New Super Mario Bros Wii Preview: Bridging the Gap

By Dave Rudden
June 24, 2009 12:58 PM PST
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New Super Mario Bros: Bridging the Gap Preview

Power-up Yours!

The levels, by and large, felt equal parts cooperative and competitive, as we'd just as soon steal a power-up from a partner than pop their bubble to get them back in the game. With new power-ups like Helicopter Hats (shake the Wii remote to fly!) and Penguin Suits (slide on your belly and throw ice balls!), as well as the glorious 2D return of Yoshi, we found it extra difficult to share. One vertically-oriented stage was extra sinister, as we raced up with little regard to characters about to drop off the screen into death. Regardless of whether you've got Mario or Wario's morals, there's no denying that this four-player fast and frenzied take on the series is serious fun.

We're still a few months away from getting the final version, so hopefully some small tweaks can be made. The highly-publicized "Demo Play," which allows the game to take control from less-experienced characters will help younger players from getting frustrated, but we'd love to see more "natural" measures to keep them playing, rather than watching. An infinite lives difficulty, perhaps? Also, the current lineup of characters needs to be expanded. We're all about the Mario Bros, but TWO Toads? Despite IGN's clever attempt to characterize the Toads, that's just unimaginative on Nintendo's part. How about giving us the Princess, Wario, Donkey Kong, Waluigi, Baby Mario and Luigi, Miis... do we really have to go on? The game definitely has a near-flawless foundation, and is just a few power-ups away from being the biggest and best multiplayer Wii game yet.