Super Mario 3D World is released on 29 November for the Wii U.
Key Features:
- Four playable characters, each with different abilities and strengths
- Amazing variety of 3D gameplay
- Seven worlds with inventive levels and ideas
- New items including the 'Cat Bell' and 'Double-Up Cherry'
- Captain Toad 3D puzzle stages
The Pitch:
"Journey with Mario, Luigi and more to the Sprixie Kingdom in SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD! Bowser has kidnapped the Sprixie Princess, and it’s up to Mario and his friends to rescue her, racing to the Goal Pole at the end of various stages along the way!"
Verdict:
Whatever happens to the Wii U - whether it's destined for glory in 2014, set to wilt into a long-tail afterlife on eBay, or more likely somewhere in between - it now has its stone cold, stand-out, stand up and shout classic game.
Super Mario 3D World is the best Mario game since 2007's Super Mario Galaxy.
What Nintendo has done is combine the essential elements of any Mario game - basic platforming, tight controls, colourful worlds, inventive level design and challenging-but-not-frustrating gameplay - and combine them into something almost wholly new and more entertaining than you'd have a right to expect.
Yes, this time around the game is 3D. Instead of running left to right, you're running up, down, sideways and shooting through tubes to get to your goal. But this isn't just a case of placing a few blocks in different places, or making a sort of Mario-themed Tomb Raider. It's about rethinking level design and game mechanics from the ground up.
So why does it work? Like any great work of art, it's hard to know by deconstructing its basic elements. But one of the essential ingredients is the new role of multiplayer. For the first time you're able to play with your friends, and compete against them, in a seamless, silly and competitive way, without sacrificing any element. The score rankings at the end of each level let you fight for supremacy, but the generous way in which respawns and catch-ups happen means no one is ever left behind. Taking on bosses is easier and more fun en masse, but you can still hurl your friends off a cliff if you're feeling nicely mean. It's a really fun and entertaining - and new - way to play a Mario game.
As ever, there's a silly story involved, and multiple themed worlds with different levels and side quests. But more important than the variety of locations is the gentle but sensible difficulty curve. 3D World isn't frustrating, but it is challenging - and provides a real variety of tasks. Sometimes you're battling bosses in all-out action sequences. Other times your working on a neat 3D puzzle in which Captain Toad (who cannot jump) has to navigate a little cuboid map (which you can rotate with the Gamepad) before the time runs out. It's a lovely change of pace, and illustrates the thought that's gone into the title.
There are also some neat new items - particularly the Bell which turns you into a scurrying cat able to run up walls and even the end-of-level flagpole, and the 'double up' Cherry which turns you into two (or more) of the same character, able to attack obstacles in greater numbers. But the joy here is in discovery, and the cool little twists which turn up every few minutes and make you reconsider every element of what you're doing.
If you have a Wii U, Super Mario 3D World is an essential purchase. If you don't have a Wii U and love Mario, we highly recommend you jump on board. Preferably with three friends in tow.
