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"New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)"

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Sun 26/08/12 at 21:57
Regular
"Ghosts Can't Die!"
Posts: 774
You should know the score by now; Mario jumps, runs, leaps on enemies and punches blocks to reveal mushrooms and other goodies – all this with the final goal of beating Bowser once more and saving the Princess. It’s a formula that as far as its 2D series goes, remains unchanged, and yet still manages to constantly deliver a fine-tuned platforming experience time after time. However with the excellent Super Mario 3D Land last year and another New Super Mario Bros due at the Wii U’s launch later this year, are we seeing too much of the portly plumber?

As with previous Mario adventures, in New Super Mario Bros 2 you’ll tackle a series of side-scrolling levels spread out over a number of worlds with puzzling ghost houses and boss filled castles popping up along the way. The raccoon leaf makes a return (this time allowing you to fly) along with both the mega and mini mushroom overall providing a decent range of abilities. Throughout your journey you’re still going from A to B in stages. You’re still grabbing power-ups to help you along the way. You’re still jumping on a Koopa Kid three times. You’re still… well you can see where I’m going with this.

So what exactly is new? Well as the game’s bright yellow box and many adverts have probably revealed to you already, Mario has suddenly turned greedy collecting more gold coins than Davy Jones and Jack Sparrow combined. Whereas with previous Mario titles, coins were merely optional extras that would net you an extra life every so often, here you’re encouraged to collect as many as possible not only forming high scores for each stage, but also adding to an overall counter with an aim to reach one million total. You heard me right. In a normal Mario game this would be nigh impossible, however some new additions help make things a little easier. Gold rings turn Goombas and Koopas gold rewarding players when stomped on, the gold flower allows Mario to turn blocks and enemies into coins with golden fireballs while a special golden block attaches itself to the plumber’s head and sends a steady stream your way the faster you run. Even performing certain actions such as flipping a switch can suddenly cause an overhead pipe to start raining with gold. The emphasis on collecting means you’ll find yourself with thousands of coins by the end of a single stage and strangely enough this shift in focus helps shake things up. Now it’s actually fun to collect coins in a Mario game.

Sadly however there is still not much point to it. While adverts will urge you to reach the one million mark, there really is little point with the final reward being crushingly disappointing. Along the way you’ll be alerted of milestones you’ve reached but again you won’t get anything for your troubles. It seems a few extras could have been thrown in giving you actual incentive to collect this mountain of gold.

The entire adventure can be played with a second player on another 3DS but sadly this mode suffers for two reasons. Firstly both members need a copy of the game. While other first party titles like Mario Kart 7 and Mario Tennis Open have excelled in their download multiplayer option, New Super Mario Bros 2 instead restricts you. Secondly the co-op mode just feels oddly implemented. In a strange decision, despite having two separate screens, Mario and Luigi can never stray too far from each other. The idea of getting your own screen and racing a friend to the finish sounds fantastic, yet Nintendo have opted for a just-okay tethered option. It’s disappointing as multiplayer could have been so much more.

“Coin Rush” mode is a new addition to the series that focuses purely on collecting as much of the golden stuff as possible over three randomly selected stages. Golden mushrooms, multipliers earned by grabbing the top of the end stage flagpole and golden rings are aplenty as you aim to score as high as possible by the end of your three level run. With a very strict time limit on each stage though and just a single death resulting in a fail, this mode offers a big challenge as you try to find the right balance between being safe and running for the goal or risking it all and going for more gold. Figuring out where every secret stash of coins is on stages whilst at the same time keeping an eye on your ever decreasing clock is often exciting and always tense. Whereas speed runs are common practice for platformers these days, the additional element of coin collecting helps set this mode apart. Of my twenty odd hour playtime I’ve spent a good chunk of that simply aiming to topple my previous scores rather than focusing on the main story itself. This is a great addition to the series and hopefully something Nintendo consider for the upcoming Wii U version hopefully next time with actual online leaderboards.

New Super Mario Bros 2 is probably the first 3DS title where I’ve had the 3D slider at maximum with an effect that simply blurs the background bringing the focus solely on the fore. Overall the game just doesn’t feel like it was built with the console in mind. Whereas other platformers before it on the 3DS have used different layers to its strength, Mario on the other hand plays it disappointingly safe only looking slightly better than its DS original. It even manages to the same generic environments used in previous entries in the series rarely ever straying outside the box and offering something new. The music too is a handful of copied tracks from the first game with added “Wah!” and “Bah!” which feels extremely lazy on Nintendo’s part. Those who hated the music before will find little to change your mind here.

New Super Mario Bros 2 offers more of the same 2D Mario platforming we’ve come to expect with perhaps some of the best level design seen in the series yet. Disappointing multiplayer and recycled music and visuals aside, the new “Coin Rush” mode is a fantastic addition to the series and with the promise of future levels as DLC who know what sort of crazy ideas Nintendo may have in store. Sure it’s not the most ambitious Mario title out there, but when exactly was having another outing with the plumber as polished as this a bad thing?

