We have hands-on impressions of Mario's four-player foray to 2D gameplay on the Wii. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=18648 After a short playtime with New Super Mario Bros Wii, the game feels immediately familiar to the DS title. The look is almost identical, with of course much nice graphics. The control is done by holding the Wii Remote sideways and playing it just like one would play the original Super Mario Bros on the NES.
The E3 demo for New Super Mario Bros Wii contained a series of levels that could be selected such as: an ice stage, a desert stage, and a World 1-1 that looks markedly like the NES original. At least one new power-up was added to match the theme of a stage; on the ice stage there is a power-up called the “Penguin suit.” While wearing it Mario (or Luigi, or Toad) can slide on their belly through blocks and enemies, or spit ice breath at foes. Another power-up, the propeller suit, allows the player to soar into the air with the flick of the Wii Remote, and slowly drift back down. It seems likely that there will be more new power-ups, and all the ones I saw were fun to use.
While the game allows for up to four players, the demo kiosk only had two Wii Remotes. Even with only two players, the game was chaotic, and fun. The addition of the second player allowed things like bouncing off each other’s heads and allowed one player to eat (and spit out) the other while riding Yoshi. The competition for coins and power-ups feels a lot like The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure, especially as the game crowns a “winner” at the end of each stage. The extra players also are your life-line. When you die you float back onto the screen in a bubble, and your companions have to pop the bubble to rescue you. There are also places that can only be reached by bouncing off the heads of your comrades.
Overall the game feels very far along, and plays very tightly. The multiplayer experience seems like it will be the best way to play this game. IÂ’m very excited to get some more hands-on time in the future.
Topic: IMPRESSIONS: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Read 1689 times)
