New Super Mario Bros.

After being on store shelves for only 35 days, the New Super Mario Bros. from Nintendo, sold over half a million copies in the United States alone. That’s a sell-rate of more than 20 a minute since the game came out on May 15. I guess that’s understandable considering how popular the original Super Mario Bros. was way back 20+ years ago. When I was a kid, I would play that game endlessly and tirelessly, with or without Luigi (the player 2 character). It was my absolute favorite game at one time, and even my (non-tech-savvy) mom became addicted to it.

As Mario may be the most popular video game character in history, the New Super Mario Bros. (for the Nintendo DS) brings new adventures for him. The game boasts 3D graphics to accompany the classic 2D gameplay. If you’re a Mario fan as I am, it will definitely peak your interest. The game features eight new worlds, each filled with extra levels, hidden paths and multiple secrets. It’s possible to complete the game without visiting every world, which means you’ll have to track down various alternative exits and remember to visit every nook and cranny in the game, then play it over and over again if you so choose.

The game’s storyline is that Bowser and Bowser Jr. have kidnapped Princess Peach again and only Mario can save her. The characters include Mario, Luigi and countless Mushroom Kingdom enemies (both old and new), Peach, Bowser and Bowser Jr. To make it through the game, you run, jump and battle your enemies (Goombas, Koopas and new foes) through multiple levels within each world. Every time you complete one world, you move onto the next, but not without defeating that world’s boss first. To complete the entire game, you must survive the last fight in the final world.

With the improved Mario and Luigi, you have various powers, maneuvers and features that allow you to function more efficiently. You can do special jumps, such as increasingly high triple jumps and wall jumps. You can also perform ground pounds and high bounces off enemies. With Mario you can use power-ups with mushrooms (grow big), throw fireballs, Starmen (become invincible), Blue Shells (turn into a speedy blue Koopa shell) or other mushrooms that make you either tiny or super huge.

In addition to the main game there are a variety of 20+ minigames available to play by using the touch screen on your Nintendo DS. These include card or target-bopping-type games. You can challenge yourself or play against others on a DS local area network (with one to four players via DS Download Play).

New Super Mario Bros. is rated E for Everyone and you can buy it for about $35 at your nearest Gamestop or at www.compusa.com (unfortunately there is currently no CompUSA in-store availability).