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Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

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Watch us play five Super Mario 3D World levels in full

And see our pick of the best new power-ups.

In case yesterday's trailer left you in any doubt, Super Mario 3D World looks like it might be one of Nintendo's best platformers in recent years. And if you still need convincing, we've got three exclusive gameplay videos below which may change your mind.

Eurogamer's YouTube editor Ian Highton and I were recently able to go hands-on with the game and capture five early levels to show you in full. There are some instant classics in there, such as course where you need to use cleverly-angled shadows to spot hidden power-ups, and a sneak peek at a level where you get to ride on the back of a dragon/Loch Ness Monster thing.

Fair warning, me and Ian spend a fair amount of time arguing over the new Crown item, a rather competitive object explained in full in our Best New Power-Ups video below.

We're also able to show off the snazzy new World Map, which you can run around and explore at will. Oh and there's Cat Goombas. Why are you still reading this?

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube