New Super Mario Bros Wii Review

Last night, I had the chance to try out the New Super Mario Bros Wii game. Well I'll say this. I like the game. Basically, to me at least, it is Super Mario Bros III and Super Mario World rolled into one. I say that because I'm old enough to remember sinking hours upon hours into both of those games and because there are elements taken from both those games. The story is what you'd expect. I don't need to explain that. I do like how you play the game. You must turn the Wiimote sideways to play ala classic style (except unlike the NES controller, the A button is on the left side). There are the standard eight worlds each with eight levels, and like SMBIII, there are toadhouses that have games. In fact the panels game is similar to the card matching game in SMBIII. On each of the worlds, there is a cannon. I have yet to figure out how to use it. There is a minifortress as well as a full fortress in each world also. Also after you complete a number of levels in each world, a toad icon may appear. In that case, you need to find a toad in that level and carry him to the goal line. I found that objective to be quite cumbersome because when you carry him he causes you to move slowly. So I usually do not do those missions. Yoshi returns but there aren't that many levels that feature him. There are difficult suits as well. The propeller suit lets Mario fly while the penguin suit lets Mario slide.
The presentation is what you'd expect from a Wii game. Not superior graphics but not bad either. The voice acting is ok because there really isn't that much. I like the music which has helped me like the game even more. If are a completionist like me, then there are tons of replay value in this game. You can purchase different movies with coins, attempt to get every Yoshi coin (another SM World holdover) and attempt to save every toad possible. There is multiplayer, up to 4 four players. There is an upside to that and a downside. The upside is that you can drop in and out at any time and it's helpful to have another player or two to help get that hard to reach item. Conversely, four players on the same screen can be problematic if the playing area is really small. That leads me to another point. For veteran Mario players, they may feel that the game is too generous. Coins are plentiful and unless you are really bad, you can amass lives really quickly. Again a small gripe though. If you are a Mario fan, this is a must buy. Same goes for anyone that wants a Wii game that isn't shovelware and is actually something worth your money. So without further ado, lets-a-go.