whenever you buy new games.

  The Wii U launches with a mouth watering line up of games. New Super Mario Bros U and Rayman Legends arrive on the same day, as well as touch pad enhanced versions of Mass Effect 3, Batman: Arkham City and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

  That's Christmas sorted then.

  Published: 25/09/2012

• Review Roundup: New Super Mario Bros U

  The Wii U launches in America this weekend, which means we're starting to get the first reactions to the console's launch games. First off the blocks is Nintendo's new Mario game, New Super Mario Bros U.

  The good news is that reviews are all overwhelmingly positive, with reviewers bowled over by the game's simple charms and confident design. Many also point out that the retro-themed side-scrolling jumping action marks a welcome return to classic 2D gameplay styles.

  New Super Mario Bros U "demonstrates there's not just life left in this type of game, but that it can be modern and nostalgic at the same time", according to IGN's 9.1/10 review. "This is how Mario can and will appeal to everyone," it concludes.

  Polygon offers 8.5/10, and praises the game for staying true to the series NES and SNES roots. "New Super Mario Bros. U actually feels like it's from that era," says their review. "It's where the series would have gone next if the transition to 3D had never happened, and it feels great to be back on that track."

  Eurogamer, meanwhile, also agrees that the game finally makes good on the New Super Mario Bros promise. "There's always been a keen Mario brain working away inside these 2D design exercises", says the 9/10 review, "Now, it feels like there's a proper soul to go along with it."

  Published: 16/11/2012

• New Super Mario Bros. U - Review

  
  

  

  It's A-Me!

  It wouldn't feel like a proper Nintendo console launch without a little bit of Super Mario. The tubby plumber's the company's greatest mascot - and its most dependable hero.

  For the Wii U, he's turned in a typically stellar performance, too. New Super Mario Bros. U may not be the most exciting name for a platforming adventure, but this is still a wonderful, generous, and endlessly surprising game. If you're picking up a Wii U on launch day, you won't be at all sorry if you grab this as well.

  Map To The Stars

  At its heart, Mario's latest adventure continues the trend laid down by other New Super Mario Bros titles by ditching 3D environments in favour of old-school two-dimensional left-to-right running and jumping. Its lengthy campaign is carved up into little courses, and this time each course is scattered across a massive world map - a map that hasn't been seen since the days of Super Mario World back in the 1990s.

  

  The world map is littered with wonderful secrets to track down, and puzzly Toad Houses in which you can play mini-games to earn a few extra lives or power-ups as you move around. It's built for exploration, and it's also home to some of the best 2D Mario stages you'll have seen in years: levels where ledges float high in the sky, levels lurking deep under the ground in seismic multi-coloured caverns, and levels set in good old spooky haunted mansions where doorways melt away as you approach, and the floors and walls cannot be trusted.

  It really is a massive campaign, and it finds plenty of room to introduce a few new tricks as it heads towards its conclusion - tricks like an all-new power-up called the Flying Squirrel suit. The Flying Squirrel allows Mario to float gently to the ground after a jump, and even cling to walls on his descent. He can also get a sudden blast of height, lofting him high into the sky to reach some of those trickiest of platforms.

  That's not the only new element by a long shot, of course. The Wii U's a high definition console, meaning Mario and his friends will look lovely and crisp and sharp on an HD television. The added processing power of the new kit means there's an awful lot more action taking place on the screen, too, and it all looks gorgeous.

  

  Saving The Boost 'Till Last

  The Wii U's Game Pad also offers some brilliant innovations of its own, of course, allowing up to five players to enjoy the frantic platforming action at once. While four players will control Mario, Luigi, and a couple of extra Toad characters using the Wii's old Remote handsets, the player with the Game Pad can access Boost Mode. This means that, instead of playing through the game as a character, they can tap the pad's vibrant full-colour touchscreen to either stun enemies or place new platforms to help - and sometimes hinder - their friends.

