Nintendo World Report

Impressions

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They may be Minis, but they're livin' large on Nintendo DS.

For those of you old enough to remember a game called The Incredible Machine, Mario vs. DK 2: March of the Minis reminds me of that game a little bit. It's a puzzle game, requiring you to figure out the best way to maneuver your Mario wind-up dolls ("Minis") to an exit. You must complete all of the rooms in each building of a toy factory, and there are certain obstacles you must maneuver your Minis through in order to complete them. Each room takes up both DS screens and has several platforms, with trampolines, disappearing floors, switches, and many other devices affecting the layout of each room and how it must be solved.

The game is controlled entirely with the stylus. You move Mario Minis by sliding over them left or right (which "winds them up" and starts them walking), or make them jump by sliding up on them. There are other Minis as well, including Donkey Kong and ShyGuys. Each Mini performs a different action that you can use to affect the path that your Mario Minis will take. For example, when a Mario Mini walks into a DK Mini, the DK Mini uses his arms as a springboard to launch the Mario mini into the air. By the same token, a DK Mini can be disabled by grabbing an item like the Dual Hammers and knocking it over. There are plenty of different combinations and puzzles to be solved.

There are also boss levels. One features Mario sitting in a cannon at the bottom of the touchscreen, with Donkey Kong appearing randomly in three balconies on the top screen. You slide the cannon back and forth by turning a wheel below it, and then fire Mario into the air by tapping on the cannon. Hit DK three times and he is defeated.

Graphics and music are appropriately cartoony, with a very "Mario" look. From all indications, Mario vs. DK 2: March of the Minis should be a very good puzzle title when it hits the shelves later this year.