New Super Mario Bros Wii

Review from Jae - Wednesday, 11 November 2009 @ 1:43am

Jae's thoughts

I was ready to like this game without even playing it. Just cause it was Mario. Truth be told I haven't finished a Mario game on the Wii. Though the one Mario title that I always come back to is Super Mario Bros on the DS. That game is a sweet 2D platformer which has been brought back to life on a portable system. The New Super Mario Bros takes this to a new level adding gameplay with 4 players simultaneously in the adventure mode. Mind you this is not a perfect multiplayer game, as the rest of the AG boys will tell you. You can easily get frustrated with each other when you're making it through a level. Your enjoyment in this game, in multiplayer co-op, will really depend on the people you play with and your willingness to put up with players that are just bad at playing platformers. Luckily I've played with mostly experienced gamers so we don't end up in fist fights before a level ends.

I do like the new synchro ground pound. If you and all your mates simultaneously pull off a ground pound it becomes a massive screen shattering blow that is the equivalent of a POW. It's a very hard move to pull off and is something that will come in handy especially if you're playing with just two players. I welcome the minimal use of motion control too, shaking the Wii remote up and down as well as tilting it left and right are all I would really want in a 2D game.

Everyone's excited look whilst playing Mario

The game does have this Super Mario Bros SNES feel to it. Many of the characters, level types and power ups stem from that era. There are some modes I wish they included in this game, perhaps more minigames like what was included in Mario 64 and Super Mario Bros on the DS. Those quick games were addictive and can easily be ported to a Wii mechanic. Also theres no Wii Connect 24 or online component to this game. Sure, online co-op is a bit of a stretch but leaderboards, ghost downloads or in game messaging might have been a nice touch. In this respect I find the game limited in what it has to offer.

I'm not sure what everyone is going on about with this Super Guide mode. I hadn't seen the function in this game at all so I had to look it up. A green "!" block appears if you die about 8 times in a row to allow you to see how best to complete a level. After completing the game I couldn't think back to a situation in which I would've had to use the Super Guide function, it really is for babies, but luckily it's not something that hinders your experience with the game.

Lastly this game can easily turn into a drinking aid. Yes I know Nintendo is all about the kids but seeing as its co-op 4 player you can punish your worse player by making them drink that three year old $20 vodka that has been sitting in your closet. Fun for your older kids but I'm sure the highschoolies can do the same thing except loser has to eat a loaf of fairy bread or whatever iSnack2.0 things you kids eat now a days.

Hammertime

I'm not really sure of my first impressions of the New Super Mario Bros game. You see, as Jae previously mentioned, his drinking game of making the loser of the co-op matches take a shot was in full swing. I happened to be on the end of most of these shots of courage, this is why my first sitting of the game is a little hazy.

For me adding the 4 player mode is what really makes the title stand out, by introducing this Nintendo have now turned everyone's favourite platformer into a type of party game. With 4 players on the screen it can get a little messy at times though when you don't know what you're doing. We found ourselves jumping on each-others heads, blocking jumps mid-air, or stealing all the power ups just for the “fun” of it. Once I found out that you could pick up the other characters and launch them into the nothingness at the bottom of the screen is where this game really turned around for me. In the battle modes I was now the prick focusing all my attention on seeing just how far Mario would fly if a blue headed mushroom man was to throw him.

From what i have seen so far, Nintendo have done a great job with this title, its fun and builds upon the previous games by adding the extra component of being able to play with a bunch of friends. We all know that the New Super Mario Bros Wii is going to sell eleventy billion copies, so make sure you're apart of that number and give the game a try.

Starks goes for 1-up

My first impression of this game was 'Woah, this is awesome! Very cool.' This was at the Nintendo Summer Launch I went to. The game played well, the multiplayer was fun and it harkened back to the golden age of gaming where Mario was top dog. I can now see that this first impression was in fact impaired by several cocktails, lots of gifts from Nintendo and the fact that of all the games in the Summer Launch, this was clearly the shining light for mine.

I hate to say it, but this game is… well, dated. The nostalgic trip is fun for only so long before you realise that 'Hey, I could load up my SNES right about now and play one of the original Super Mario Bros games and enjoy a gaming experience not only very similar, but probably more fun due to the better level design and the fact that they sort of perfected the game 20 years ago'. I guess my initial reason for liking this is that it would be as good a game as as the original SNES variant was. It's not. It just lacks that 'X' factor the predecessors held.

Also, there's not a lot 'New' about it, which means the name is a little misleading. Although I wasn't expecting much from the way of innovation, as they're trying to stay true to the formula - something I have no issue with in this case - but I did think that putting a 'New' before the 'Super Mario Bros' was not warranted. Super Mario Bros 5 (Which is actually what Wikipedia lists it as, surprisingly) or something like that has a better ring to it. And would be more accurate.

I did enjoy the game as it was fun ... for a while, but it wasn't addictive like the previous games were and still are. I spent a good four hours the other week playing SNES with a mate and it was great. We loved it, and would've kept playing if I didn't have to go pick up my Fiance' from work. This game is, well… when Jae, Luke, Joaby (from GameArena) and I were playing it, we eventually changed to play a different game after an hour. That should speak volumes about the game.

The game will probably sell more copies than the Paris Hilton's sex tape. If you choose to jump out and get it, don't expect it to be the same Mario. Personally, if you don't own Mario Galaxy, I'd suggest you buy that before the New Super Mario Bros. At least Galaxy holds that 'blow your mind' element to it. New Super Mario Bros doesn't hold a patch to Galaxy. Or, for that matter, any of the original Super Mario Bros.

Pros

It's Mario in his 2D glory, as platformers go this is solid.

Cons

Multiplayer can become frustrating real fast, lack of any modes or mini games outside of the main game.