Hands-On Impressions: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Earlier today, at the VGXPO in Philadelphia, I got to test out some games at the World of Nintendo exhibit, which was definitely my favorite part of the show. I payed a lot of attention to three in particular, because they are still unreleased: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and the WiiWare game Pokemon Rumble. You’ll get to read my impressions of each of them soon, and below you can read about my experiences with New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Playing the game, you’ll immediately notice that the games visuals, while some of the best on the Wii, are vastly similar to those of the original New Super Mario Bros. on the DS. Single player gameplay is mostly unchanged as well, but that’s obviously not the big deal in this game – the new multi-player element is the real show here. And it’s no gimmick; a four-player Mario game really works, and it works quite well.

Similar to The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, the multi-player mode is a mixture of co-operation and competition. When a player dies, they will momentarily reappear on the screen in a bubble which will float around the screen until a player hits it. Players can also co-operate by having one player jump on top of another, gaining extra height that may only be accessible in that fashion.

The competitive parts add a lot of fun to the game, even if they are not very integral to actual gameplay. When a block is hit, a mushroom will be released for each player, though it is possible for one player to get more than one (after one, they will just gain points), so one player could stop all others from gaining power ups. Players also compete in number of lives and coins, which are counted at the end of the level.

I didn’t get a chance to use the new penguin suit, which allows you to freeze enemies, though I did use the Propeller Suit and Yoshi, which both help add a large amount of depth to gameplay. The Propellor Suit is controlled by shaking the Wii Remote back and forth, and can help cover a lot of ground very quickly; it can also use a drill-like move, similar to a butt-stomp but from a much greater height. Controlling Yoshi is even more fun, because it gives a speed boost and the ability to eat almost any item – a fire flower can be eaten, which allows the player to shoot a fireball, and even other players can be eaten and shot out (which could be considered another competitive part of the game).

Really, the game is not much more than you would expect, though there is a small fortune of new features that make the game unique. And with all the elements of the original games and New Super Mario Bros., you’ll definitely want to pick up this assured best-seller.

Image credit: Couch Campus (here), MyWii (here), IGN (here).