Reviews

Multi-player Mario

There's nothing quite so special, for the videogame connoisseur, as the release of a new Mario game. Sure, us die-hard Mazzer fans have had our hearts broken a few times, and our high expectations have been dashed against the rocks of disappointment more often than we would like. But we're not going to list all the Mario games we've been upset by for fear that Nintendo will send round the Hammer Brothers to bash our heads in. No, let's just concentrate on what we have in front of us, and that's a brand new 2D Mario game that distinguishes itself through its multi-player options.

Following in the footsteps of New Super Mario Bros. on DS, NSMB Wii is essentially a 2D platform game but with characters rendered in polygonal 3D. The plot is spectacularly unoriginal, featuring, as it does, the kidnap of Princess Peach by Bowser and the subsequent efforts of the Mario boys to rescue her. This lack of original storytelling, however, is understandable because NSMB Wii regularly harks back to previous Mario games, something we'll return to shortly.

Easy Peasy

As far as the basic gameplay goes there are few surprises here. It is, for the most part a traditional Mario title set over eight worlds with platforms, obstacles enemies and the like. However, if you're an old-school fan of Mario games, you'll find the insanely difficult challenges found in Super Mario Brothers 3 or Super Mario World largely absent. This is Mario-lite, but this is perhaps more to do with opening up the game to a wider audience through the multi-player options than a desire to dumb things down.

New Super Mario Brothers Wii's unique selling point, you see, is its multi-player mode. For the first time in a Mario platformer up to four players can play at once, taking control of Mario, Luigi and the two Toads. If you're feeling in a good mood you can play cooperatively, helping each other through the levels by rescuing the other player, or moving an object to their advantage. If there are scores to be settled, players can take part competitively and attempt to increase their ranking by putting their opponents in the path of danger.

Propellor Head

New Super Mario Bros Wii boasts other new features, too. There's a propellor suit which enables players to hover and fly with the shake of the Wii remote and they can even pick up their friends and fly them to safety if they so wish. Mario also has a new Penguin suit. When activated, Penguin Mario can fire ice balls and slide around the levels at high speed on his belly. There are also Yoshi's available that players can ride on. Another neat innovation is the dynamic help system which enables players who are stuck to see how a level should be completed.

While this is a new game, there are plenty of references to the classics, including Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros 3 as we've already mentioned. These nods to the past come in the form of level design that harks back to classic bits of various games. So, for example, there's an airship like the ones found in SMB3 and annoying Kooperling mini bosses. These levels and challenges are nothing like as tough as the originals, but it's still good to see some old favourites.

How much you enjoy New Super Mario Bros Wii depends on how you feel about the older games in the series, but whatever your view, there's no doubting Nintendo's determination to keep pushing the franchise in different directions.

GAME's Verdict

• Looks nice.
• Classic format.
• Multi-player fun.
• Cooperative or competitive play.
• New suits.

• A bit easy for a Mario game.

Review by: Simon 'Yoshi Botherer' Kirrane
Version Tested: Wii
Review Published: 18.11.09