By Skylar Smith
Daily Titan Staff Writer

My holidays as a child were spent driving from one relative’s house to another. What did I do in the car? Play my Game Boy Color. What did I do when I got to my relatives’ houses or got back to my own? Play video games with all my cousins, uncles, my parents and occasionally, my friends.

For this reason I recommend New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii to any parent wishing to give their child this experience or to anyone who just wants to be reminded of the good ol’ days.

All nine worlds the game has to offer feel like the same Super Mario levels you played on your SNES in the ’90s, only much prettier. The music is straight out of the Mario composition books only with a modern sound system and modern compositions; the enemies even dance to the music occasionally.

Everything in this game will send a hardcore gamer’s heart a-flutter and even though towards the end it gets pretty hard, new comers to the gaming world (little nephews and nieces or new cousins) will be able to get the hang out it in no time.

The game has added a couple of new elements to the 2-D Mario universe. There are new power ups like the penguin suite that turns Mario or Luigi into an adorable penguin and the helicopter helmet that sends you flying into the air or spiraling into the ground to hit enemies when you shake the Wiimote.

The biggest addition however is that the game supports up to four players in a co-op mode, a point competition mode, and a coin collection mode. This is where it gets hectic, as players often accidentally, but sometimes on purpose, sabotage the other by jumping on their head or throwing them into a pit of lava, off a cloud or into a poisonous forest river.

There is sure to be some yelling, but it is all in good fun in the end; just be sure to not throw a shell at your buddy, they may return the favor. I hope anyone who owns a Wii and has played any Mario game in the past gets this game. It’s great to play alone, but fantastic to play with friends and family.