New Super Mario Bros. Wii Review

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Platform: Wii Players: 1-4 Release: 2009 Genre: 2D Platformer Rating: 9.5 \ 10.0: Masterful

Many people enjoyed New Super Mario Bros. (me being among them),which became a millions-selling DS hit. But in some ways, this top-notch pseudo-sequel is just as good. The new story is better than its predecessor. It's Peach's birthday, and when her massive cake arrives, the Koopalings jump out of it (how they got in there, nobody knows) and carry her away. That's right-- the Koopalings, Bowser's magic wand-wielding children from Super Mario Bros. 3 and  Super Mario World (and not to mention Mario and Luigi: Super Star Saga). NSMBW also brings back another element just from SMB3: Bowser's Doom Ship. But of course, since it has "new" in its title, you'd expect the game to introduce new things. It does. There are new enemies, a new world, and more. There are also new power-ups. There's the Propeller Mushroom, which allows you to burst through the sky with a shake of your Wii Remote and slow down your descent the same way; and the Penguin Suit, which appears as a waddling penguin and gives Mario a penguin transformation and allows him to spit snowballs, slide on ice and water, and more. The Ice Flower isn't new, but it has a far different effect than it did in Super Mario Galaxy, the only other game which it has appeared. Rather than temporarily turning you to ice and allowing you to create frozen paths on water and lava, it simply allows you to hurl enemy-freezing snowballs. Unfortunately, the game completely lacks the fun minigames of its predecessor, but instead features two additional modes: Coin Battle, in which opposing players must race to collect the most coins scattered throughout a stage, and Free Play, in which you compete in stages in attempt to clear the majority of them first. The game also introduces four-player cooperative play in the main mode. In some parts of the game, you're going to really need some assistance, or else it can be infuriatingly difficult. This is why the game includes a Super Guide feature. If you die eight times in the same stage, a  green block will appear where you restart from. Hitting the block will enable you to make Luigi clear the stage for you, but he doesn't uncover secrets Among other improvements are the vastly upgraded music and the new varieties of Toad houses-- like ones that only contain only Super Stars to add to your power-up inventory-- a feature of Super Mario Bros 3. Also adding to the fun is the inclusion of Yoshis! Mario's prehistoric pal is now found in some stages, and in his first appearance in a Mario side-scroller since Super Mario World. (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, SMW's 1995 Super NES pseudo-sequel, doesn't count) The game is at its best when you and three friends are all riding Yoshis simultaneously. But NSMBW scraps the homage to Toadsworth, the mustachioed and elderly Toad and Peach's butler, that was present in the original NSMB. But any of the flaws I mentioned are incredibly minor, and I can't recommend this game enough to platforming fans.  This is by far the greatest 2D platformer I've ever played.

Ups
New power-ups
New modes
Upgraded graphics and sound
Inclusion of Yoshi
Inclusion of the Koopalings
Chaotically fun multiplayer

Downs
Lack of minigames
Scrapped homage

ESRB: E Content: Comic Mischief Price: $49.99 (Retail)

Kid Icarus: Uprising Review

Kid Icarus: Uprising

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Sora Platform: 3DS Players: 1 (Adventure), 2-8 (Together) Release: 2012 Genre:  Third-Person-Shooter /  Adventure Rating: 9.4 \ 10.0: Excellent

