Portal de Alternative

by **Luc03** on Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:14 pm

posted on gamegirl.com

After Nintendo made their announcement of not one, but two new Mario games, we couldn't help but be excited. E3 had The New Super Mario Bros for Wii on the showfloor and a few of us GameGirls got to give it a go!

Being a fan of the DS version of The New Super Mario Bros, the Wii version of the 2D side scroller felt very similar. It even had the same cute music. A new feature is the addition of multiplayer where you can play up to four character including Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad. I didn't get to ask if there were any unlockables, but it would be pretty darn cool if we played as the original cast of Mario 2. So, they're almost there, we just need our Princess. I played with Nikole Z, along with friends Jill and Lawrence, as we fought our way to the flag post. Gone are the leaves and feathers and in are the propeller suits with spinning hats to spin you into the air, or spiral your way to the ground. For the uber competitive, you can eat all the propeller suits, leaving none for your team mates. Other additions that I unfortunately did not get to witness were penguin suits, where you got to shoot ice balls and Yoshi! Can you imagine, one Yoshi and four people battling it for him? Awesome.

As we played through the first level, we found hidden caverns, 1up's, stole things from each other, bounced off each others heads and so much more. If you lose a life and come back, you're stuck in a bubble and it's up to your teammates to pop you out of it...or not. Once we made it to the flag pole, if one person jumps on it, the other players have only a few moments to do the same to gather the last of their points. I, unfortunately came in last, while Nikole Z. came in second. I had a great time in the brief demo and I highly believe that the game will be just as fun playing solo as it would co-op. You can look for the New Super Mario Bros. for Wii at the end of this year.

I must admit, I did have a wee-little fangirl moment when Nintendo announced the New Super Mario Bros. Wii at their press conference during E3. Never before have we been able to play a Mario game co-op and same screen; this is a big deal. I am however a tad disappointed by the available characters in the game, or at least only those we saw available in the demo. Playable at E3 was Mario, Luigi and 2 different Toads. I would like to see Princess Peach, Wario, Waluigi and possibly Daisy. I am keeping my fingers crossed for more playable characters because at times it got confusing as to who was who because of the two different Toads looking rather similar.

On the show floor we were able to get our hands on the game to play it for ourselves and I was very excited to get some face time with the new Wii title to see what it was all about. The game is a true Mario game in every way possible and having 3 other players to play with makes the game a definite buy for me. I would buy this game even if it was a single-player game, so the co-op is a nice bonus. I loved the new "propellar suit" and got the hang of it quite quickly. Also at the New Super Mario Bros. Wii section was Charles Martinet (the voice of Mario) who was more than willing to take a picture with some of us.

All in all, I look forward to the New Super Mario Bros Wii game and I was really quite suprised at the announcement. Think Mario Party meets classic Mario platforming and you wll have a perfect idea of what to expect. I will definitely be picking up my copy this holiday season.