New Super Mario Bros. Wii in 4-player mode is some of the most insane/fun local multiplayer I've had in a long time. Depending on what type of players you have for friends, your experience with the game could be a perfect example of teamwork, or a nightmare due to that one friend that just loves picking you up and throwing you off of cliffs. I had the pleasure of experiencing both play styles today.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is just what you think it is...more gameplay in the style of NSMB on the DS, but now you can have 3 friends join in with you. The game isn't about mind-bending graphics or gameplay, it's about serving up that old-school feeling that only 2d Mario can provide. You're coming to this title for the gameplay, and nothing else.
Jumping into another 2d console Mario game is unbelievably awesome. I loved getting the 2d fix on the DS, but seeing things continued in a console sequel make it that much more appealing to me. I could take the game at that purest level alone, and be perfectly happy with the results. Surprisingly, I was having even more fun when playing with three other people.
For all the sessions I had with the game today, I never played single player. It was always a 4-player experience, and it ended up being a ton of fun. Working as a team to progress through a level brings a completely new mechanic to the franchise. You have to depend on your other players to help you out if you die, share power-ups with you, and help figure out the best way to tackle an upcoming obstacle. When you have a team that really clicks, you'll be getting a Mario experience unlike any other.
Then...you'll have the friend that is out to make your time in the game a living hell. They'll toss you over ledges...jump on your head to send you spiraling into a pit...steal every single power-up, and then run so far ahead that they end up pushing you into an enemy. Today, that jerk of a player was none other than Tyrone Rodriguez, the man behind Cave Story WiiWare.
I played alongside Cort, Tyrone and a GoNintendo fan. Almost from the very start of the level, Tyrone was doing his best to kill us all off. He would throw us into anything that meant death, be that a hole or an enemy. He would also charge ahead as quickly as possible to push us into bad situations. The thing is, we were all laughing our asses off while it was happening. I managed to jump ahead of Tyrone for a bit, and then I even threw him into a pit. Too bad he wall-kicked his way out, and then ended up killing me a few seconds later. Trust me, as long as you're going into the game with an open mind to players that will make it their mission to help/hurt, you're going to have a blast.
Best part of all is seeing the Koopa Kids return! Screw that horrible Bowser Jr., now we're getting back to the good stuff! In our demos from today, we got to take on Larry and Morton Jr.. I can't tell you how great it was to see these characters back. It's that little bit of added nostalgia that really made us all smile and cheer while playing.
The worst part of NSMBWii is having to wait until this holiday season to play it again. Seriously, I am going to hit up the demo as much as possible. The experience is just too much fun to miss out on, and I'm going to soak up as much as I can before the big show is over.