Alright Nintendo, you got me and I'll admit to it. As some of you may know, the latest in the Mario franchise: New Super Mario Bros Wii debuted on Sunday(which is a really strange day for a game release in my opinion, but we're not here to talk about that).
New Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo Wii is an extremely fun game, and a worthy addition to the somewhat recently diluted Mario franchise(this is looking at you Super Mario Galaxy). Originally thought of as a port of the DS game, many fans didn't seem too excited to see this at E3 '09. I also had my doubts because of the heavy focus on multiplayer, which in most Mario titles are but this game specifically has 4 players(Mario, Luigi, and two Toad characters) simultaneously playing at the same time. I believed that at the time I dubbed it Mario: Four Swords(parodying the Zelda: Four Swords Adventure title), which to me didn't seem like it was in the wrong at all, I mean when you give 4 people(friends hopefully)the opportunity to work together one of two things inevitably happen: 1)everyone starts the game all happy and nice, but then it eventually degenrates into fighting amongst yourselves for the coins(any type of currency), or power-ups, and no one want to cooperate because not everyone is of the same skill level. 2)Everyone ends up having a good time regardless of what happens. In most cases the former happens more often than the latter, usually ending friendships too.
In this particular case however I was wrong, after having obtained a copy of it for myself I must say that NSMBW(New Super Mario Bros Wii)is probably the most fun/entertaining gaming experience I've had in a while! I would go so far as to say that It's encouraged that everyone plays this one with friends because it would be too boring alone. My roommates and I took it for a test run and we've just reached the start of the 4th world(after many ridiculous deaths and much laughter at one another).
NSMBW is very heavily influenced by Super Mario Bros 3(probably the best and most awesome Mario entry for the NES)with It's world structure which if you remember is much like a game board. A few things that return are the mushroom houses, and simple control scheme which involves using the Wiimote horizontally like a classic NES controller(D-Pad and two button interface). Yoshi, makes a return and is treated much like It's Super Mario World counter-part. Your main antagonists in NSMBW are none other than the Koopa Kids whom haven't been seen(at least by me)since SMB3, and Baby Bowser.
Level structure also brings back a feeling of nostalgia by recreating specific themes and types of gameplay from many of the classic Mario titles. Some new things added into the mix are a bunch of new power-ups(which I don't know the official name of so we just made some names up off the top of our heads): Freezie Flower, Propeller Suit, and Penguin Suit! Music which is usually a driving force behind the Mario games seems somewhat bland this time around(I've only heard about 4 songs so far), It appears to just be there for background since you won't be paying much attention to it anyway.
If I'd have to make an estimate, NSMBW would be around 7-10 hours of gameplay with a ridiculous amount of replay value. With 8 worlds to explore, each carrying their own little secrets you'll be playing this one for a very long time. It caters to the gamers who crave the feeling of nostalgia, and for newcomers who just want to dive into the fun of a classic Mario game with a fresh spin on it!
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