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| Straight up gangsta... |
Super Mario 3D World on the Nintendo Wii U is to some degree the successor to Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS. The presentation and control are approached the same, but that's where the similarities end. The level construction is amazing, the graphics look better than almost anything on the system and the multiplayer sets it apart from its predecessor. This is probably the first system seller on the Wii U and if you were waiting to get the system, this is the reason to purchase one.
Where should we begin? Well the graphics look great. I have a Xbox One and even Dead Rising 3 looks a bit less impressive compared to 3D World. I know it's apples and oranges, but the detail looks great and it runs at a stunning 60 frames a second, which helps with the jumps and pinpoint accuracy of some of the levels. There are sections with great lighting and frankly shows what the Wii U is capable of and will be capable of in more photo realistic games.
Notable Examples:
There are other examples, but you get the idea. The music is well done and actually a bit better then I expected. I liked Super Mario 3D Land, but I had a nagging feeling that 3D World was going to be better suited for a portable system, but I was wrong... and I'm glad I was.
The level construction starts out simple, but really fun. This might be a spoiler, but here's the first level.
That's not me talking, it's the most complete version that wasn't a speed run I could find.
The levels get progressively harder. Even in the fifth world, the levels get pretty hard, especially if you are trying to get all of the collectables.
The co-op goes up to four characters. You can be any of the four starting characters, even on one player mode. Not since Super Mario Bros. 2, could you do this. You normally get shoe horned into being Mario in the one player games. All of the characters have different abilities. Mario is good all around, Luigi jumps higher, but has less traction, Toad is the fastest and Peach is slow, but floats when the jump button is held down. There is a fifth chracter, but she's unlocked after completing the second bonus course in Star World.
The co-op is great, but there is no online mode for the co-op. I originally found this to take away from the game, but I recently tried to play Dead Rising 3 with one of my friends in couch co-op... and there is none. Now if a recent game that is 'mature' has online only... which for a new system is a huge negative, because I don't know anyone else personally that has a Xbone right now. I wanted to play DR3 co-op, which led me to directly play 3D World with said friend (he isn't into fighting games, so not Killer Instinct). I then refuse to view couch co-op only as a negative, but as a design decision that I can live with.
In co-op you can play cooperatively or competetively. At the end of the level, your scores are tallied up and the winner is awarded a crown. In the following level, the crown that is worn by the leader can be knocked off and grabbed by another player. At the end of the level, whoever has the crown is given an extra 5,000 points, which is great for whoever finishes with it. If you are trying to win, the game can get really hectic. My bro in law and I were pounding some... adult beverages, while he tried to beat me in this game level after level, which I hadn't been exposed to yet. I normally worked with my team mates to help them out, but he really wanted to win. This became so much fun in fact, that I played so long, my Wii U Pad died. I had to fish out the charge cable. Then we continued to go against each other head to head.
This brings up another point. When you die 5 times, a box pops up with a white Super Leaf that gives you the White Tanooki Suit. This makes you invincible, but vulnerable to falls and the invulnerability wears off after the level and it only pops up if you haven't beaten the level yet. I told my bro in law that it was cheating to use those and not to... he automatically grabbed one, which meant I had to grab one (and my father in law puttered along to grab one as well). I hated the idea of the white leaf until this moment, which made the competition even more interesting and intense.
There are a lot of power ups. The Super Bell turns you into the aforementioned cat. Fire Flower, Super Leaf (Tanooki version and White Tanooki Version) and Starman return. The Boomerang Flower from 3D Land returns, which gives you Boomerang Bro abilties (as well as giving Peach and Spoiler..... Rosalina, cute outfits). Coin Box and Propeller Box return as well as the new Cannon Box which fires automatically unless you charge it (it also damages your allies, watch out!). You can jump into Koopa Shells with the crouch button. There is also the Lucky Bell that is like the normal Cat Suit, but you can turn into a statue (crouch button in air). I'm sure there's one or two, I'm missing, but you get the idea, there are a lot of power ups in this game.
You can control the game with the Wii U Pad, Pro Controller, Classic/Pro Classic controller (Gamecube controller with adapter), Wii Remote with a Nunchuk (awkward) and Wii Remote on its own. The options are great for those of us with our old Wii controllers. I was personally worried about having to get Pro Controllers for four player experiences. This makes it more easily accessable. Those looking to upgrade to the Wii U will have an easy transition into this game. This will more than likely be the game to get them to jump into the Wii U purchase.
