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Poor Luigi; always the bridesmaid but never the bride. Or in this case, always a plumber but not that plumber. But now our put-upon underdog is stepping, well, jumping out of his brother Mario's colossal shadow in this Wii U-exclusive expansion pack, the imagintively titled New Super Luigi U.

While Nintendo's red hatted icon was obviously the star of New Super Mario Bros U, it's Luigi who takes centre stage in this revamped version of the game that existing owners can download or newbies can buy as a standalone package. The original's 82 levels remain 2D and highly buffed thanks to the Wii U's horsepower, but now reshuffled and tweaked to create a more hectic experience using Luigi's looser traction and longer jump ability.

And there's no time for dawdling - you now have only 100 seconds to cane it across each level to the flag post. It might sound like a simple change but coupled with Luigi's unique handling and the rejigged levels designed to exploit and test our underdog's abilities, the game offers a refreshing twist on the action plus a unique take on an old universe.

The game's story however remains the same - Bowser launches an attack on Princess Peach's castle, locks her up and flings everyone else miles away. Cue a mad dash to get to her before Bowser can... well, we're never quite sure, are we? It's not like they can settle down and have kids, right? But of course the glaring omission from the storyline is Mario himself, his presence only acknowledged by his cap lying on the banquet table at the beginning and other clues such as ice statues dedicated to his greatness.

You won't miss him though - you'll be too busy hurtling through stages or trying to snatch hard-to-get star coins. And dying. A lot. Fret not though - this game is forgiving in its own way with extra lives liberally sprinkled around each stage for you to find.

And it's all these elements - the new gameplay focus, the rejigged levels and a generous supply of lives - that makes New Super Luigi U shine. Maybe, just maybe our hapless Luigi can finally have his day in the sun. Now all we want to know is - where did he hide Mario's body?