“VIDEOGAME OF THE WEEK”
The game: New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Format: Nintendo Wii.
Estimated price, manufacturer: $59, Nintendo.
Category: Action, Platform.
Players: One-Four.
Recommended ages: “E” for everyone; age 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.
How the game works: New Super Mario Bros Wii is the latest and greatest 2D Super Mario Bros game, that now features 4-player co-op for the entire adventure! It’s about time Nintendo! The game brings the mean Koopalings and Bowser Jr together as Mario’s antagonists for the first time; journey through nine worlds dodging/defeating enemies, clearing fortresses and castles and collecting star coins to rescue, you know how again - Princess Peach from Bowser.
Mario, Luigi and two Toads are all playable characters, while many others from the Mushroom Kingdom make appearances throughout the game. Players can even ride different Yoshi characters (in green and yes even pink) and use their tongues to swallow enemies – or their fellow players. No not to eat them, but save them from danger.
In other areas, players use the motion abilities of the Wii Remote controller. The first player to reach a seesaw might make it tilt to help his or her character reach a higher platform – and then tilt it incorrectly just to mess with other players. New items include the propeller suit, which will shoot players high into the sky with just a shake of the Wii Remote and Mario’s new ability to transform into Penguin Mario.
The combination of cooperation and competition lets you pick each other up to save them from danger or toss them into it. At the end of each stage during the simultaneous multiplayer mode, players are ranked based on their score, the coins collected and the number of enemies defeated.
Good points, bad points: My daughter who tested with me loves the game because as she says, “the game combines the classic Mario gameplay with the new look on the Wii. But it looks easy, but the game has a lot of hidden tricks and features that never get old. The simultaneous multiplayer feature lets up to three friends join in on the fun in the same level, Cool huh! And who doesn’t love the classic sounds and music” We both agree, best Mario game ever.
The Verdict: As Mario would say “Here We Go,” the plump plumber is game king again.
NOTE: The Original “Video Game of the Week” Column ran from 1987-1999 (The Miami Herlad/Knight Wire; 1999-2009, various media. It’s now a featured (I was the creator of the column and at the time the only one of its kind in newspaper print and wire).
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