Girlfriend + Mario = Fun time (New Super Mario Bros. Wii Review)

I remember the first time I played a video game while my girlfriend was over. It was such a noob mistake I can't believe I didn't see the ramifications of my actions. I consulted with a few friends and everyone's conclusion was girlfriend + videogames = upset girlfriend. I know there are those of you that have the exception when it comes to girlfriends that can tolerate videogames. Recently, I picked up the mighty red copy of Super Mario Bros. Wii. I really wanted it for the four player catastrophy that's still waiting to happen. The day after I got my girlfriend came over and she saw the red box and that's when I took a leap of faith and asked her to try and play with me. Her face didn't exactly light up with glee but becuase she loves she was willing to bare a few minutes of gameplay.

Why my girlfriend likes Mario! Let's face it, Mario is probably the gateway game for most of the guys in my generation. This time around he finally shined his appeal to my girlfriend. The first thing my she liked was the approachable bright graphics. She thought the opening cinematic was cute at the beginning. The Wii isn't pushing the benchmark when it comes to graphics. But one thing Team Mario has that can't be denyed is style. This style can be called childish but I think the word approchable is a better adjective to describe it. I think the average girlfriend would probably walk away from a guy playing a game like God of War, but if they see Mario they may stick around for a while.

Watching my girlfriend play Mario for the first time was quite cute. To me it was like watching a baby learn how to walk. She really didn't have a grasp yet on her limits as Lugi. (Yeah that's right when you play in my house I am Mario.) She would run in spurts and she would always over jump enemies and power ups. After a few quick tips she was able to keep up with me while we ran around the Mushroom Kingdom. The game was very, dare I say, approchable for her, though she made mistakes and lost a few lives. The game wasn't unforgiven and it allowed her to keep up with a Mario Bros. vet like myself. She really liked the new propeller mushroom , with this power up if she fell into a hole she could save her self with a shake of the Wii-mote.

The one thing my girlfriend really liked was the co-op gameplay. She told me she originally wasn't excited to play the game because she thought, like in past Mario Bros. games, we would have to take turns. I can totally understand this feeling, unless the game has a deep story watching another person play a video game is quite boring. If there was no co-op gameplay I believe she would have made me turn off the game after the first time she lost a life. After we finished playing she confessed that she liked how during the game I was always helpful. I gave her my Yoshi when she lost hers. Awww...

What she didn't like! This is the only case where I think that the Wii-mote doesn't work well within a game that Nintendo made. Picking up and anything, other than a turtle-shell, while holding the Wii-mote in classic style just doesn't feel natural. It was rather awkward for her and even for me. My natural instinct was to just run up to an object, like in past games, and expect Mario to automatically pick it up like he used to. On Nintendo's defense I think using the past mechanic would have made the co-op gameplay annoying. You can pick up your own teammates. So, if you're constanly unintentionally picking them up, then I can see how this can quickly become annoying.

Probably the biggest fault in the game is unintentionally jumping of Yoshi. With just the lightest jerk of the Wii-mote Mario and gang would abandon their friendly dino-pal. She disliked this the most because she liked how Yoshi increased her hit points. She was never happy when she lost her little green dino friend.

All-in-All: This game is another brilliant addition to the Wii catalog. If your significant other isn't into video games try coaxing them with the New Super Mario Bros. Wii. This is by no means the only reason to buy the game. If you played any Mario game in the past, this game was likely made for you. I recommend calling three other friends and just watch the chaos unfold. Like all Mario games this game lacks a story, but when it's this fun to jump on turtles, why wouldn't you want to save the princess again?