REVIEW: New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS

REVIEW

New Super Mario Bros.

Nintendo DS

Nintendo

Reviewed by Eric Leamen

Super Mario Bros. still holds the record for best selling game of all time. Now, Mario is back in an all new side scroller for the Nintendo DS.

New Super Mario Bros. is a great new 3D Mario game for the Nintendo DS. The story is the same, Princess Peach gets captured by Bowser, actually, it's Bowser Jr., and Mario must save her. In this game, Mario ventures through 8 worlds (2 of which are unlockable), with about 8 levels each. You jump on enemies to kill them, or use power ups, which are available throughout the game. Power Ups include the fire flower, mini mushroom, mega mushroom, the blue koopa shell, and all of your favourite classics power ups from the original Mario.

Not only does Mario have some new power ups, he has learned some new moves over the years! The ground pound can be very helpful in breaking those pesky boxes in hard to reach places. They also let you access hidden areas, blocked by boxes. Mario can also now climb up walls! Using the wall jump, you can climb to high places, that sometimes hide secret items!

The screens have a very simple layout. The top screen is where gameplay takes place, and the bottom screen charts your progress in the level. You can also keep track of your lives, the number of star coins you have collected, and the item you've picked up, and saved.

Of course, along the way, you'll have the help of the familiar green plumbing pipes. In this game, when Mario slides down a pipe, gameplay takes place on the bottom screen. Some pipes are too small for Mario to fit into, so you'll have to find a mini mushroom to access them.

The graphics in this game are awesome! Excellent for the Nintendo DS. Gameplay doesn't take a long time, in fact I've had the game for less than a month, and I'm already at the last level. But, this game has a lot of replay value, because you can replay each level that you finish. And the newly discovered Challenge Mode. Challenge Mode only lets you scroll forward, you can't backtrack in the level, just like the original Mario.

New Super Mario Bros. also comes packed with over 50 fun and challenging mini games, that you can play with your friends! The minigames also provide even more replay value, once you've completed the game!

Although I've made this game sound perfect, there is one distinct flaw! You can't save whenever you want. You can only save at certain checkpoints!

New Super Mario Bros. is a great new game, and I highly recommend it to Mario fans, and non-Mario fans alike.

Editor's Score: 9.5/10