Essentially, the Bros have the same moves as previous titles with the exception of team moves and a few extra bells and whistles. Yoshi manages to make an appearance and you'll be able to ride on his back, allowing you to jump higher, eat goombas and spew swallowed turtles. There are also a few new suits and power-ups which give you special abilities.

The latest additions include the Propeller suit which allows for aerial boosts, the Ice flower which allows you to hurl ice and the Penguin suit which gives you the Ice flower ability as well as better control over icy terrain. I was a bit disappointed with how few suits there were, as well as their lack of ingenuity. We all know how smart Nintendo can get when they suit up, and I expected a better show in this department. You'll also be able to collect these suits as well as other power-ups at halfway bonus houses dotted throughout each world.

The levels are well designed and have that typically surreal edge inherent in every Mario adventure. You'll revisit familiar locales such as the desert, water and castle levels, and will have to overcome all the usual suspects along the way ? I mean, where does Bowser get all his henchmen from? He must have a great pension plan and I'm sure the risk pay is awesome.

Although the game is 2D, many of the backgrounds are rendered in 3D, and the very foundations or platforms you tread on shift, bob and shuffle as much as Shakira's hips. It is like some psychedelic trip through Willy Wonka's home gym, with the exception that you DIE if you fall off the equipment.

A cool addition is that some of the level obstacles can also be controlled with typical Wiimote gestures, and you'll be able to tilt sea-saws or shift platforms at a whim. These areas are a bit rare which is rather unfortunate since it is not a secret that I am quite the motion-control junkie.

What I found a bit disappointing was that graphically, the game looks way too similar to the DS version to a point that you could call it a port. It's just that I would have expected some reasonable improvements since it's essentially making a jump from handheld to console.

Once again, Nintendo yields the power of nostalgia like a sledgehammer, and NSMBW holds no punches. The music is comprised with the standard issue beats and, as usual, everyone goes bonkers over them. Nintendo must be saving millions worth in royalties. I swear, even the sound effects have been lifted from prior versions dating back to the first Mario Bros. Cheap move or genius master plan? Well, at the end of the day it works, and everyone digs it. It's kinda like running into an old friend and going for coffee and ... damn you Nintendo for your genius!

They did drop the ball, however, with the character selection and I feel that the two unknown toad fellows just don?t cut it. They could have given players the option of various other characters like Wario or Donkey Kong for instance ? just have a look at Smash Bros to see the possibilities. A character selection like this would have brought the gaming community to its knees. Next time maybe?

The four-man gameplay is the biggest draw for Mario Bros and there is an extra multiplayer mode which allows players to go head-to-head in a competition for the best scores. The game structure is fairly simple and there are merely two game modes ? once again it felt like there could have been more. For me, this aspect seemed to be a repeating occurrence throughout the game. As fun as the game is, it just feels like Nintendo could have made much more of it.

These shortcomings are the difference between NSMBW being an awesome game to it becoming a timeless classic. After playing a range of other Nintendo titles I guess I have really high standards and I know that they are capable of more. That said, this game is a definite must if you have a Wii. It cleverly presents classic Mario Bro action to a new generation of gamers while reaching out to the good ol' faithfuls. Just remember, there is no "I" in "teamwork", however, there is an "I" in Mario...

8.8/10

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