The (Hardcore) Casual Gamer: A Good Week for Nintendo

If you have not already heard, New Super Mario Brothers was released last Sunday making it a good week for me. This is one of those games I have been waiting years for and I am sure that I am not the only one. I guess the real question is, is it everything I hoped it would be?

One of the things that really bothered me about past Mario games was that in order to play with friends you had to take turns. Looking back, I really feel sorry for all my friends that I forced to play Mario who did not have a Nintendo at home. I am pretty sure they did not have all that much fun watching me complete most of the levels. Not to mention I knew where all the hidden items were. Not fun for all, but fun for me;-) Now we can play with our friends in co-op play. Not only that, but you can work together or be a little more competitive. I personally find the game more fun when playing with someone else. That is not to say the game is not fun when played solo, but, in my opinion, I find the game more enjoyable in co-op. The best part is that you can add and remove players while you play. So, you don't have to start a new game because you have friends over!

Another aspect that I enjoyed about the game is something that I really liked about Super Mario 3 and that is the map screen. I like being able to see where you have been, being able to replay boards, and the special Toad huts where you can earn special items. I remember being really excited by that back on my NES and am glad that it has continued.

One of the things that I found difficult about the game is that movement has a different feel to me. You know when you watch someone else playing a previous Mario game and you fingers tap or your head bobs because you instinctively now the timing of the game? Well, that might not happen for you here. For those of us that have been playing for the last 20 years or so and have a good sense of "Mario timing" this game might throw you off a bit. This might be because of the "waggle factor." I know the game is on Wii and all, but it is hard to break 20 years of, well lets call it training. When I play Mario, "waggle" is not instinctive for me, unlike in Mario Kart. Not to say this isn't something that can be overcome, but I really did expect more of the same feel and timing that I am used to.

Oh, and did I mention that Bowser's kids are back? Overall, I really like this game and it was worth the wait. Now, Nintendo just has to make sure that the upcoming Mario Galaxy 2 lives up!