New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Game Play and Graphics
Game Play in New Super Mario Bros. Wii (5 out of 5)
The game play in New Super Mario Bros. Wii has definitely been seen before when it comes to Mario Bros. game. The game play involves 2-D side-scrolling. Basic jumps, dashes, and running will pretty much be what you will be working with in the game. Naturally you will be coming across Mario’s old school nemesis’ and his friends!
There are of course little extras hidden in the golden ? mark boxes that will allow your character to either temporarily fly, become a strange animal with a special ability, or throw ice balls or fire balls at the enemy.
The game play is the same type of game play we have seen with some older titles like the original Mario Bros. game, and Super Mario. The time ticks down giving you that feeling that you have to hurry up and rush when the music begins to play in a speeder tone once you only have 99 seconds remaining to finish the level.
The end of the level is done up in the old school original style, with Mario having to jump up to glide down a flag pole. The cool new catch though to the very end flag pole glide is that if you jump to the very top of it, you will win an extra life.
Traveling from one level to another level is not automatic. It is set up the same way that Super Mario World was on Super Nintendo. You travel along neat connect the dot like trails that will take you to your next level. You may also have to travel backward to save toadstool from a ? mark block that he was stuffed into by the enemy.
All in all game play is a neat mix of modern and retro elements, that infuse the Wii Motes capabilities in with it.
Graphics in New Super Mario Bros. Wii (4 out of 5)
Now the Nintendo Wii is definitely capable of delivering better graphics than what is brought to us in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, however this game managed to capture the original essence of retro games in the Mario series. It was as if they polished up their
originals and presented it to gamers in a clean, new crisp way, with all new game play.
Although graphics in Super Mario Galaxy will impress you more, you have to understand that New Super Mario Bros. Wii is supposed to have a retro look, without all of that razzle dazzle you see in newer games. The original simplicity of everything is what makes the game so fantastic.
While the graphics may appear to suffer (according to gamers who did not grow up playing the original game), the graphics according to retro gamers are killer, and perfect for what this game is supposed to be.
Controls (5 out of 5)
The controls in New Super Mario Bros. Wii are basic, and easy enough to grasp without the help of tutorials, or referencing to the games manual.
You basically tilt the Wii mote, and hold it horizontally. You move around using the arrow controls, and the 1 and 2 buttons to preform other actions such as jumping, or running quickly. You can also play the game by plugging in the wii nun-chuck and using the joystick to control your character.
The game also sporadically will make use of the Wii Mote by allowing you to tilt it to manipulate in game platforms, so that Mario can jump on them to reach higher places.
The controls in the game so far have presented me with no issues, or flaws that I need to note.
Music and Sounds (5 out of 5)
It is so hard for me to put my feet into the shoes of new gamers, but I can totally understand that if you have not played old Mario Bros. video games, that you would hate the music and sounds in this game, especially considering the games that are available today.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii however is delivering an old school style of gaming that I myself grew up with. Therefore I am more likely to appreciate it, than say an 8 year old who never got the chance to play Mario on the original Nintendo console.
The music presented to us in New Super Mario Bros. Wii has definitely been heard before. It’s that same addicting chime that we heard in the original game. That do-do-do—do-do-do, that had us humming the brain washing tune for decades. Well add another decade to it, because the original hums, chimes, and tunes you heard in the classical Mario game is back with vengeance, looking to brainwash yet another generation of gamers!
The music is addicting, and hours after playing the game you will find yourself humming the tune out loud, or in your head. Yes, the music has that same brain sticking effect it had 20 years ago.
Game Difficulty
The game itself is presented in the same manner older Mario games are. It starts of easy, with each level increasing in difficulty as you travel along the way.
The nice part about New Super Mario Bros. Wii, is that you can now join forces with 3 other players ensuring a win. If the game gets too hard though while you are playing alone, there is a little secret added extra that will keep you from getting frustrated called ‘Super Guide’. The super guide will basically allow you to pass through levels that you failed to complete after 8 consecutive turns.
Multi-Player Mode In New Super Mario Bros. Wii (4 out of 5)
Multi-player Mode in New Super Mario Bros. Wii is by far the best multi-player mode that any Mario game has ever offered. The
original game allowed you to play with another player, but you took turns, and if you were playing multi-player mode with a good player, one turn could end up taking hours _(and hello, does anyone remember your annoying sister, or brother hitting pause just as you were in mid-air, jumping over a huge hole in the ground!?).
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In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, you can have up to 4 players romping through each and every level together. It makes completing a very difficult level easy, because if a player dies, the surviving players can release them back into the level.
Multi-player mode is very neat, but the unfortunate thing about the game is that it did not incorporate online multi-player mode, which really stinks.
Re-Play Value (3 out of 5)
All Mario games have re-play value. Gosh, I think I beat the original Nintendo Mario game 1,000 times, and still never got bored of it.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii has re-play value that is immediate, and re-play value that is long term. During level advancement you will find that you will have to travel back to previously beaten levels in order to complete missions that will pop up throughout the game. Toadstool will sometimes be stuck in a ? mark block, and it will become your mission to look through the level for him. Once you find him, you have to carry him to the finish line.
The re-play value is also heightened by the 3 large coins that are planted within each level. The coins at first are easy to get, but become more difficult to get with each passing level.
At any rate, all of these added bits add to the re-play value.
Overall (5 out of 5)
Overall New Super Mario Bros. Wii is one heck of a sweet game. It brought retro gamers an old school element of playing that will be well appreciated by many, while the newer elements added to the game is sure to grab hold of younger gamers and please them just the same.
The controls all work flawlessly, multi-player mode is sure to impress anyone who picks up the game, and the re-play value is through the roof. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a video game for the Nintendo Wii console that is totally worth purchasing.
