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Amazon.com Product Description
Developers at Nintendo have dreamed of creating a simultaneous multiplayer Super Mario Bros. game for decades. The Wii console finally makes that dream come true for everyone with New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Supporting 2-4 players in side-scrolling co-op and competitive platforming action, and featuring a mix of fan favorites and new characters, new powerups and various input options via the Wii Remote, it is destined to become an instant classic in one of the most beloved game franchises of all-time.
Co-op/competitive simultaneous multiplayer..
Classic environments with a twist..
Wacky new powerups. GameplayNew Super Mario Bros. Wii, like all the previous releases in the Super Mario Bros. franchise is a side-scrolling platforming game where players collect coins as they attempt to make their way through progressively more difficult game levels using their ability to time jumps over obstacles and avoid a slew of enemies. But although the game contain several well-deserved nods to previous games in the series in the form of iconic characters like Mario, Luigi and two Toads, as well as familiar enemies, sound effects and levels, it is not simply another trip down Mario Bros. memory lane. Taking advantage of the flexibility and power of the Wii and Wii Remote, New Super Mario Bros. Wii manages to preserve the retro experience that fans love about the series, while adding new game features. Notable additions among these include, expansive play levels and new powerups and characters, but by far the most important, and in fact game-defining new feature is simultaneous multiplayer.
A Franchise First: Simultaneous MultiplayerSince the very first Super Mario Bros. game took the world by storm in the late 1980s gamers anxious to get into the action have patiently and impatiently waited their turn as the infamous 'player 2.' Those days are no more. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii players can now navigate the side-scrolling worlds alone as before or invite up to three others to join them at the same time, on the same level, at any point in the game for competitive and cooperative multiplayer fun. With the multiplayer mode, the newest installment of the most popular video game franchise is designed to bring yet another type of family entertainment into living rooms and engage groups of friends in fast-paced Super Mario Bros. fun.
Controller Choices Via the Wii RemoteIn another nod to the series' Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) roots, the Wii Remote controller used with New Super Mario Bros. Wii is held sideways, allowing for easy, classic inputs using the D-pad to direct playable characters, the 1 button to jump and 2 button to spit out projectiles like snowballs and fireballs. In addition, players can access powerups with their choice of either the push of a button, or by shaking the Wii remote, again demonstrating the perfect merging of classic gameplay and modern game design which is New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Key Game Features
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
I have been playing video games since the Atari 2600, and was a kid during the Nintendo Entertainment System era. Some of my fondest memories involve one iconic set of characters: Mario, Luigi, Toadstool, and Princess Peach. Over the years, games have changed (some changes for the good, and others...not so much), but I love that the Mario series have stayed true to their roots. Every Mario game that I can think of has stood the test of time, and has served as a model to countless other games. However, despite being one of the best game franchises around, one component was always missing: multiplayer. Sure, previous SMB games had a "2 player" option, but all you were able to do was pass around the same joystick, or take turns using 2 joysticks. The idea of 2 characters on screen at the same time seemed strangely impossible for these games... and why Nintendo wasn't able to make this happen sooner than 2009 boggles the mind. But, having spent 7 or 8 hours playing New Super Mario Bros yesterday, I don't care why or how they were able to finally do it...because this game is an absolute blast to play!
