New Super Mario Bros. [DS]

New, honest-to-goodness sequels to the greatest platformer series in the history of video games don't come along too often. We tend to get one every console generation, but Nintendo only saw fit to bring remastered classics to its handheld platforms over the last few years -- which we snatched up hungrily and chewed happily, of course. New Super Mario Bros. is just as the name describes; it's a brand-new addition to the side-scrolling platformer series that got the majority of us wild about gaming.

If described in the fewest amount of words possible, you could call this Super Mario Bros. 1: Part 2. It starts with the framework of the original -- relatively straightforward levels culminating in the ol' flag jump -- then hits it with a tornado of additions that you've seen in Mario 3 and Super Mario World, as well as some brand-new elements that Mario has never before experienced.

Listing the new features would take pages and pages, and we'd still probably forget a few. Mario has several new moves to pull off, such as butt bounces and wall jumps. More recent additions like grabbing/throwing shells and sliding down hills are also here. With the exception of the Yoshi elements in Mario World, the game follows the mantra of: If you've done it in a past Mario game, you can do it here. These all extend the gameplay, but levels are designed so you can still play the same way as you did in the original Super Mario Bros. and make it through. It's a fine balance that demonstrates the refined technique of Nintendo's developers.

New power-ups -- like the mega mushroom, mini mushroom, and koopa shell suit -- are an important upgrade. Each one is fun and really changes the way you play through a level, though they feel a little bit gimmicky rather than being necessary inclusions. You could say the same about the big shoe or Hammer Bros. suite in Mario 3, and we still loved them. It's great to see the return of things like the overworld, the ability to backtrack within a level or exit out at will, and storing power-ups. Finding the secret areas will challenge even the most experienced Nintendo fanboy. New Super Mario Bros. really is a complete package.

Graphically, infusing this 2D game with polygonal, 3D graphics was a brilliant move. Everything looks amazing and doesn't skip a beat. New Super Mario Bros. doesn't go overboard with background detail, keeping the focus on the action at hand and letting the smoothness of the animations carry the visual load. Sound-wise, you won't find too many new tunes or effects, but the anthems and classic noises here delight your ears nonetheless.