One thing we don't know yet is which characters will be playable. On the demo, there were only four: Mario, Luigi, and a yellow and a blue Toad. Without a doubt, we'll be able to see other characters in the game, but maybe they won't be playable. Nevertheless, our intuition says there will be other playable characters to unlock in the game, but I could be totally wrong.

Also, we didn't see any kind of cutscenes, so there might not be much of a story built into the game - at least a deep one. Granted most Mario games have the same tale - rescuing the princess from Bowser - so I wouldn't be surprised if that was the plot of this game too. Luckily the plumber brothers can join forces in this quest along with the Toads. That should make things easier, right?

As far as audio and visuals, there isn't a whole lot you don't know already. The game sounds like New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, with great remakes of the original NES songs, and the graphics are colorful and vibrant, like you would expect from a Super Mario game. There's a mix of 3D and 2D in the environments, characters, etc., but it's a side-scroller, so it's mostly two-dimensional. On the whole, they're very simple graphics - pretty much a blown-up version of the DS title - but there's really nothing to complain about, since they're very sharp and good-looking.

We can't wait to have this must-have gaming jewel right at home, but unfortunately, we still have to wait until the holidays before New Super Mario Bros. Wii is on store shelves. My prediction is most homes with a Nintendo Wii system will also own this game at some point. Since it's so loyal to the classic gameplay style - yet innovative - and lets four players have fun at the same time, it will be tough to resist to its charms. It'll most likely be what we call an instant classic.

By Maria Montoro
CCC Site Director

Game Features:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii offers a combination of cooperation and competition. Players can pick each other up to save them from danger or toss them into it.

Mario, Luigi, and two Toads are all playable characters, while many others from the Mushroom Kingdom make appearances throughout the game. Players can even ride different Yoshi characters and use their tongues to swallow enemies - or their fellow players.

In some areas, players use the motion abilities of the Wii Remote controller. The first player to reach a see-saw might make it tilt to help his or her character reach a higher platform - and then tilt it incorrectly just to mess with other players.

New items include the propeller suit, which will shoot players high into the sky with just a shake of the Wii Remote, and Mario's new ability to transform into Penguin Mario.

At the end of each stage during the simultaneous multiplayer mode, players are ranked based on their score, the coins collected, and the number of enemies defeated.