New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS)

-(Game Information)-
Name:New Super Mario Bros.
Publisher:Nintendo
Developer:Nintendo
Genre:2D Side Scroller
Release Date:Jun 30, 2006
Age Rating:3+
Number Of Players:1-4
Wi-Fi:No
Developer Site:www.nintendo.com/home
Product Site:mario.nintendo.com

-(History)-
Nintendo is one of the primary hardware and software providers. Nintendo's first party games include such franchises as Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Pokémon. Mario is one of the gaming history's main gaming characters and has had hundreds of games on Nintendo's consoles. Mario is one of the leading franchises since it began in the 80's and it contiunes to release high quality games like Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros. and many other games.

-(The Story)-
The story is pretty similar to most Mario games, Princess Peach has been taken by Bowser Jr. and needs saving by the one and only Mario. It's just there and it's something to keep you going through the game.

-(The Controls)-
The controls are very responsive and take full advantage of the touch screen. Though the main story mode doesn't use the touch screen much, the mini-games pretty much revolve around you using the touch screen. While playing story, you'll use the standard d-pad and buttons and the touch screen will show your stats. You have your standard run and Jump buttons and your fireball button. The mini-games will need you to probably touch the screen with your stylus, for example you need to touch the bombs and put them in the right place. The controls respond very quickly and are easy to learn. On one mini-game you can use the mic to blow in and blow Yoshi in the air. but unfortunately i had a lot of trouble doing this as even when i blew into the mic Yoshi wouldn't move. I don't know if it's was me blowing it wrong or a flaw. Overall the controls are fantastic and take advantage of the touch screen whenever it can.

-(The Gameplay)-
This is like the 2D side scrollers released back in the golden days of gaming, yet it's 3D and has plenty of new tricks up it's red sleeve. You move along a 2D plane trying to get to this castle and change the flag while traveling through the world and saving Princess Peach. The basic levels have a lot of gaps that if you fall in will kill you in an instant as well as enemies which mostly consist of the kapoopa troopers. The game's difficulty is pretty easy, but it has those bouts of frustration, but that's probably just because unless you're bigger than you are to begin with, you'll die as soon as they enemies hit you as well as you'll die (whatever size) as soon as you fall in a gap. But the game is pretty easy, especially if you're experienced with the older Mario games.

The new things here are new powers and new level design. There's lots of powers in NSMB. You have the classic ones like the mushroom which makes you bigger and the fire flower which gives you the ability to throw fire balls, but there's lots of new powers as well. One of the new powers is the mega-mushroom. This basically makes you into a giant and you can crush anything that gets in your way, as everything flies in the air, as you smash pipes, crush enemies and do it all in a chaotic fashion. And you get rewarded for it as the more you crush, the more life mushrooms you get. This was my favourite new ability as it was so cool watching everything smash and get destroyed. Another new ability is the mini-mushroom which is the complete opposite to the mega-mushroom as it makes you really tiny so you can fit into small gaps. And finally there's the blue turtle shell, which gives you a Kapoopa shell, which let's you slide along in it and take out enemies along the way. These new abilities don't pop up much so you'll need to use the older power ups more.

The other new thing is the level design, which takes advantage of some of Mario's moves in a few key spots. The move list isn't terribly long, but he's got more than enough to get by. The game has some of Mario's moves from one of the finest N64 games ever, Super Mario 64, which have been adjusted to the 2D style of gaming superbly. These moves include being able to cling to walls and slide down them to use them for wall jumps, which is really helpful. Most of the game's secrets seem to be found by using these moves. You can also execute a butt stomp too, which is good for crushing through columns of blocks. The level design seems to rely a bit on that trial and error gameplay which is one of those old gameplay styles from games like Crash Bandicoot and other games among that genre. This isn't bad however, as it gives the game a bit of challenge.

Aside from the main game, there's tons of mini-games and multiplayer modes. There's loads of mini-games, which are similar to those of Super Mario 64 DS. The mini-games are split up into 4 categories, which are action; puzzle; table and variety. Action is basically the more action-oriented games that include playing whack-a-beaver without hitting Luigi, rolling a snowball down this path before time runs out and guiding a bomb away from sparks so he don't blow up. The puzzle is basically explained by it's title, as they are puzzles. Table is when you play a variety of card games with none other than Luigi. And variety is basically the games that don't come into any of the categories and are unique. All these games involve you using the touch screen, so this is the game to get if you want to really experience using the touch screen.

My favourite mini-game was when you play 'picture' poker, which involves you getting a better hand than Luigi. The cards are pictures of a star, Mario and Luigi and other such objects. You can bet up to five coins if you think you're hand is the best. As you win more you need to put have to bet a certain amount of money. When i got 15 wins in a row i needed to bet nearly the highest amount of money in. I loved this game because it was challenging, fun to play and was the best use for the touch screen.

You can play all these games in multiplayer, but that's not all. There's this two-player mode called Mario versus Luigi that places you and an friend (or enemy) in a short level where big stars appear in the world, and the aim is to collect more stars than the other player. If you can hit your opponent, he'll drop stars which you can obviously collect. This mode was really fun, as well as the multiplayer mini-games, and was so simple to set up. I only needed one cartridge, which is accessible via the DS download play and me and some mates were playing New Super Mario Bros. together.

-(The Graphics)-
NSMB is a looker. It uses 3D objects on a 2D plane, which was used in Viewtiful Joe, though this isn't cel shading. The enviroments are colourful with lots of detail and charm, And the character models looks the same. This does really show off the power of the DS, especially in the Table mini-games as Luigi and the background behind him are all done in 3D and it looks amazing for a handheld. The frame rate is smooth throughout, ever when Mario fills the screen. I'm glad Nintendo did what some companies do when they re-make SNES games onto the handheld, and don't improve the graphics as this is one of the best looking DS games I've played so far.

-(The Sound)-
The sound is on the same level as the graphics. The music is like Nintendo's other platformers, with catchy music and great effects. The music is either remixed or one of the old songs, but it doesn't sound bad, as it tries to cross the nostalgia line. And the effects are like that as well as there's new and old effects. The voice acting is, when there is some, good for what it's trying to do, but there's little voice acting to be found.

-(Replay Value)-
Unfortunately the single-player game is pretty brief, as it'll take you around 5 hours if you're an expert to the series, but there's quite a lot of value. You'll want to explore the single-player game to unlock everything, and the mini-games will keep you coming back for more as they are really addictive and the tons of multiplayer modes can last a long time. Shame there's no Wi-Fi play, as the game would of benefited with Wi-Fi, but that's minor.

-(Score)-
Controls=10
Gameplay=9
Graphics=9
Sound=9
Replay Value=8
Overall Score=9.0=Outstanding

-(Ending Comments)-
Despite repetitive boss fights, this game is a fantastic 2D/3D side scroller that is so addictive that it's a must have for DS owners. It has a fantastic presentation, responsive controls and the game takes full advantage of the DS touch screen. The story is a little brief, but the mini-games are really fun to do after. If you liked the previous Mario games then you'll love New Super Mario Bros. and even if you're not too interested in Mario you'll do well to give this a try as it's one of the best DS games to date.

-(If You Like This I'd Suggest)-
Sonic Rush
Super Princess Peach

-(Where You Can Buy It)-
Amazon: £24.98 or used and new from £19.99