Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Highly addictive"

First of all, with this new game, the more things change, the more they stay the same: the basis for New Super Mario Bros. is, surprise, to save the princess. In this design, Bowser Jr. has snagged Peach right out from Mario's nose, and taken her to the closest fortress possible. This game won't win any awards in storytelling because there is none - Mario will simply have to bounce from level to level getting to each challenge's castle while collecting coins and stomping Koopas, Goombas, and any other oddly-named inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom.

The super-size mushroom is only one example of the new elements in this game. Some levels feature deforming platforms that shrink and stretch to make jumps a lot more challenging. Other levels have ground deformation effects in place, causing rolling hills to form simply by warping the ground under Mario's feet. Water levels have 3D whirlpools that can suck Mario down if he gets too close. Enemies can vary in size thanks to this hybrid 2D/3D engine, so you might encounter head-pounding Thwomps of all sizes in a single castle.

Mario also has a few moves for this adventure, most lifted from his 3D adventures. Wall jumping is now possible, and in many levels, required. There's also a butt-stomp to smash bricks from the top-side. And, along with the Super-Size-Me version of Mario, players can also collect a micro mushroom to shrink Mario down to mouse-size which gives him the ability to run on the surface of water as well as float more gracefully after a jump.

Conclusion:
Admittedly there aren't as many gameplay innovations in New Super Mario Bros. as compared to previous Super Mario releases, but that's mostly due to the fact that much of platforming's innovations are related to 3D designs. But that said, this Nintendo DS release still proves that Nintendo still has some great ideas brewing for its plumber in his classic setting. There's an incredible amount of fresh, fun challenge to uncover in this revival.

If you buy this game,
You'll be pleased to have this game.