It's Mario. It's platforming at it's best and it's fun
The overall game so far has proven to be a lot of fun. I admit, I've been away from the Mario games for quite awhile. A couple decades ago I was blasting through Super Mario Brothers, parts 1-3, Super Mario World, etc – and I've played some of the others along the way that were Mario related: Yoshi's Island, Paper Mario, Mario 64… but I didn't beat any. For the most part, I hardly played them. Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are supposed to be great games, but I haven't gotten either yet (even used, if you can find them, they're still pretty pricey). This one? I get the feeling I'll beat rather soon…
Graphics: - 8:
Probably the category I flip-flop on the most. The visuals are nothing we haven't seen before. Mostly 2d stuff with some 3dish elements in there. Given that the Wii is not exactly a graphics powerhouse, that should knock the score down kind of low – but the colors are vibrant, the art direction is a lot of fun and I constantly found myself simply enjoying the world visually. It immerses you in a world involving a plump Italian plumber, riding a little dinosaur while jumping on or eating turtles. Job well done on that front.
Sound & Music – 8:
It sounds good – the effects are nothing amazing, but there's enough variation to keep them from getting annoying. The music? It's Mario music. Love it or hate it (I'm more of a love it) – it's classic video game soundtrack and it sounds great.
Gameplay – 8.5:
Mario revolutionized platforming and has reinvented itself so many times over – but it always comes away feeling good. Jumps and controls feel like they should, though the waggle/spin takes just a bit of getting used to.
Intangibles – 9:
It's Mario. In many instances, that's enough for people. But the addition of multiplayer is a gas, and really – a very welcome change. Single player mode is still a bit of a challenge, and in some ways multiplayer makes the game even harder. But there's a brilliant implementation to it that just adds to the experience – as long as you're gaming casually. My son who takes games a bit too serious at times? Not a good match for his younger sister. But overall, we have a ball with it. Big creative worlds to explore really add to the overall depth and add replay value to the game. I bought this new – I haven't seen it used in any of our Gamestops – and I think the above is largely why.
Overall – 8.5:
I don't play a lot of platforming games anymore. Somewhere along the way I decided to quit beating myself up with the need for perfect jumps and fast-moving level memorizations. This particular game however remained fun – not only for me, but for the entire family. I'm sure there will be a good deal more to uncover as we get further into it as well, but overall it is fairly hard not to recommend the game if you have a Nintendo Wii and enjoy Mario, platforming and group games.