8/10
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
Sun 26/08/12 at 21:57
Regular
"Ghosts Can't Die!"
Posts: 774
You should know the score by now; Mario jumps, runs, leaps on enemies and punches blocks to reveal mushrooms and other goodies – all this with the final goal of beating Bowser once more and saving the Princess. It’s a formula that as far as its 2D series goes, remains unchanged, and yet still manages to constantly deliver a fine-tuned platforming experience time after time. However with the excellent Super Mario 3D Land last year and another New Super Mario Bros due at the Wii U’s launch later this year, are we seeing too much of the portly plumber?

As with previous Mario adventures, in New Super Mario Bros 2 you’ll tackle a series of side-scrolling levels spread out over a number of worlds with puzzling ghost houses and boss filled castles popping up along the way. The raccoon leaf makes a return (this time allowing you to fly) along with both the mega and mini mushroom overall providing a decent range of abilities. Throughout your journey you’re still going from A to B in stages. You’re still grabbing power-ups to help you along the way. You’re still jumping on a Koopa Kid three times. You’re still… well you can see where I’m going with this.

So what exactly is new? Well as the game’s bright yellow box and many adverts have probably revealed to you already, Mario has suddenly turned greedy collecting more gold coins than Davy Jones and Jack Sparrow combined. Whereas with previous Mario titles, coins were merely optional extras that would net you an extra life every so often, here you’re encouraged to collect as many as possible not only forming high scores for each stage, but also adding to an overall counter with an aim to reach one million total. You heard me right. In a normal Mario game this would be nigh impossible, however some new additions help make things a little easier. Gold rings turn Goombas and Koopas gold rewarding players when stomped on, the gold flower allows Mario to turn blocks and enemies into coins with golden fireballs while a special golden block attaches itself to the plumber’s head and sends a steady stream your way the faster you run. Even performing certain actions such as flipping a switch can suddenly cause an overhead pipe to start raining with gold. The emphasis on collecting means you’ll find yourself with thousands of coins by the end of a single stage and strangely enough this shift in focus helps shake things up. Now it’s actually fun to collect coins in a Mario game.

Sadly however there is still not much point to it. While adverts will urge you to reach the one million mark, there really is little point with the final reward being crushingly disappointing. Along the way you’ll be alerted of milestones you’ve reached but again you won’t get anything for your troubles. It seems a few extras could have been thrown in giving you actual incentive to collect this mountain of gold.

The entire adventure can be played with a second player on another 3DS but sadly this mode suffers for two reasons. Firstly both members need a copy of the game. While other first party titles like Mario Kart 7 and Mario Tennis Open have excelled in their download multiplayer option, New Super Mario Bros 2 instead restricts you. Secondly the co-op mode just feels oddly implemented. In a strange decision, despite having two separate screens, Mario and Luigi can never stray too far from each other. The idea of getting your own screen and racing a friend to the finish sounds fantastic, yet Nintendo have opted for a just-okay tethered option. It’s disappointing as multiplayer could have been so much more.

“Coin Rush” mode is a new addition to the series that focuses purely on collecting as much of the golden stuff as possible over three randomly selected stages. Golden mushrooms, multipliers earned by grabbing the top of the end stage flagpole and golden rings are aplenty as you aim to score as high as possible by the end of your three level run. With a very strict time limit on each stage though and just a single death resulting in a fail, this mode offers a big challenge as you try to find the right balance between being safe and running for the goal or risking it all and going for more gold. Figuring out where every secret stash of coins is on stages whilst at the same time keeping an eye on your ever decreasing clock is often exciting and always tense. Whereas speed runs are common practice for platformers these days, the additional element of coin collecting helps set this mode apart. Of my twenty odd hour playtime I’ve spent a good chunk of that simply aiming to topple my previous scores rather than focusing on the main story itself. This is a great addition to the series and hopefully something Nintendo consider for the upcoming Wii U version hopefully next time with actual online leaderboards.

New Super Mario Bros 2 is probably the first 3DS title where I’ve had the 3D slider at maximum with an effect that simply blurs the background bringing the focus solely on the fore. Overall the game just doesn’t feel like it was built with the console in mind. Whereas other platformers before it on the 3DS have used different layers to its strength, Mario on the other hand plays it disappointingly safe only looking slightly better than its DS original. It even manages to the same generic environments used in previous entries in the series rarely ever straying outside the box and offering something new. The music too is a handful of copied tracks from the first game with added “Wah!” and “Bah!” which feels extremely lazy on Nintendo’s part. Those who hated the music before will find little to change your mind here.

New Super Mario Bros 2 offers more of the same 2D Mario platforming we’ve come to expect with perhaps some of the best level design seen in the series yet. Disappointing multiplayer and recycled music and visuals aside, the new “Coin Rush” mode is a fantastic addition to the series and with the promise of future levels as DLC who know what sort of crazy ideas Nintendo may have in store. Sure it’s not the most ambitious Mario title out there, but when exactly was having another outing with the plumber as polished as this a bad thing?

8/10

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