As soon as the game starts, you start to get an idea of just how great this game is going to be... especially if you have played Super Mario games before (and cmon...who hasn't?!?). Everything looks very familiar, but in a good way. The game really feels like they took some of the best ideas, bosses, levels, and music from each of the Mario games and retooled them for NSMB Wii (New Super Mario Bros Wii). In fact, it feels mostly like Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros 3 rolled into one, with a little bit of Super Mario Galaxy thrown in as well... and that, my friends, is an AWESOME combination! Like I mentioned earlier...I have played hundreds...maybe thousands of video games in my time. And this game ranks right up there with the best of them. It is, in my humble opinion, on par with Super Mario Bros 3, which has been rated by numerous gaming sites as the best game of all time. Playing the game for the first time, there were lots of "oohs and ahhs", plenty of mischievous giggles, lots of punching and name calling (see multiplayer), and even several times where one of us paused the game just to point out how great this game is. I hate to gush over this game, but it really is a work of art. It's easily one of the best games I have ever played, and certainly one of the best available on Wii. Here are some of my observations about it:
Old Skool SMB: Mario games are good, and they work. Period. This is one series of games that doesn't need to be retooled, revamped, updated, or changed dramatically in order for it to compete with the likes of Modern Warfare 2. In fact, there really is no competition for Mario games. Historically, they sell, are highly rated, and have a long shelf-life. This game is no different. It is classic Mario at his best. There are some updates that make the game fresh and interesting, but it is mostly classic Mario 2-D action, and that is a good thing.
Music: Mario games have always had great music. Who hasn't found themselves whistling or humming one of the iconic Mario tunes? This game has some really cool new music, as well as some remixes/revamps of classic Mario music. When I found myself in the first of the Koopa Kid castles and I heard the original music from Super Mario Bros 3(), I was ecstatic.
Multiplayer: For the life of me, I couldn't tell you why Nintendo was never able to incorporate some genuine multiplayer in a Mario game previously. But, add it they did, and it is great. The multiplayer component of Super Mario Bros Wii is really well done. There are some competitive modes where you and your friends (or opponents) are running through a level and competing to get the most coins, and it is really fun. But where multiplayer really shines is when you are actually playing through the games with a couple of your friends. All of you are on screen at the same time. When you hit one of the "?" boxes, 3 or 4 mushrooms may come out... or maybe 2 mushrooms and 1 Penguin suit...and you have a choice: Will we all go scrambling for the penguin suit? Or will the most skilled player just take a mushroom suit and leave the penguin suit to the others? Or, will I scramble and get all of the mushrooms and the penguin suit, leaving my teammates out in the cold? I tried all of these scenarios, and it was pure joy to see the look on my friends faces either way! You see, the multiplayer can be either competitive or cooperative. There will be times where getting a big coin or a 1-up will require that you cooperate...maybe I will need to pick up one player and hold him over my head, and then another player will bounce off his head to get the 1-up. Or, maybe there will be a player that I want to give some grief... so I can pick him up and throw him down a pit or in the lava... or I can throw a green shell at him. There will also be times where you are all trying to accomplish something (like jumping across a lava pit), and because we are all scrambling and trying to save our own skin, one player will bounce off the other's head, giving themselves a boost up and over the lava, but sending their friend to their death. As you can imagine, the cooperative multiplayer would FREQUENTLY and unexpectedly become competitive, and there was no shortage of amazed/shocked looks back and forth (i.e "Dude... I cant believe you just did that"), punches in the shoulder, name calling, calling "dibs" on power ups only to be disappointed, and laughing ranging from a mischievous giggle to rolling on the floor in stitches. When we were playing, one guy even got really upset and went home! LOL. It was one heck of a fun afternoon! Once the sore loser left, we started cooperating more and competing less, and it was equally fun. Almost equally anyway...
Difficulty: I hate easy games, and I hate short games. I especially hate short and easy games. This game is neither. From what I have experienced so far, this is one of the most challenging Mario games I have ever played. It isn't necessarily HARD...anyone can pick up New Super Mario Bros Wii and begin playing. That is the case with every Mario game. But it is challenging. You will die...a lot. Especially when playing multiplayer, since frequently one of your teammates will do something that sends you to your end on accident. Plus, the difficulty really starts to ramp up in some of the later worlds/levels. Also, there are 3 hidden achievement coins in each level, as well as these special "star" coins that you can go out of your way to find...and getting to some of these can be a real challenge. I estimate that it will easily take 20+ hours to complete this game... and even once it is done, it will be a blast to start over and play again. And the truth is, Mario games are always long and fairly difficult... I never did beat Super Mario 2! I think this game is going to have a long shelf life at my house!
