New Super Mario Bros. U, is more Mario: good, bad, and otherwise.
Cons: Extremely familiar at this point; World map isn't as good as in Super Mario World; The live system is pointless and needs to go
I'm going to make a little wager. I bet that you already know whether or not you'll like this game. I bet this review will do very little to change your mind. You've already formed expectations because this game has done very little to change its formula.
New Super Mario Bros U is a Super Mario Bros game, plain and simple. You run, jump, stomp on things, occasionally go swimming, and possibly slip on some ice. It's the same formula that made Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World classics, and made all the other New Super Mario Bros games simple fun. As with always, the controls are tight, the framerate is smooth, and the level design is excellent. The first world is easy; the last (secret) world is hell; one-level gimmicks like floating water bubbles and roller-coaster platformers return for one more level; lives are still handed out easily and serve no tangible purpose; the game is still fun.
The biggest problem New Super Mario Bros U has against it is just how predictable it is. Played alongside the Wii iteration, it becomes obvious that very, very little has changed. The world themes are the same; at least half of the stage gimmicks are shared; even the music hasn't changed. This isn't to say that things aren't fun-the gimmicks are expanded upon nicely to make the levels feel a little fresh-it's just that the sense of wonder and sense of surprise is gone.
Between levels, the world map tries to reinstill some of that secret magic to mixed results. While having an interconnected world is visually more interesting than the separated boards of previous New Super Mario Bros games, it is functionally the same. Unlike Super Mario World, which thrived on interconnected secrets and twists, New Super Mario Bros U feels predictable and tame. You never get the secret exit that leads to a secret exit that leads to an alternate path. Instead you know you're going to get at most two shortcuts in a world, one of which inevitably leads to a secret level. The formulaic nature of the world design really harms otherwise satisfying secrets, which is a shame considering Nintendo nailed this aspect twenty years ago.
Other changes to New Super Mario Bros U come in the form of challenge mode and the Miiverse integration. The former is a surprisingly fun set of mini-challenges that task you with things like completing a stage as fast as possible, or surviving a fireball onslaught as long as possible, or bouncing off of a series of enemies to get as many 1-ups as possible. I'm not typically one for these types of modes, but New Super Mario Bros U presents a surprisingly fun and varied take on the mode, with fairly difficult goals to get gold medals.
The Miiverse integration is also better than expected, with players leaving messages in every level. Should you beat a level without taking damage, get all the star coins, or simply die a lot, you get the chance to leave messages for other players. If you turn on spoilers, you can get useful hints and secrets from other players, but if you play with spoilers off, you still get a sense of community. Seeing other people write angry messages after dying on a stage helps take the steam off a bit. It's nice to see the asynchronous community aspects of games like Demon's Souls making their way elsewhere, and Nintendo has implemented them well here.
And of course, the final change to New Super Mario Bros U is in the graphics, which are about what you'd expect. Everything is crisp, sharp, and smooth, with new lighting effects and higher numbers of enemies on screen. Backgrounds in particular have received more attention than ever, and are probably the most gorgeous part of the game. Meanwhile, however, every character model and prop looks about the same as ever (just smoother and more colorful), making for an unimpressive showcase of the Wii U's new tech.
But of course, you don't play Mario to be stunned by its graphics, and New Super Mario Bros U is strong where it counts. Sure, I may rag on the game for being too similar to its predecessors (and you may choose to avoid it for that reason), but what remains is probably the most refined take on the formula in ages. As far as launch games go, there are far worse choices than New Super Mario Bros Wii-
I mean, U.