Game title: New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Console: Wii
Developer: Nintendo
Release date: November 15, 2009
Pregame:
Back in 2006, Nintendo released what was to be one of the most successful games on the DS: New Super Mario Bros. It took the 2D retro style of the first few Mario Bros. games and brought it back with new graphics for all-new levels, and a few new powerups were thrown in for good measure.
Three years later, Nintendo did the same for a Wii version of the game. New Super Mario Bros. Wii had the same flair, but different levels and it had some powerup changes, which allowed fans of the DS game to enjoy this one as well. It also brought four-player co-op to the stage, which makes a big difference. Mutliplayer was available for the DS version, but not in the same fashion, and each player would have to have a separate DS, of course.
Despite being released later, New Super Mario Bros. Wii seems to be the original game's big brother: it's larger, more in-depth and can start bigger trouble. As always, however, it must be judged on its own merits.
Play-by-play:
The hands-down biggest feature of this game is the four-player offline co-op. Players can choose from Mario, Luigi, and two different colored Toad characters to traverse this new 2D world full of old enemies all at once, sharing coin count and fighting over powerups.
This is a feature that's almost never offered in gaming today, especially without making the game split-screen, mainly because it's so hard to do without the players stepping on each other's toes all the time. New Super Mario Bros. Wii's solution: don't let them step on each other's toes, make them jump on each other's heads.
Players will drop their cohorts to their doom, and they'll do it often. It is not possible to walk past an ally, players must go over or under. Often, two players will try to jump over the same obstacle and one - accidentally or not - will end up knocking the other into it.
However, all is not lost. If the player on the losing side is quick enough, they can save themselves with a quick tap of the A button, which pops them into a protective bubble that will float along until another player pops it. In really tricky sections, one player tends to be alone while three float along for the ride.
The bubble is pretty much a free ride if you're about to die (for co-op, anyway). Falling into a pit? Bubble. Koopa shell rocketing at your face? Bubble. Lava wave? Bubble. Use the bubble and all is well, but if everyone panics and does so at the same time, the level ends and they'll have to try again. Thankfully, that doesn't cost any lives.
Lives themselves are ridiculously common if you're playing solo (or pretty good at the game in co-op), but running out of them is no big deal in multiplayer. Players have infininte continues that come at no penalty, but a continue count is kept for each character. The game is essentially shaming you into doing better. It's hard to say you're awesome at a game if you've had to continue 40 times.
However, if players lose their last lives all at the same time, they lose all their accumulated powerups - these can get pretty plentiful - and are sent back to either the current world's halfway point, if they've passed it, or its beginning. This will likely happen rarely enough that it's almsot never a problem for a co-op game.
While players will fight over powerups, there are plenty to go around (each block holding a powerup has one for each player), but it's easy to accidentally grab more than your fair share. The powerups themselves are a mix of old and new. Faithful standbys like mushrooms and fire flowers join newcomers like ice flowers, propeller mushrooms and penguin suits to give players the tools to tackle every challenge this game dishes out.
For the most part, this game can be played without motion controlls, if the player wishes. This can be done by playing without a Nunchuck and holding the Wiimote sideways like an old NES controller. However, certain actions, such as spinning the helicopter hat to fly, will require the user to shake the controller. That's about the extent of it, though, so the nostalgia factor is not totally lost.
If the player prefers to play with both a Wiimote and Nunchuck to traverse the varied worlds, that's always an option as well.
Along with perilous falls and tricky terrain, a slew of old enemies mix with new baddies to cause trouble for our moustached hero. The Hammer Bros and Koopa Troopas join Cooligans and Huckit Crabs to assail the players at every turn.
Why would Mario and friends want to go though all the game's dangers, though? What motivates them to climb mountains, swim seas and even traverse lava flows? I'll give you one guess.
Yep, you got it. Princess Peach has been captured by Bowser once again, and she can't be bothered to try to escape herself. Just like the old days, there's nothing to this plot; it's just an excuse for a game to exist in the first place. In classic fashion, the game's levels are broken up into themed worlds, and each world has a mini-boss castle halfway through and a world boss castle at the end.
As formulaic as that is, it works for this game because simplicity is the key here. Plot is unnecessary, only gameplay is important, and gameplay is done very well. The levels are fun, if overly easy, the new powerups play beautifully and nostalgia works its magic here.
