Video Game in Review: 'New Super Mario Bros'

“New Super Mario Bros.” by Nintendo for Wii. Rated E for everyone. ($49.99)

“New Super Mario Bros.” on the DS was a welcome return to 2-D form for Mario and Luigi. “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” takes that success and expands it, shoring up weak points from the first game and adding never-before-seen features.

Like “New Super Mario Bros.,” the game's visuals are in 3-D but arranged on a 2-D plane, so the game play is similar to the classic “Super Mario” games.

The game feels most like a mixture of “Super Mario Bros. 3” and “Super Mario World,” from the return of Bowser's seven Koopalings to the haunted houses in several worlds. There's an ice world, a desert world, deep caves and high clouds — in short, a variety of locations that will seem familiar to longtime players of the series but are presented in new and interesting ways.

Also interesting are the new items Mario and Luigi can find, from the Propeller Mushroom, which can be used for short flights upward, to the enemy-freezing Ice Flower and the new Penguin Suit.

The game is tough in the old “Super Mario Bros.” way.

It's easy to blunder into a pit or enemy, but players who plug away will usually find the way through — if not, the new Super Guide will show them the way.

But the most dramatic addition is a concept that's been around for decades: cooperative play, which has never been seen in a “Super Mario Bros.” game. Up to four players can run, hop and bop through any of the game's levels.

— Justin Hoeger, McClatchy Newspapers

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