I will spare you any more gushing details about this game. Clearly, I enjoyed it immensely. If you own a Nintendo Wii, you should own this game. If there was ONE Wii game I would recommend you buy, it would be this one. If you are considering buying a Nintendo Wii because you like this game...I guarantee it will be worth it. This game is destined to be a classic, and it would be a shame to miss out! Here is my personal rating for the game:
Gameplay: 10/10
Presentation: 9/10
Sound/Music: 9/10
Multiplayer: 9/10
Difficulty: 10/10
Lasting Appeal: 9/10
Overall: 10/10
The only really bad thing about New Super Mario Bros. Wii is the excessively long title. Nintendo could have been justified in simply calling this game Mario Bros. 4 or Super Mario World 2, because it fits right in with the legendary series of 2D games from the NES/SNES era.
Mario is one of a very few characters who survived the jump from 2D to 3D. Mario 64 was revolutionary, and Super Mario Galaxy even more so. So it might seem odd that Nintendo would go back to a traditional side-scroller in the midst of 3D gaming. I for one am glad they did. Yes, there is something to be said for the nostalgia factor: the game goes out of its way to reference previous games in the Mario series, from the enemies to the music. But make no mistake, this is a NEW game with NEW, very CHALLENGING, levels. It may come as a surprise to those who were introduced to Mario via Galaxy or New SMB on the DS just how much harder this game is compared to those. NSMB Wii has a difficulty level on par with Mario 3 or Mario: The Lost Levels (aka Mario 2 in Japan). This game is relentless with agressive enemies, tricky platforming, and those classic secret areas that you can often see but can't fathom how Mario can reach them!
The gaming community has been very nervous about this game's new feature that allows you to "skip" a level after dying eight times. Will this create a culture of gamers who cheat and don't get to feel the sense of accomplishment that those who stick with the game for hours upon hours honing their skills? To that I say, relax. If you don't want to use the feature, you don't have to. Further, the feature doesn't show you how to reach all the secrets in the level. It's not an instant "I Win" feature. Anything that allows game designers to make creative levels without fear of holding back because they might make the game to hard is a good thing.
The multiplayer feature of this game is frantic and fun. It's an interesting mix of collaborative and cooperative play that works great. Added games like Coin Battle and Free for All make this a very complete package.
This game should herald a new beginning for 2D games. With a market saturated with FPSs, I for one am glad that there's still a company making "traditional" platformers and realizing that the gaming past can still influence the future of gaming.
Halo four is the next blockbuster installment in the iconic franchise that is shaped entertainment history and defined a decade of gaming. Set in the aftermath of Halo three, Master Chief returns to confront his personal destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the whole universe. Halo four marks the start off of a new trilogy that begins with its release in 2012.
From the Manufacturer
Play Sports, Really feel Wonderful!
Step up to the plate, reach for your driver to tee off, or serve up an ace as the most preferred Kinect franchise returns with "Kinect Sports: Season Two" – only on Kinect for Xbox 360. With six thrilling new sports to jump into and get pleasure from, "Kinect Sports: Season Two" pulls the whole family members off the couch and turns your living space into a globe-class sports arena where intuitive, full-body gameplay and friendly competition reign supreme. Following the top rated-selling and award-winning “Kinect Sports”, the second season amps up the action and delivers sporting gameplay like you've never observed – or felt – prior to!
"Kinect Sports: Season Two" sprints out of the box at full speed, taking full benefit of the revolutionary Kinect technologies and its most current thrilling capabilities, such as in-game voice commands and enhanced motion tracking. Bringing the family members together and introducing Challenge Play to Xbox Live and living rooms worldwide, "Kinect Sports: Season Two" harnesses the power of friendly competition to deliver a more immersive experience for everybody from casual players to leading-notch athletes and hardcore sports fans.
Product Features
Game, Set, Kinect!
