|
iStitch
United States
Kalamazoo
Michigan
If at first you don't succeed, forget it and start drinking.
-
How many lives were thrown into the proverbial rabbit-hole of video gaming because of Super Mario Bros.? I know mine was. I spent hours trying to get that plumber to Bowser's front door. I've played almost every incarnation of Mario since and nothing has ever quite captured that magic of the 8-bit original.
Until now.
Graphics: Everything is bright and colorful as a Mario game should be. It's all pseudo 3-D which is fine, but I'll admit I always have had a soft spot in my heart for plain old sprites.This isn't a high-end spectacle of graphical power and it doesn't need to be.
Story: Princess Peach has been kidnapped and only Mario can save her. Who cares, really? We just want to start smushing some Goombas.
Gameplay: Run. Jump. Shoot fireballs. Not much has been added except the wall-jump that has become standard to a lot of platformers. Sure a couple new power-ups are out there like the giant mushroom that turns Mario into a juggernaut of pure destruction and a pretty useless turtle suit, but nothing that really turns the game on it's ear.
Things I Liked:
* Here we go!
* Giant mushrooms. Mario smash!!!
* Faithfulness to what made Mario fun to begin with.
* Saving extra items to use later.
Things I Didn't Like:
* Nothing.
Bottom Line: It's old-school Mario in a more modern wrapper and a lot of fun. I play it just as much as my six-year-old little girl. She might be better than I am, but I have fun anyway! Don't pass this up.
-
Anthony DuLac
United States
Minnesota
-
No lives lost on my account. I can't stand this series. Where it lost me was when I was watching some glassy-eyed kid playing the arcade version of the original. He'd jump to some weird spot where nothing was and suddenly hit an invisible block to get some power-up. I asked him, "Hey, how did you know that block was there. How did your playing of the game help inform you enough to know that?"
His response was a mumbled, "Um, read the hint guide and watched my friend play."
That was the moment when I realized that these types of games were far too simplistic and antithetical to the style of gaming that I preferred. A game should cleverly inform and teach its player about the game through the gameplay NOT through hint guides. Just plain dumb.
Never looked back and never felt any regret about it. Far better games out there for my money.
However, in a delicious twist of videogame irony - worthy of a short story by the famous O. Henry - my wife adores this particular game series. Gah!   
-
Anthony DuLac
United States
Minnesota
-
Good review, though, Cold_Fuzion and I think it's awesome that you can play with your daughter. So cool!
-
iStitch
United States
Kalamazoo
Michigan
If at first you don't succeed, forget it and start drinking.
-
Not every game works for everyone. I enjoy platformers and Mario is pretty much the gold standard of platformers.
-
Chris
United States
Newark
Delaware
-
wytefang wrote:
Never looked back and never felt any regret about it. Far better games out there for my money.
While you're quite right about the original, the series has come a long way since then and learned a lot. The great thing about platformers are secrets, but they are no longer as apocryphal as the original game. Secrets are more puzzles to be solved than inside knowledge, and they've long since moved away from that. It's more about exploring a unique world, looking for hidden things, rather than having to jump at the exact right spot to find the invisible block. And even then, the game was quite beatable without knowing all the secret stuff. In fact, I honestly find it more interesting to skip it, since the real fun is seeing one of the prime catalysts of the platformer genre in all its glory, 1-1 to 8-4. You should try a more recent game (Mario Galaxy comes to mind) and, if possible, go in with no expectations except platforming goodness.
Then again, if you don't like anything in that genre, then forget it 
-
Anthony DuLac
United States
Minnesota
-
Well in fairness to Mario, the other issue is simply that I find him and the type of setting to be childish and boring. I've loved some other platformers with far cooler or more interesting protagonists and gameplay.
-
|
|
If at first you don't succeed, forget it and start drinking.
