Preview by: Toni Schwartz

For many of us, our first foray into gaming was through the adventures of an Italian plumber as he searched for his peachy keen princess. We can relive those fond childhood memories come November when Nintendo releases New Super Mario Bros Wii. This isn't quite the Super Mario Bros you remember, though. With its simultaneous four-player capabilities and the Wiimote's motion-sensing ability, it can feel as much like a party game as a traditional platformer.

Super Mario Bros Wii is considered as the sequel to the wildly popular New Super Mario Bros for the DS, incorporating elements from its predecessor but adding its own flavor.. Yes, the classic SMB settings are there and we see some familiar faces in goombas, koopa troopas, and even bloopers. However, this is the first SMB game that features simultaneous multiplayer gameplay. I’m sure many of you recall playing the original Super Mario Bros on the NES with a sibling and having to take turns. How frustrating was it to wait an eternity for your turn, hoping that your sibling would run into a koopa paratroopa or fall off a cliff so you can play?

With Super Mario Bros Wii, you no longer have to wait your turn; in fact up to four people can do so at once, which can lead to some hilarious results. During the hands-on demo, I played as Luigi with three others, who controlled Mario and two versions of Toad. I thought it was weird that player 4 had to make do with playing a palette swap of Toad when the game can easily provide another character to control. I laughed as our characters bumped into each other, sometimes bouncing on each other’s heads, as we made our way across the goomba and koopa troopa-infested landscape. It reminded me a lot of the manic, frantic pace of multiplayer in LittleBigPlanet, minus the ability to activate switches and make goofy faces.

Also like LBP, multiplayer is as much competitive as it is cooperative. While you and your group have the same goal (rescue Princess Peach, naturally), at the end of every level you presented with a scoreboard that shows who got the highest score.

Although you hold the Wiimote horizontally and for the most part use it like a standard controller when you play, this is still a Wii game after all, which means motion sensing.. For example, if you and your teammates come across a ramp, whoever is controlling it can tilt the Wiimote to tip the left and right side of the ramp up or down. Also, at times you may obtain a propeller hat that allows you to fly for a brief period. . To activate the hat you have to wave the Wiimote around. I wasn’t crazy about using the Wiimote in this manner since it took away from gameplay. You’re playing a classic platformer using classic controls, and suddenly you have to swing the Wiimote around your head? It just felt disruptive. These motion-sensing features seemed tacked on and unnecessary. .