New Super Mario Brothers

• May 30, 2007 • Comments (0)

Having recently bought a DS Lite, there was only really one series of games that I was interested in playing. The original Super Mario made Nintendo the giant that they are today and a new Super Mario on their Nintendo’s intuitive handheld system meant it was a must buy.

The game consists of the format and playability that anyone who has played a Mario game is familiar with. It’s very easy to pick up and play and enjoyable from start to finish. Consisting of 8 worlds with multiple levels and pathways through each, it becomes a game that is hard to complete 100%. The game introduces new forms, like Mini-Mario allowing the player to squeeze through gaps and the Mega Mushroom that makes a gigantic Mario for a short time, crushing the environment and monsters in his path. With each world providing different environments, it allows for a fresh experience throughout the game, that has a pleasant nostalgic feel to it.

It’s a far jump from the Mario of old in the looks department, with rich colours, interesting enemies and vibrant surroundings. The game is very nice to look at and play and all adds to a great experience. The player controls Mario on the top screen, while the bottom touch screen gives a bar for how far into the level the player is and a reserve slot which holds an extra item, which when touched saves Mario from death. The soundtrack is typical Mario, with funky tunes playing throughout the game.

The multiplayer is a solid experience, with a versus mode where Mario and Luigi battle it out for stars in a multiple of levels. As well as that, there are 20 minigames, all using the touch screen for complete control that can be played solo, or up to 4 players via wireless. This raises my main issue with the game. In the single player, the touch screen is barely used for anything, apart to view where you are in the map and how many of the star coins (3 per level, to unblock barricades for different routes) you have collected. I didn’t expect to control Mario by touch, but maybe a few more features could have been developed. Finally, once I completed the single player, as in from world 1 to 8, missing the hidden worlds of 4 and 7, I dabbled in the mini-games but that was it. It doesn’t really offer that much replayability.

The game is definitely a solid game and very fun to play, but it just that magical spark that the original Mario had that kept making me come back again and again.

Therefore, I'd have to give it a solid 7/10.

More information can be found on the official website here.