From the Vault — originally published June 3, 2009. Some links, videos or prices may be out of date.
So Nintendo didn’t listen to us and didn’t announce the Pokemon MMO which I think would have been a MEGATON home run. They did announce a new side scrolling Super Mario Bros. game similar to their Nintendo DS offering from a couple years back. I was able spent some time with the game.
New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii allows for up to four players to play simultaneously. I played with the Wiimote sideways. Players can assist or subvert each others efforts as they scurry horizontally to the end of the stage. The co-op play reminded me of the old original Mario Bros. game from way back. Remember the one with the POW’s you smashed that made the other player, turtles and crabs jump. Smashing a block under your opponent or jumping on your opponent is just like in that game. One interesting addtion to the game shown in the demo is the “helicopter helmet” powerup that allows you to shake the wiimore to glide down offa high jump or high platform. Players are ranked at the end of the stage and those with the most coins, points and best times get ranked 1-4 accordingly.
I found the game to be pretty fun as expected. If you have played New Super Mario bros for the DS you can expect a similar experience with just more players on the screen. New Super Mario Bros. is not the megaton announcement we may have wanted at E3 this year but I found the game fun and will most likey pick it up when it is released. How can you go wrong with a 2D side scrolling Super Mario Bros. game?
