New Super Mario Bros. First Impressions

Super Size Me

The three level demo didn't allow much room to show off too many new ideas, but we did get a flavour of some of the power-ups that feature in the game; one of which spontaneously transforms Mario into a giant version that's as tall as the screen and enables him to deal with the mutant nasties that have similarly grown out of control. Although at first the game appears to be a standard 2D platformer, the scalable visuals give Nintendo licence to play around with the camera a little, zooming in and out dynamically, while the scenery is far more dynamic than previously, with trees visibly feeling the impact of Mario's infamous returning butt-stomp.

In the true spirit of Super Mario gameplay tradition, much of your travels are simple exercises in coin collecting, block-butting for power-ups, an endless butt-stomping procession clearing Koopas and Goombas and trying to suss out ways to avoid hungry giant Piranha plants along the way. Alongside a cleaner graphical style and hugely improved animation, it's immediately apparent that new SM64-inspired moves have made it into the mix, including wall jumps and back-flips, while the powered-up Mario will also apparently be capable of dishing out kicks and punches - not that the demo provided much evidence of that in truth.

In keeping with previous Mario adventures, exploration and kleptomania is as much a part of the game as simply working your way from left to right, and it's not long before you're diving into pipes and foraging in underground lairs for all the optional coins, power-ups and other goodies that are hidden within. Typically, Nintendo switches the action to the lower screen whenever you jump down into a pipe, which is logical if nothing else. They have to use the second screen for something, eh?

Mario Versus Luigi

Wireless multiplayer also promises to be a lot of fun with one player controlling Luigi, and the other Mario in a straight up race from one side of the level to the other. In keeping with the Mario Kart power-up principle, players can grab lightning bolts that shrink your opponent, or blue blocks that transport the player to your location, allowing you to catch up lost ground. Whether the full package will also be laced with touch-screen bonus mini-games is unknown at this stage, but we're sure Nintendo will pack the game with assorted bonuses to encourage replayability.

Visually, one argument is that it pays homage to the past too much for its own good. Although the traditionalists will undoubtedly coo over the fact that Nintendo has remained utterly faithful to the look and feel and it's great to see that there's still a place for the old style, there are very sound hardware-related reasons why those games looked the way they did.

Fast forward 15, 20 years to a capable platform like the DS and the design sensibilities make the demo levels look basic, minimalist and perhaps even a little empty in places. In a sense, what Nintendo has done with its New Super Mario Bros. is akin to what modern bands often do when they release a clean-sounding cover version of an old classic song with strings and a gospel choir. In theory, the modern arrangements and crystal clear recording techniques ought to make it sound better, but somehow you just prefer the soul of the crap mono 1965 recordings that make it sound like it was recorded live in a cramped, sweaty garage with a Dictaphone. Is this "New" Super Mario Bros., or "Old"? It would have been interesting to see what a truly new 2D Mario Bros could look like, rather than one which clings for dear life to the past. Maybe Nintendo will do one of those as well?