New Super Mario Bros

 

New Super Mario Bros

 

By : Nintendo
List Price : $49.99
Price : $42.80
You Save : $7.19 (14%)

Product Description

Edition: Standard

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 offers a combination of cooperation and competition. Players can pick each other up to save them from danger or toss them into it.


• Supports 2-4 players in multiplayer mode.


• 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 and use their tongues to swallow enemies – or their fellow players.


• In some 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.


• 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.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002BRZ9G0
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 5.9 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 15, 2009
  

Product Features

• New items include the propeller suit, which will shoot players high into the sky with just a shake of the Wii Remote
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii offers a combination of cooperation and competition.
• Supports 2-4 players in multiplayer mode.
• Mario, Luigi and two Toads are all playable characters, while many others from the Mushroom Kingdom make appearances throughout the game
• Players can 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

Costumer Reviews

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.