Sports
Golf – fore! Any person for golf? The answer will continually be "yes!" as soon as you have tried your hand at the nine holes of the Maple Lakes golf course. It's classic turn-taking stroke play as up to four players drive, chip and putt their way to the flag – or you can return to the hole of your selection and attempt for your private ideal.
Darts – nerves of steel. With authentic gestures and pinpoint accuracy, darts has never looked superior than at the glittering 180 Arena! Up to four players step up to prove they've got steady hands and fast wits to clear their 501-point tally. Glory awaits the first player to check out and win the game!
Baseball – batter up! It really is game night at Galaxy Park, the "Kinect Sports" baseball field, and you're up! Knowledge the thrills of pitching, catching and batting – then take on a friend's team in a simultaneous two-player showdown that'll echo all the way to the pros!
Skiing – hit the slopes. The sparkling snow and breathtaking scenery may perhaps wow the crowd, but you'll want all your concentration to master the two hazardous slalom runs on every of the 3 dazzling "Kinect Sports" courses. Take dangers to shave off seconds as you hurtle over tremendous jumps and aim for significant air while speeding to the end of a thrilling simultaneous race!
Tennis – faultless. Grand slam Gardens is the location to dazzle your associates as you smash, serve and slam lightning-rapid tennis balls over the net. Build up momentum in a two-player, simultaneous rally of skill and timing – then rush the net to send your opponent reeling and claim that final point!
American football – Gridiron Glory. Take the spotlight as "Kinect Sports: Season Two" tends to make you a football superstar. Pass and catch your way to a show-stopping touchdown with intense plays and tough-hitting action. No matter whether you are playing alone or butting heads with a buddy in gorgeous simultaneous play, your team will continually be there to back you up – just go painless on the showboating!
Kinect Sports: Season Two” sprints out of the box at full speed, taking full benefit of the revolutionary Kinect technologies and its most recent exciting characteristics like in-game voice commands and enhanced motion tracking.
Platform: Nintendo Wii
From the Manufacturer
Important Game Functions
Just Dance 3: The world's 1 dance game is back!
Just Dance 3 kick-begins the party with more than 45 tracks from various genres and preferred artists which includes today's hottest hits like "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, "California Gurls" by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, and "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green. Also included are legendary favorites like "I Was Produced For Lovin' You" by Kiss.
With a selection of all-new gameplay modes, tracks with 4-part choreographies that permit up to 4 players to uniquely shine, and innovative cardio alternatives, Just Dance three was created to keep the world dancing!
Track listing
Tracks out there in Just Dance 3 contain:
Legal:© 2011 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Just Dance, Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. Based on MOKA and NPD per unit sales.
2010's preferred-selling dance franchise returns with the extremely anticipated third iteration, Just Dance 3. Dance to more than 40 of the hottest hits from yesterday and at present, spanning a wide range of genres that are positive to please any music fan. Employing only the Wii Remote, Just Dance 3 is the fantastic dance game for any age or dance ability, so it is quick for any person to join the movement! With a assortment of all-new gameplay modes, tracks that allow up to 8 players at as soon as, and innovative cardio training alternatives, Just Dance 3 was created to bring the party and preserve America dancing!
In the beginning there was DDR. Video game "dancing" consisted of mashing your feet to particular patterns. It was fun, it was a fantastic workout, but at the end of the day it wasn't honestly dancing.
Then along came Just Dance, which introduced the world to dancing to well-known music utilizing "real dance move", the sort that you could practice at household and then wow everybody with on the dance floor. It was slightly annoying that the controller accuracy was a bit off, but the dance moves were so enjoyable we didn't care. Just Dance 2 introduced considerably greater motion control accuracy. Plus, it introduced the concept of "duets", exactly where persons could dance cool choreographed routines together. And it was a different winner. Because of the recognition of Just Dance, this spawned a lot of "copycat" titles from Ubisoft to money in. Dance on Broadway. Michael Jackson The Experience, Just Dance for Youngsters. Even Just Dance with Smurfs. They had been fun, but at a certain point they began to get a bit tiring, as they were all variations of the same theme.
