In what was a bit of a surprise, Nintendo went down the road of creating a brand new 2D platforming game for their protly plumber, and in doing so satisfied many a hardcore gamer who had been waiting for some "traditional" platforming fun for years. Nintendo went back to basics for this title, whilst including some great new ideas too.
The introduction of mini and mega mushrooms have proven to be successful, with one now featuring as a Mario Kart weapon and the other providing access to the game's secret worlds. Fortunatley, touch screen gimmicks weren't found too much - only for selecting your back-up item and playing the well thought out mini-games (also available in multiplayer, although are saddeningly similar to Super Mario 64 DS' ones).
The game plays like a dream, and in true Nintendo fashion is entertaining from start to finish, whilst providing replay value in the form of collecting every levels coins and mini-games to add to the fun. The only question over the game is its difficulty - it's simple enough for a seasoned gamer to complete without ever seeing a game over / continue screen. Yet - despite this, it provides enough fun to warrant it a sterling four stars!
