New Super Mario Bros. was originally released on the DS and was an instant hit — why wouldn’t it be, it’s Nintendo, and it’s Mario? The series has now found its way to the Wii, the classic side-scrolling game has great feelings of nostalgia, great visuals despite being 2D and wonderful gameplay. Yep, if there’s one Nintendo game you’re getting this holiday season, it should definitely be New Super Mario Bros Wii. That is, unless you expect to play online.

New Super Mario Bros Wii (NSMB) goes back to the roots, to the 2D side scrolling action that made Mario famous, this time with revamped visuals (doh) and 4 player multiplayer support. It’s safe to say that the multiplayer is the best part of the game, but we’ll get back to that later. The core gameplay hasn’t changed much since the original Super Mario debuted on the NES — you run around, jump around, solve puzzles and deal with tons of enemies, like those pesky brown mushrooms. However, if you get stuck, the game has a “Super mode”, which automatically plays through the level, giving you an example on how to complete the level. The mode can also be used to show hidden coins, passages etc. It’s a great feature, but it sort of takes away some of the “exploring” feel of playing, and it does feel a bit like cheating. Read the rest of our review