Mario is going retro in the game New Super Mario Bros., which is expected to be released on May 15 for the DS. By retro, I don,t mean going back to N64 days, but back to the days of the original NES Super Mario Bros. The new side-scrolling, 2D game is just like the old Mario Bros. games you loved back in the day. The game will feature the same type of game play as those older titles, but will add some new features that weren,t available in the games created 20 or so years ago.
Mario has some new moves this time around, including the ground stomp, where Mario jumps up and then lands on his butt, usually knocking an enemy or two out of his way. This will also allow you to break those annoying blocks from above instead of from below, like you always had to before.
Remember those yellow coins you had to collect in Super Mario Bros. for the NES? Well, along with those, you will now also have blue coins to collect as well. Two different types of mushroom power-ups have also been added to the mix. A big mushroom will make Mario huge (about as big as the DS,s top screen) and a tiny mushroom which will shrink Mario. A blue shell can also be used to protect Mario from upcoming enemies. You can save these items if you need to, and can see what you have saved through the bottom DS screen. The top screen is used for the main game play.
New Super Mario Bros. will feature 3 different modes of play. The first mode is just the single player version of the game, the second mode is a competition mode, pitting Mario against Luigi, and the third mode features several mini games. Like may previous Mario titles, New Super Mario Bros. features Mario and Luigi in a quest to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser.
The main layout for the game will be much like the Super Mario Bros. games for the Super Nintendo. The game will have overhead map view so you can see where you have progressed in the game after each level. Try those old games out, if you don,t understand what I,m talking about.
New Super Mario Bros. is shaping up to be a hit title for the DS, and it should be released about a week after E3. We,ll have continuing coverage on this title as more information becomes available.