The final boss battle, which I won't spoil completely, is great. I almost died the time I beat it, so it wasn't super hard, but it was epic and fun. That's how I'd like to describe this game, epic and fun. It seems like so many games are more like chores in a lot of ways, but this game is pure fun. Old and young can enjoy it equally. If you haven't played Mario in a long time, this is a great game to jump back into. The system is like the 2D games, rather than the 64/Galaxy series.
This is a must play for gamers and the reason to get a Wii U. There are other good games to suppliment your console, but this is it... the game we've been waiting for. This isn't that uncommon for new consoles, it takes a year or two to get things going (360 and PS3 are great examples of this). There isn't a bad thing about the game other than the camera getting a little wonky with four players. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.
10 out of 10 Cat Suits... Meow
Side Note: I am looking forward to the next full 3D Mario game. The fact that this game is in a different series is great. Galaxy started to be too linear in my opinion for being an extension of Mario 64/Sunshine. This game is purely linear point A to point B game, which leaves a lot of exploration elements left over for the Galaxy/64 sequel that is in the planning stages at the moment (I'm assuming due to comments made). This should be seen as a multiplayer game while the next 64 game should focus on single player or maybe... online 2 player co-op?
Time will tell.
Also the VGX's happened tonight. Nintendo revealed that Donkey Kong Country TF has a fourth character (Kranky Kong) which is neat, but not what I expected. Bayonetta 2 would have been perfect. It didn't help that the host talked shit to Reggie... really? And the gaming media isn't negative about the Wii U? I'm fine with talking about the numbers and short comings, but when the positives are looked over and it's cool and edgy to talk crap about the system with the highest rated new game... just can't help but feel the bias seeping out of Spike TV. Today we also found out that Tomb Raider DE won't be on Wii U even though it could handle it graphically... I was going to get it on Wii U, but if I get around to it, I'll get it on Xbone.
I'll get the Dead Rising 3 Review up before the end of the next week... maybe the weekend. Laters.
Where should we begin? Well the graphics look great. I have a Xbox One and even Dead Rising 3 looks a bit less impressive compared to 3D World. I know it's apples and oranges, but the detail looks great and it runs at a stunning 60 frames a second, which helps with the jumps and pinpoint accuracy of some of the levels. There are sections with great lighting and frankly shows what the Wii U is capable of and will be capable of in more photo realistic games.
Notable Examples:
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| Savannah Level |
 |
| Plessie and water based levels.
The one notable thing you'll notice is that there are a lot of cat references in this game. This is the main hook. Not since Racoon Mario, Yoshi or Wing Cap Mario has there been a transformation that has been so associated with one particular game.
The cat transformation is really useful. It opens up the levels due to the climbing ability. You can swipe at enemies with an attack that shares the run button. If you attack in air and hold the button, you'll soar downward at your enemies. The cat suit also allows you to climb up the goal post (which is the end of the level, like in the original SMB (as well as NSMB and SM3DW). You get the cat suit right out of the gate too, on World 1-1. You'll find yourself going back to this level and level 1-2 to pick up cat suits and fire flowers.
The music in the game is completely orchestrated like in Mario Galaxy 1 & 2. Most of the music is jazzy and upbeat, while some is actually tranquil or dramatic.
Notable Examples:
Main Theme
Bowser World
|
Boo House
There are other examples, but you get the idea. The music is well done and actually a bit better then I expected. I liked Super Mario 3D Land, but I had a nagging feeling that 3D World was going to be better suited for a portable system, but I was wrong... and I'm glad I was.
The level construction starts out simple, but really fun. This might be a spoiler, but here's the first level.
The levels get progressively harder. Even in the fifth world, the levels get pretty hard, especially if you are trying to get all of the collectables.
The co-op goes up to four characters. You can be any of the four starting characters, even on one player mode. Not since Super Mario Bros. 2, could you do this. You normally get shoe horned into being Mario in the one player games. All of the characters have different abilities. Mario is good all around, Luigi jumps higher, but has less traction, Toad is the fastest and Peach is slow, but floats when the jump button is held down. There is a fifth chracter, but she's unlocked after completing the second bonus course in Star World.
The co-op is great, but there is no online mode for the co-op. I originally found this to take away from the game, but I recently tried to play Dead Rising 3 with one of my friends in couch co-op... and there is none. Now if a recent game that is 'mature' has online only... which for a new system is a huge negative, because I don't know anyone else personally that has a Xbone right now. I wanted to play DR3 co-op, which led me to directly play 3D World with said friend (he isn't into fighting games, so not Killer Instinct). I then refuse to view couch co-op only as a negative, but as a design decision that I can live with.
