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Preview  New Super Mario Bros.
- By Lander Clinton


The Super Mario Bros. demo showed at E3 2005 for the DS was a versus game between Mario and Luigi. Before I get into that, I hope there's a single-player game in the final version.

Remember Super Mario Bros. DX for the GBC? It had a racing game where two players could play through original SMB-styled levels to get to the flag first. This game expands on that concept.

This game is a collage of the best 2D Mario games. The levels here are more complex, with secret ways to go as you'd expect. They also have new power-ups which can make Mario or Luigi super huge on the screen just like Bowser in Paper Mario 2. Some blocks can only be hit by Mario or Luigi like Mario and Luigi for the GBA. One item is a lightning bolt which shrinks your opponent like Mario Kart. You can collect items for later use and have them fall from the sky at will like Super Mario World. And I just typed "Mario" over and over just like in Mario Type: Koopa's Keyboard Challenge.

To make it a closer race, warp blocks have been placed in the levels. If you're in the lead, avoid them, since hitting the block will bring your opponent up to your point. If you're far behind, you can pull your opponent back to you, then stomp on their head and run like hell! Hee hee hee.

What I played only used the touchscreen to select which stored item to drop down. The rest of the game was on the top screen and used the buttons.

New Super Mario Bros. is off to a fun start, but a one-player experience will round it out to be the return of 2D Mario gameplay we've been waiting for.

- 5.20.2005