Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Highly addictive"

"New Super Mario Bros." for the Nintendo DS was a good game, though it had issues. For one thing, it was way too easy. The other problem is that it tried too hard to be all of its predecessors at one time, making the game have a bit of an identity crisis. When I heard that the latest installment in the long running, legendary platform series was more challenging than the handheld sibling, I was more than excited to go pick it up. Indeed, "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" is more challenging, though Mario veterans will have little problem completing the main campaign, and it is one of the reasons it's better than the DS predecessor, but definitely not the only reason.

"New Super Mario Bros. Wii" doesn't try to be every Mario game ever made. There are only 5 power-ups in the entire game, and only two of them are new power-ups. The new power-ups are a mushroom that gives Mario the ability to spin through the air for a few seconds, and a penguin suit which gives Mario the ability to slide through levels, and have good swimming skills in the underwater stages. The fire flower, ice flower, and mini-mushroom make return to join the two new power-ups. Sadly, not many of the game's stages are built for the power-ups, which means you will not see the power-ups very often. I didn't get a single mini-mushroom power-up through the entire base campaign. Yoshi also makes a return, but like the power-ups, he is a rarity. He doesn't appear in even a fourth of the game's stages, though he is a joy to ride when he does appear. The limitation of power-ups is a good thing, because the game doesn't try to overdo it. At the same time, more stages should have been built around the power-ups and Yoshi.

The stages are much more challenging than the DS game before it, but it will only be a real challenge to Mario newbies. For Mario veterans, the difficulty will be a refreshing compared to previous Mario games. It doesn't surpass the difficulty of the NES and SNES Mario games before it, but it isn't a cakewalk like "New Super Mario Bros." for the Nintendo DS. The platforming becomes increasingly difficult as the game goes on. Platforms move, get smaller, and harder to scale as you go. More enemies and obstacles bring new challenges as the game goes on, which is what a solid Mario game should do. There are a total of 64 stages in the main campaign and an extra world that is unlocked once you defeat the final boss. The stages in the extra world can only be accessed if you collect all of the large star-coins in every stage in the game. It brings more replay value to the game, as well as a challenge. Boss battles closely resemble those of "Super Mario Bros. 3". They're simple and fun. The final showdown with Bowser, however, is one of the most creative Bowser battles in the franchises' history. One that will make the most dedicated Mario fan very proud.

The Wii's motion controls don't play a large part in the game . Some stages have platforms which can be controlled by tilting the controller. And one boss battle makes good use of the motion controls as well. The motion controls are best kept to a limitation, as they are. Nintendo realized that too much motion control would interrupt the game's flow. Visually, "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" is stunning, but not from a technical standpoint. The game's graphics are superb in terms of animation and art-style. The Mushroom Kingdom never looked better. The music is what you would expect...a mixture of new and old tunes that have been remixed and modernized, can't go wrong there.

After nearly three decades, the classic Mario formula is still one that can be used to make an excellent platforming game. "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" is evident of that. And now, of course, up to four players can play through the game together. This game won't offer much that is new, but will satisfy long time fans of the series as well as new comers. I enjoyed playing it about as much as the classics on the NES and SNES, though it doesn't quite reach the caliber of those classics. I highly recommend "New Super Mario Bros. Wii", as it is one of the most simple, fun experiences the Wii has to offer.