“Sorry to keep you waiting!” says Pit as he bursts into action at the start of the game. The angelic protagonist, Pit, last appeared in 2008 in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (which was directed by the same person) but this statement is most likely related to the fact that he hasn’t starred in a solo game since 1991’s Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters for the Game Boy, which I never played. It’s not a sequel to that game, but it serves as a follow-up to the original Kid Icarus, which was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Enough with history talk— now comes the plot. The game is set 25 years after the original, which is the time between the releases of the two games. Pit is once again tasked with defeating Medusa and her Underworld army. Throughout the ques which is influenced by Greek mythology,  you must take down Medusa’s commanders. You'll also have to deal with Dark Pit, Pit’s evil doppelganger who’s created when Pit smashes the Mirror of Truth, which creates copies of whatever looks at it. Before beginning a stage (referred to as a chapter) you must select an “intensity” at the Fiend's Cauldron. The intensity ranges from 0.0 (virtually impossible to die) to 9.0 (virtually impossible to survive) Only 2.0 can be played for free. You’ll have to pay hearts (the game’s currency) to play at anything lower and wager hearts to play at a harder level. Each of the game’s stages are split into three segments: a five-minute flying sequence, a segment in which you must traverse the land, and a battle with one of Medusa’s commanders. The Goddess of Light, Palutena, chats with Pit throughout the game, and the games dialogue is very humorous, and occasionally contains Nintendo references (I faintly remember hearing a Nintendogs joke when I was battling a flaming three-headed dog). Strangely enough, the characters are aware they're in a video game. There are many other characters who Pit bickers with, including Dark Pit and Medusa. You even have a humorous dialogue with Medusa's commanders as you approach the end of the stage, and as you battle. The plot of Kid Icarus has a complex storyline. After slaying Medusa, you will encounter her creator, Hades, God of the Underworld. He creates a myth about a Wish Seed that can grant any wish, and informs the humans of its existence so that they'll fight each other to extinction over it.  And then, there's Viridi, Goddess of Nature, who thinks humans are ungrateful barbaric creatures that ruin the Earth, and tries to wipe them out with nuclear bombs (made from natural materials). Instead of wielding a simple bow throughout the game, you can amass an expansive arsenal ranging from nine weapon categories: blades, staffs, arms, claws, palms, orbitars, cannons, clubs, and bows. There are countless weapons, each one with a certain use. Weapons can be found randomly in treasure chests, earned by slaying bosses, and by other means. In addition to weapons, you can also assign several magic powers to your arsenal, including massive jump boosts, poisonous attacks, the ability to transform into a missile, the ability to summon a fiery explosion, and more. These powers are assigned to a grid, with each one assuming a different Tertromino-like shape based on value. You can have as many powers as you can manage to fit into the grid, and it feels like a fun jigsaw puzzle. In your Adventure mode menu, you can visit the arms altar. Here, you can convert weapons into hearts, purchase new ones, or fuse them together to make stronger ones. The game gives you weapons a value rating, so you'll know which weapon to turn into hearts if you end up with two of the same one. Your arsenal can be tested at the Practice Range. In addition to the epic single-player quest, there are two multiplayer modes: Free-For-All, in which you can battle numerous fellow KI: U owners in a large arena, and Light vs. Dark, in which you must team up to defeat your opponents. In Light vs. Dark, each team has a health gauge that depletes as your teammates die. When your teams gauge empties completely, the next team member who dies is reborn as either Pit (if you’re on the Light side) or Dark Pit (if you’re on the Dark side), and the opposing team must defeat him to win. There’s a twist: the more powerful your weapon, the more of your team’s health is eaten away when you die. The best performing player in a multiplayer match receives a mystery bonus: Either a weapon or power. You are also able to play these modes with CPU opponents with controllable difficulty, or have a private match with your buddies. As with the Super Smash Bros. series, you are able to collect countless trophies and listen to a musical pictures that can be viewed at any time. Which reminds me, whatever you're doing in the game, you'll be treated to a beautiful orchestrated musical score that combines amazing original pieces (most notably Dark Pit's theme) with improved rearrangements of classic tunes that were already great as chiptunes. The soundtrack trails not far behind the Super Mario Galaxy games on my list of favorite video game music, a very difficult feat for a game to accomplish. Even so, the game isn't perfect . Sometimes, even the default and low difficulty for the main game’s stages can be frustrating, and the touchscreen camera controls are mediocre. Additionally, this game makes it clear that the 3DS was not built for shooters. The clamshell design of the handheld doesn't allow for triggers, but thankfully, you're not forced to use either of the shoulder buttons. While it may sound awkward, I use the Y button to shoot. The system also doesn't have a right circle pad, meaning that you must either purchase the circle pad pro attachment to have tradtional aiming or use the touchscreen, which I found to be easier than most people did.

