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During E3, Nintendo showed off the New Super Mario Bros. Wii which is no doubt going to be one of the most anticipated games on the system before Christmas. We managed to get some hands-on time with the game to see what all the fuss is about.
First impressions are very good for this title, it seems like Nintendo took the original game back from the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, added four player multiplayer support and put it on the Wii... Which gets no complaints from us. Each of the four players which is local only, the game will not support online multiplayer unfortunately, are automatically assigned a character dependent upon which number they take, for example; Player one will take Mario, player two will have Luigi, three will get a blue Toad and player four will get a yellow Toad. Each of the characters seemed to be able to do everything the other could, the only real difference being the graphical representation. All players have the ability to pick each other up which is handy if someone's character dies or if you want to get those coins before another player does by picking them up and throwing them off a ledge which can make for some truly unique moments as you all scramble for the golden coins.
The game was split into an available 10 levels for us to choose from, though Nintendo have confirmed there will be more than 80 upon release. The first level we played on was one inspired by the first Super Mario Bros from the NES with the same layout and feel but with four players and some very nice graphics. Since the game borrows inspiration from its distant single-player predecessor, it does however require teamwork to complete, but, you not only have to worry about each other, the game adds an element of competitiveness to it by ranking players at the end of the level based on the amount of coins which they have acquired.
Throughout the levels you'll also find some well known power-ups with a few additional extras, such as the fire flower which is present for those who like to burn Goombas to a crisp. New to the game is the helicopter hat which lets you fly around the skies, and the Penguin suit which gives you the ability to slide down icy slopes while throwing snowballs. Not only will you be taking on Goombas throughout Super Mario Bros. Wii, you'll be tackling Koopa Troopas and even the nearly forgotten Koopa Kids, we haven't however seen the dreaded Bowser yet, but you can only imagine the type of mayhem which will be had when he turns up to battle the four of you.
With our hands-on time with the game, we got chance to play through a few other stages such as the snow level where we all got to use the Penguin suit which is a barrel of fun, we also got to see a lava stage which seems to be new and not pulled from the original NES game. One thing worth mentioning here and after a brief chat with a Nintendo representative, even though one of the levels is a remake of the original NES title, perhaps other are as well, they are fully re-mastered for the Wii and aren't exactly the same due to the inclusion of the now four player multiplayer support, regardless, even if they were copies, they feel original due to the co-op side of it and are great to play with friends.
Controls were fairly easy to pick up with New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it was a simple case of holding the remote like the traditional NES controller, letting you run, jump, pound and with the new ability to lift and throw your friends with a shake of the controller. The controls feel just right, Nintendo haven't overly used the motion controls which is a blessing as it could distract from the gameplay. Support for the classic controller hasn't been confirmed yet, but the majority seem to think that it would be a lot easier to play with over the Wii Remote simply from the ergonomic design of the controller.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii looks set to be one the Wii's best games of 2009 come this Christmas when it's released. You'll be able to check out our full review once we get our hands on it so stay tuned.