And so, we've all been waiting to see what Ubisoft would do for an encore with Just Dance 3? Could they push the genre forward, even as copycat titles on other platforms like Dance Central on the Xbox and Everybody Dance on the PS3 encroached on their turf? I'm happy to say that Just Dance three pushes the platform even additional and does it with terrific achievement.
When you start up Just Dance, the 1st factor it asks is if you will connect Just Dance to the World wide web so that "Ubisoft can discover even more about the way you play to make Just Dance even additional groovy". I wasn't certain pretty how to answer the question, but I figure considering that Just Dance does not use a video camera like these other systems, there wasn't too significantly harm in it.
The opening menu, like in Just Dance 1 and two, is delightfully hassle-free. There are only a couple options:
1) Dance!
As with the prior versions, you just proper into the dancing. What I adore about Just Dance three is that acquiring began is highly easy. No silly issues to take up your time like creating avatars. No adjusting of cameras or calibrating of equipment. You just shake your remote to see what "color" you are on the screen, and get started.
You can produce a profile at any time your name is restricted to five characters. If you do not create a profile you will be dancing by default as "Happy" (as opposed to "Sunny").
As with previous version, your job is to dance the "mirror image" of a colorful silhouetted on-screen figure showing you the dance moves. I'm pleased to say that the motion controls are much better and a lot more accurate than ever. Granted, it still only detects the movement of 1 arm holding the Wii remote, so technically you could nonetheless just hurl your arm the suitable way to construct up points. But of course the enjoyable of the game is to get into the dance with your full physique (and in reality, if you adhere to the choreographed moves perfectly with your entire physique, your score will be much better than ever). One particular other subtle improvement more than prior versions is that the audio cues coming by way of the Wii remote (for instance, when you hit a milestone whilst dancing) are a lot louder and clearer than before.
The choreography and backgrounds are as fun and in some instances as quirky as ever. For example, in Wilson Pickett's "Land of 1000 Dances" you're following a dancing alligator in a fancy suit dancing in a schoolroom. And yes, you "do the alligator" :) If you dance effectively on some songs, you can see the background animate and transform.
As with Just Dance 1 and two, every song has a "technical difficulty" indicator from one particular to 3 gears, and a "workout intensity" indicate from one to three drops of sweat. There are more than 45 wonderful tracks to suit everyone's tastes, and most of the songs are common and familiar.
Multiplayer is where this game actually shines. There's "Dance Crew Mode" which is like Duet Mode, except that up to four players has their own independent choreography (and a likelihood to shine with a solo performance). There's also a "Dance Til Dawn" party mode where you can just get started the game up and it'll cycle by means of songs all night, with out the need to go back by way of menus again.
two) Just Sweat
As an individual who follows Wii exercise titles really closely, this solution was the a single I was most excited about. You can select from a "Free of charge Session" (an instant fitness session for up to four players) or the "7-Day Challenge" (A choice of challenges to enhance your fitness during 7 days).
For "100 % free Session" You can choose from a selection of possibilities for the type of music to function out to, including:
Speed Shuffle
Non-Stop Shuffle
Pop! Pop!
Rock Party
RB Vibes
Electro Sounds
Just 80's
Oldies but Goodies
Fancy Dress Ball
About the World
Extreme
Sweat Attack
There are also wonderful selections for working out in a group, such as:
Duets
Dance Crew
I tried Sweat Attack, and confident adequate I was sweating up a storm following just one song. The songs kept going and the additional points I collected (in each Dance and Just Sweat modes), the even more a "Mojo" meter filled up. Each and every time the "Mojo Meter" was full, it unlocked a "gift" of another game mode, song, or choreography (the 1st to be unlocked is Simon Says Mode). There are 27 "gifts" to unlock, which will definitely motivate you to maintain coming back and creating up those points. The songs in my case before I collapsed of exhaustion were Cee Lo Green's "Forget You", The Black Eyed Peas' "Pump It", Anja's "Dance all Night", Wilson Pickett's "Land of 1000 Dances", and appropriately, CC Music Factory's Gonna Make You Sweat (Everyone Dance Now)..all quite energetic and lively (and enjoyable) songs.
