Super Mario 3D Land

[Capone]

Curious if anyone else picked this up today. It's the first big title from Nintendo for the system that wasn't a port, and so far it's a pretty good proof-of-concept. They didn't force stylus controls in, thankfully, and the 3D effect, which I usually have turned off, works surprisingly well.

But most of all, the game is simply fun. By the same team that developed Mario Galaxy, so it doesn't have that sort of intense feel to beat the game. A bit more relaxed in that regard. The environments are designed in the Metroid: Other M style, though, where it's 3-D, but still in the nature of a side-scroller. I actually really like this format for a lot of games, as it allows for freedom of movement while eliminating half the problems with a camera in a third-person game.

It's definitely a sort of love-letter to old skool Mario, primarily with visual influences from Super Mario Bros. 3, but there's a bit of Mario 1 in there as well. They brought back the spare-item in the same format as Super Mario World, but with a slight twist. You can click on your spare item at any time, and it just swaps your current power. So if you have Fire Power but reach a point where Tanooki would be better, just press your spare Leaf and it'll swap it with the Fire Flower. When you need to, just swap back.

I already beat World 1 and have over 20 extra lives, so the game could be short and easy. Or, it could ramp up in difficulty fast. I can't say for sure yet. Either way, I'm digging it.

[yugi006]

Got my hands on this game and I have to say that this is pretty fun. I'm enjoying it a lot.

In other news: http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/peta-slams-mario-over-fur-suit-211025773.html

This is so dumb.

[Capone]

I just wish people would stop paying any attention to PETA. My life would have been better if I didn't know that game existed.