Kid Icarus: Uprising is very well worth playing. It's one of the best titles available for the 3DS, and an absolute must-have for any Nintendo fanatic. But either way, you should really give it a shot.

Ups
Epic single-player quest
Fun additional modes
Tons of extra content
Spectacular musical score
Hilarious script

Downs
Default difficulty can be frustrating
Mediocre touchscreen camera controls
System not built for shooters

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, and Mild Suggestive Themes Price: $39.99 (Retail / Download)

Super Mario 64 Review

Super Mario 64

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo 64 Players: 1 Release: 1996 Genre: 3D Platformer / Adventure Rating: 8.3 \ 10.0: Great

Sure, Super Mario 64 is old, but it’s widely regarded as one of the greatest videogames of all time. I don’t think it’s perfect, but it’s still pretty darn good. The plot has an unusual twist— Bowser doesn’t imprison Princess Peach in his lair— instead he traps her behind the stained glass window on the front of her own castle. At the start of the game, an invitation to the Mushroom Castle is read aloud by Peach, the camera rotates around Peach's courtyard, then focuses on the ground. A green Warp Pipe emerges, and out pops a full 3D model of Mario. Back in the mid-'90s, this was mind-blowing, and I can imagine why. This game revolutionized gaming with its full-3D environments and exploration. After crossing a bridge and walking through the door of the castle, you’ll see several doors marked with stars inside, and one that’s unmarked.  The numbered doors are locked at the start of the game, but the locked rooms can be accessed once you acquire the matching number of Power Stars, yellow stars that you must collect to complete a level, equal to the number on the door. Every room has one or more large paintings inside. When touched some paintings will teleport you to the course they’re represented by. Each course has 7 missions for you to complete, such as taking down a boss, racing a foe, collecting the 8 red coins hidden throughout the course, and more. Most courses are fairly small— they’re just large landmasses. Though the courses may be contain other small islands, they’re just as hard to explore. It takes a while to discover every secret and search every nook and cranny of the course, and it feels great to explore so freely. Crash Bandicoot may have been 3D, but it was linear. One minor annoyance is that because of the mission’s brevities, dying just once will send you hurtling back into the castle. Another quibble is that the difficultly continuously rises with each mission, up to the point where you want to give up. Also, the controls can be a bit loose and overly responsive at times— for example, if you accidently run in a circle when you intended to curve in a single direction, you’re likely to have to run in a few more loops before getting back on track. But platforming pros can use this to their advantage, such as using Mario’s overly responsive jumping to scale small mountainsides and the like. A new twist in the controls is Mario’s newfound ability to punch and kick. If you rapidly tap the B button three times in a row, Mario will perform punches on the fist two taps, and a kick on the third. Kicks sometimes destroy objects and enemies that you would otherwise pick up, like  crates and Bob-ombs. In addition to combos, Mario can perform other attacks, such as lunging forward by pressing B while moving forwards. Also, minor visual glitches sometimes occur, but it's a small issue that you likely will not care about. Despite these minor problems, there’s an excellent adventure to be played through. It can be immensely satisfying to discover the games many secrets. Throughout the game, you’ll meet friendly Bob-ombs, a fleet-footed Koopa, a mother penguin who’s lost her baby, an owl who flies you over courses, and other characters. Super Mario 64 is a highly entertaining classic, and it’s not to be missed by any Mario diehard.

Ups3D-ness!!!
Non-linear
New moves
Satisfying-to-discover secrets
Unique characters

Downs
1 death means restarting the stage
Frustrating difficulty rise
Loose and overly responsive controls
Minor visual glitches (but who cares?)

ESRB: E Content: ??? Price: $10.00 (Download)