As in the Dance mode, you rack up points when you hit the ideal dance moves. In addition, as with Just Dance two, they don't count calories for some purpose, but rather, they count "sweat points". With Just Dance 2, the consensus on the Web was that four.two sweat points = about 1 calorie burned, and it appears about the identical with Just Dance three. In all honesty, I'm not positive why they didn't just use calories, which would have created points a lot much easier. But still, as lengthy as you do the math in your head, you can fairly much figure out how intensive a workout you're acquiring (because every single song earns you about 400-500 sweat points, it'll take about 25-30 vigorous songs to reach 3500 calories, or 1 pound of fat lost). As you reach certain points, the method will give you an indication of how substantially workout you have performed (soon after completing 1000 sweat points, it told me "You've just walked across Central Park" just after 2000 points, it said "you have just run 10 rounds of the Wembley Stadium").
For "7-Day Challenge" you happen to be presented with three solutions for the subsequent 7 days: The Fresh Start off (3500 sweat points a week, the equivalent of walking 30 minutes a day), The Wholesome Selection (7000 sweat points a week, equivalent to running 30 minutes a day), and The Sweat Explosion (21000 sweat points a week, equivalent to swimming for 30 minutes a day).
Overall, I loved Just Sweat mode, but I would have liked to see the capacity to chart my progress more than days and weeks. Nevertheless, it is a good improvement more than previous versions and certainly 1 of the greatest workouts you can have on the Wii.
3) Shop
This is where you can acquire downloadable content material (DLC) if your Wii is connected to the World wide web. As of this writing (October 8, 2011), the retailer contained only the following songs:
- Baby Do not Cease Now (Anja)
- Jambo Mambo (Old Orquesta)
- Soul Searchin (Groove Century)
- Twist and Shake It (The Girly Team)
But a bunch of empty icons indicates that there are far more coming soon. Each and every song fees 250 Wii Points, so if you purchase a 2000 point card for about $20, this comes out to about $2.50 a song.
4) Extras
This is where you can adjust solutions, such as regardless of whether to display lyrics, display pictograms (the icons telling you what move to make), display assist screens, and track usage. You can also view the medals you earned.
I assume one particular of the questions most people today will have on their mind is: is Just Dance three on the Wii still relevant when there are so several new "real dance move" games out for systems like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. My answer is a resounding "yes". Not only does Just Dance three hold its own in terms of enjoyable and accuracy--it actually has an advantage over those other systems. Whilst those systems force players to squeeze into a camera view of 6 feet across, with Just Dance, players can stand anyplace in the space, and it doesn't even matter if there are spectators or "dancers without controllers" standing among them.
Lengthy story short, I consider Ubisoft has taken a superb franchise and moved it even further. Just Dance 3 for the Wii is one more winner.
I have two girls, 11 and 13. They loved the previous versions of this game and couldn't wait to get this one particular. They appear to genuinely take pleasure in this 1 as properly, but I have a couple of concerns. My 1st issue is in all probability much more Wii associated than game related. As with earlier versions of this game, it does not record the movements correctly. Sometimes it will give them credit when they do it entirely incorrect and other occasions it will not give them credit even although they nailed the move. As a result, it does not certainly promote dancing, but rather jerking the remote at the perfect time.
My second concern with this game is their song selection. Countless of the songs are obscure and odd. It was as if they had been saving royalty dollars by making use of strange music recorded by undiscovered artists. I also assume that various of the songs are far to risque to be on a game that is aimed at preteens and early teens. For example, Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" is all about sex. A large number of (but not all) of the inappropriate words have been cut out of the song (which tends to make the flow of the song genuinely odd) but the normally theme is nevertheless pretty clear. There are millions of enjoyable and proper favorite songs out there so why they chose obscure or very inappropriate songs for the target age group is baffling!