  Boost Mode works brilliantly when it comes to bringing new life to the main campaign, and it also shocks a series of clever side modes into action too. There are straight-up challenge stages, which encourage you to race through the game as fast as possible, or perhaps play while bouncing over enemies without touching the ground. Then there's Coin Battle, which sees players trying to collect more of Mario's famous gold coins than their friends before the level comes to an end. Finally - and best of all - there's Boost Rush, where levels auto-scroll and each collected coin makes the pace of the game increase. It's wild and bewildering stuff at first, but the controls throughout are as refined as you'd expect from a Nintendo title.

  It's a lovely package, all things considered, and the perfect high-colour complement to a scarier game like ZombiU on launch day. Super Mario's back at his platforming best, then, and in his Wii U debut, he's helped create a game that shows the console - and its fabulous new Game Pad - off to the full. New Super Mario Bros. U is not to be missed!

  GAME's Verdict

  The Good:

  • Brilliant HD visuals
  • A massive campaign
  • Great multiplayer

  The Bad:

  • No online multiplayer
  • Where's Super Mario Galaxy 3?
  • Why can't we play as Bowser?

  
  

  Published: 21/11/2012

• Editor's Choice - Pick of the Wii U Launch Titles

  
  

  

  
  
  

  

  Go on, admit it - we've all been sitting here drumming our fingers impatiently, waiting for the eighth generation of consoles to arrive. Both SONY and Microsoft have been biding their time, though, enjoying an extended run of six years for their current gen instead of the usual 3-4.

  It's fallen on Nintendo then to step up and release the 'latest spangly must-have', the Wii U that features some serious horsepower, HD capabilities and most intriguing of all, the innovative Game Pad, a tablet-like controller rich with potential for intriguing new gameplay possibilities. If you're lucky enough to snare a Wii U on its launch, the killer question is - what games should you actually get for it? Here are our recommendations:

  

  Nintendo Land

  The Wii had Wii Sports; the Wii U has Nintendo Land, a collection of 12 mini-games featuring an eclectic bunch of attractions. From multiplayer ghost hunts through to a Metroid-flavoured shooter, the package offers up the perfect showcase for the Game Pad's mass of features; its touchscreen, camera, gyroscope, microphone, joysticks and buttons all coming into play at some point. Think of Nintendo Land as a crash course in what makes the Wii U, well, the Wii U. In other words, a mandatory purchase and one best played with a bunch of friends.

  

  New Super Mario Bros. U

  It's a new Nintendo console so that's means the portly plumber is back, but this time in HD. No, there's none of the 3D awesomeness of Super Mario Galaxy, but what gamers do get is a refreshed and reinvigorated 2D extravaganza featuring classic Mario action mated to truly gorgeous graphics. Best of all, if the rest of the family insist on watching B-list celebs dancing or eating a kangaroo's private parts on telly, you can keep on playing via the Game Pad's screen itself.

  

  ZombiU

  We reckon ZombiU is the most intriguing of all the Wii U's launch titles mainly because it's so 'unNintendo'; a hardcore survival horror FPS, there's no candy-floss game worlds or cute 'ickle ghosts. No, just the living dead that want to suck the intestines out of your body like spaghetti out of a bowl. Set in London after a plague that... well, you can guess the basic plot... you must survive, heading out on missions to amass all-important supplies while fending off zombie attacks. The Game Pad adds a colon-quaking twist, acting as a second screen featuring the contents of your onscreen character's holdall; something that you must 'rummage' through live while zombies close in all around you up on the main screen. Clever, unique and scary stuff.

  

  Batman: Arkham City - Armoured Edition

  Now Nintendo's brought out a console with HD graphics and some serious hardware packed inside its diminutive shell, players are able to indulge in the kind of processor-hungry triple-A action that would have left the original Wii clutching at its chest, begging for heart surgery. Head out as the Caped Crusader (with Robin and Catwoman in tow) swinging through Arkham City on the trail of iconic villains including the brilliantly-realised Penguin and the perfectly-voiced Joker. One of the decade's best releases, this version features all the extra DLC plus Game Pad-specific gameplay additions (Holy earpiece, Batman!). A-bat-solutely essential! [You're fired - Ed]

  Published: 29/11/2012

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