New Super Mario Bros review

Then again, it's mere hours that it'll take to put Bowser back in his place and rescue Peach once again. If you're good, you can completely wipe this out in one day, secret worlds and all. The fact that the game practically hands you extra lives on a silver platter only makes it easier - not a complaint, but tougher bosses would have been welcomed.

Length aside, there are still a few other issues that cling to the game. The three new power-ups don’t add much, and, in the case of the blue turtle shell, are more likely to be avoided than sought. The mega and mini mushrooms are fun to play around with (growing huge and shrinking, respectively), but aren't consistently useful. Thus, you're left with just the fire flower - there isn't even a raccoon tail/magic cape to fly with, a series highlight that will be missed.

Above: This must be how Luigi sees the world

But what New SMB lacks in the single player, it covers up with a sweet two-player versus mode. You each control one of the Bros, and run through specifically designed levels in search of stars. Whoever gets them all first wins. Grabbing them isn't the problem, though, it's keeping them. You can jump on the other brother to make him drop a star, toss a fireball at him, or even nudge him into a bottomless pit.

One notably cool moment saw Luigi eat a mega mushroom and tear through a pipe maze as tiny Mario hopelessly tried to stay ahead of the shredding plumbing, chasing his bouncing, escaped star.

New Super Mario Bros also offersan assortment of so-so touch-screen minigames carried over from Super Mario 64 DS, which can be enjoyed by up to four players.