Multiplayer Mario madness on the DS
In the multiplayer demo of Super Mario 64x4, players take control of Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Wario to battle it out for stars, coins and bragging rights in the classic castle area from Super Mario 64. The game sports excellent graphics, improving on the modeling and textures of its console predecessor. The controls are straightforward allowing even a novice to pick it up and play. You use the d-pad to move your character, the B button to jump, the Y button to run, the A button to attack and you can rotate the camera using the shoulder buttons. Each character has their trademark moves such as Luigi’s patented air-running jump technique.
Players cruise around the level searching for coins and stars while trying to knock said items away from other players. Scattered around the level are familiar enemies such as goombas to mess around with and extract coins from. The demo also featured a feather item allowing players to fly around the map and thwart their competition. After collecting the feather it’s just a matter of triple jumping your way into the skies at which point your character controls much as you’d expect, with the y-axis controls inverted.
The bottom, touch-screen is set by default to an overhead map, with icons representing each player. A quick tap on the screen can position the camera on any location on the map, or by clicking on an icon you can spy on the activities of the other players. The camera is controlled using the d-pad. There will apparently be a single player mode as well, but no details are available at this time.