In co-op you can play cooperatively or competetively. At the end of the level, your scores are tallied up and the winner is awarded a crown. In the following level, the crown that is worn by the leader can be knocked off and grabbed by another player. At the end of the level, whoever has the crown is given an extra 5,000 points, which is great for whoever finishes with it. If you are trying to win, the game can get really hectic. My bro in law and I were pounding some... adult beverages, while he tried to beat me in this game level after level, which I hadn't been exposed to yet. I normally worked with my team mates to help them out, but he really wanted to win. This became so much fun in fact, that I played so long, my Wii U Pad died. I had to fish out the charge cable. Then we continued to go against each other head to head.
This brings up another point. When you die 5 times, a box pops up with a white Super Leaf that gives you the White Tanooki Suit. This makes you invincible, but vulnerable to falls and the invulnerability wears off after the level and it only pops up if you haven't beaten the level yet. I told my bro in law that it was cheating to use those and not to... he automatically grabbed one, which meant I had to grab one (and my father in law puttered along to grab one as well). I hated the idea of the white leaf until this moment, which made the competition even more interesting and intense.
There are a lot of power ups. The Super Bell turns you into the aforementioned cat. Fire Flower, Super Leaf (Tanooki version and White Tanooki Version) and Starman return. The Boomerang Flower from 3D Land returns, which gives you Boomerang Bro abilties (as well as giving Peach and Spoiler..... Rosalina, cute outfits). Coin Box and Propeller Box return as well as the new Cannon Box which fires automatically unless you charge it (it also damages your allies, watch out!). You can jump into Koopa Shells with the crouch button. There is also the Lucky Bell that is like the normal Cat Suit, but you can turn into a statue (crouch button in air). I'm sure there's one or two, I'm missing, but you get the idea, there are a lot of power ups in this game.
You can control the game with the Wii U Pad, Pro Controller, Classic/Pro Classic controller (Gamecube controller with adapter), Wii Remote with a Nunchuk (awkward) and Wii Remote on its own. The options are great for those of us with our old Wii controllers. I was personally worried about having to get Pro Controllers for four player experiences. This makes it more easily accessable. Those looking to upgrade to the Wii U will have an easy transition into this game. This will more than likely be the game to get them to jump into the Wii U purchase.
The final boss battle, which I won't spoil completely, is great. I almost died the time I beat it, so it wasn't super hard, but it was epic and fun. That's how I'd like to describe this game, epic and fun. It seems like so many games are more like chores in a lot of ways, but this game is pure fun. Old and young can enjoy it equally. If you haven't played Mario in a long time, this is a great game to jump back into. The system is like the 2D games, rather than the 64/Galaxy series.
This is a must play for gamers and the reason to get a Wii U. There are other good games to suppliment your console, but this is it... the game we've been waiting for. This isn't that uncommon for new consoles, it takes a year or two to get things going (360 and PS3 are great examples of this). There isn't a bad thing about the game other than the camera getting a little wonky with four players. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.
10 out of 10 Cat Suits... Meow
Side Note: I am looking forward to the next full 3D Mario game. The fact that this game is in a different series is great. Galaxy started to be too linear in my opinion for being an extension of Mario 64/Sunshine. This game is purely linear point A to point B game, which leaves a lot of exploration elements left over for the Galaxy/64 sequel that is in the planning stages at the moment (I'm assuming due to comments made). This should be seen as a multiplayer game while the next 64 game should focus on single player or maybe... online 2 player co-op?
Time will tell.
Also the VGX's happened tonight. Nintendo revealed that Donkey Kong Country TF has a fourth character (Kranky Kong) which is neat, but not what I expected. Bayonetta 2 would have been perfect. It didn't help that the host talked shit to Reggie... really? And the gaming media isn't negative about the Wii U? I'm fine with talking about the numbers and short comings, but when the positives are looked over and it's cool and edgy to talk crap about the system with the highest rated new game... just can't help but feel the bias seeping out of Spike TV. Today we also found out that Tomb Raider DE won't be on Wii U even though it could handle it graphically... I was going to get it on Wii U, but if I get around to it, I'll get it on Xbone.
I'll get the Dead Rising 3 Review up before the end of the next week... maybe the weekend. Laters.
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