New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS) review"Suddenly, until you either clear the current stage or you are struck by an enemy, you fire shots that turn bricks and enemy projectiles into coins. Usually, there are lots of bricks in short proximity. Diving through piles of gold like Wario taking a swan dive into Scrooge McDuck’s money bin is definitely an exhilarating experience." |
If you’re the sort of person who can’t enjoy a game if it doesn’t reinvent the wheel or tell a brand new story, you’re likely to have serious issues with New Super Mario Bros. 2 right from the start. Your first problem will almost certainly be that the new game doesn’t really feel “new” at all. This is yet another Mario outing that starts with the abduction of a princess—the same princess who always gets abducted—and you’ll go through the same motions you always do before finally trouncing Bowser.
All of that stuff is curtains, though, and New Super Mario Bros. 2 itself is a window to the Mushroom Kingdom. Let’s not forget that the Mushroom Kingdom is still one of the most enjoyable virtual destinations that the game industry has ever produced. Nothing has changed in that regard. New Super Mario Bros. 2 plays out like so many of its predecessors did (particularly the most recent ones) but that’s okay because these games count “good” as their starting point and only improve from there. The series is showing only the slightest signs of losing its luster, even now that a couple of new installments for recent and upcoming platforms have left some of the plumber’s most relentless critics delightedly accusing Mario of going through the motions every year like a certain retired football coach.
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Staff review by Jason Venter (August 14, 2012)
Jason Venter has been playing games for 30 years, since discovering the Apple IIe version of Mario Bros. in his elementary school days. Now he writes about them, here at HonestGamers and also at other sites that agree to pay him for his words. |
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