Final call:
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a throwback to Mario's golden age in the best way. Its simple but fun style is easy for anyone to pick up and play, and they should. It is most fun to play in a group setting, despite the fact that this will actually make the game more difficult to survive, but single player is still a blast. Fair warning though: it may destroy fragile friendships.
Console: Wii
Developer: Nintendo
Release date: November 15, 2009
Pregame:
Three years later, Nintendo did the same for a Wii version of the game. New Super Mario Bros. Wii had the same flair, but different levels and it had some powerup changes, which allowed fans of the DS game to enjoy this one as well. It also brought four-player co-op to the stage, which makes a big difference. Mutliplayer was available for the DS version, but not in the same fashion, and each player would have to have a separate DS, of course.
Despite being released later, New Super Mario Bros. Wii seems to be the original game's big brother: it's larger, more in-depth and can start bigger trouble. As always, however, it must be judged on its own merits.
Play-by-play:
The hands-down biggest feature of this game is the four-player offline co-op. Players can choose from Mario, Luigi, and two different colored Toad characters to traverse this new 2D world full of old enemies all at once, sharing coin count and fighting over powerups.
This is a feature that's almost never offered in gaming today, especially without making the game split-screen, mainly because it's so hard to do without the players stepping on each other's toes all the time. New Super Mario Bros. Wii's solution: don't let them step on each other's toes, make them jump on each other's heads.
Players will drop their cohorts to their doom, and they'll do it often. It is not possible to walk past an ally, players must go over or under. Often, two players will try to jump over the same obstacle and one - accidentally or not - will end up knocking the other into it.
However, all is not lost. If the player on the losing side is quick enough, they can save themselves with a quick tap of the A button, which pops them into a protective bubble that will float along until another player pops it. In really tricky sections, one player tends to be alone while three float along for the ride.
Lives themselves are ridiculously common if you're playing solo (or pretty good at the game in co-op), but running out of them is no big deal in multiplayer. Players have infininte continues that come at no penalty, but a continue count is kept for each character. The game is essentially shaming you into doing better. It's hard to say you're awesome at a game if you've had to continue 40 times.
However, if players lose their last lives all at the same time, they lose all their accumulated powerups - these can get pretty plentiful - and are sent back to either the current world's halfway point, if they've passed it, or its beginning. This will likely happen rarely enough that it's almsot never a problem for a co-op game.
While players will fight over powerups, there are plenty to go around (each block holding a powerup has one for each player), but it's easy to accidentally grab more than your fair share. The powerups themselves are a mix of old and new. Faithful standbys like mushrooms and fire flowers join newcomers like ice flowers, propeller mushrooms and penguin suits to give players the tools to tackle every challenge this game dishes out.
For the most part, this game can be played without motion controlls, if the player wishes. This can be done by playing without a Nunchuck and holding the Wiimote sideways like an old NES controller. However, certain actions, such as spinning the helicopter hat to fly, will require the user to shake the controller. That's about the extent of it, though, so the nostalgia factor is not totally lost.
If the player prefers to play with both a Wiimote and Nunchuck to traverse the varied worlds, that's always an option as well.
Why would Mario and friends want to go though all the game's dangers, though? What motivates them to climb mountains, swim seas and even traverse lava flows? I'll give you one guess.
Yep, you got it. Princess Peach has been captured by Bowser once again, and she can't be bothered to try to escape herself. Just like the old days, there's nothing to this plot; it's just an excuse for a game to exist in the first place. In classic fashion, the game's levels are broken up into themed worlds, and each world has a mini-boss castle halfway through and a world boss castle at the end.
As formulaic as that is, it works for this game because simplicity is the key here. Plot is unnecessary, only gameplay is important, and gameplay is done very well. The levels are fun, if overly easy, the new powerups play beautifully and nostalgia works its magic here.
Final call:
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a throwback to Mario's golden age in the best way. Its simple but fun style is easy for anyone to pick up and play, and they should. It is most fun to play in a group setting, despite the fact that this will actually make the game more difficult to survive, but single player is still a blast. Fair warning though: it may destroy fragile friendships.
Ha you are right! I give up playing with Jake since he always manages to make me die even faster than I can do it on my own :) I love this game but am horrible at it. I like the giant power up on the ds and wish they had brought it to the wii as well but other than that, it is really fun. The multi-player does make it much harder and frustrates pretty much everyone but no one can seem to stop playing it.
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