NintendoNew Super Mario Bros. 2

This game is a sequel to the original New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS.The game is great and really fun. The style of gameplay is quite similar to the original with some twists such as new power ups, a new way to get giant mushrooms and the white racoon Mario power up.What I liked about this game:Its fun gameplay with challenging levels. Controlling Mario is easy and there are often more than one way to clear levels such as secret exits. If you fail a level too many times you can get the white racoon Mario power up which turns you into an invincible racoon Mario which makes clearing the level a lot easier. The new coin rush mode is cool and places you on a course with a shortened timer and gets you trying to collect as many coins as possible while trying to rush to the end of the level before the shortened timer runs outWhat I disliked: The game is a little short compared to the original and the lack of decent multiplayer also makes it a bit less fun. When you complete the game you have to collect a lot more star coins to unlock the bonus/special stages (star coins can sometimes be difficult to find and collect).However, overall, this game exceeded my expectations in gameplay and story and I highly recommend this especially if you have played the original New super Mario bros. on the Nintendo DS

This is an excellent game, my sisters already had the normal ds version and I'd heard great things about the sequel. It has great graphics and I thought the 3d effect made it even more interesting. They had kept all the great music and had even added in a couple of tunes, the music also added a bit of spirit to the level and made it more fun. It had great new power-ups. They were really useful and made the game more interesting as you needed certain power-ups to get to different places. Although it had the same story as the old one they added in new bosses to defeat and the levels were totally different. The starcoins were much harder to find which made you have to do levels more than once to find the three and the secret exits were extremely difficult as you have to search every possible opening. You also have to get one million coins which is fun because it takes quite a long time.This is a fantastic game which I definitely recommend buying.

When this game was announced I knew it was one of those I'd be pre-ordering at full price (a rarity for me.) New Super Mario Bros for the DS was the whole reason I ever owned a Nintnedo DS and it remains my favourite game on that console to date. I've waited 6 years for a sequel. But the pre-release reviews seemed to focus on the negatives and made me apprehensive.It's probably these reviews making me unsure that helped turn this game into a pleasant surprise, because I have enjoyed the general gameplay thoroughly. Yes, it is almost identical in terms of story, maps, layout and style to the DS game, but this is a good thing, extending and improving on one of the greatest handheld platformers of all time. For this alone, buy this game.However, it is near impossible to not draw on the frustrations and negatives. It is possible this game is TOO similar to the others. Anyone familiar with Mario games will expect World 1 to be a green land based near Peach's castle, but I audibly groaned when World 2 launched and was a desert landscape. It continues from there, with each world's landscape in similar order to the other games. It's such a shame they couldn't come up with anything original here. If you're going to keep so many familiar attributes from a previous game, at least make the levels themselves new and engaging.But there are improvements and some originalties in these World's. Most notably, Boo's castles have certainly progressed and it never gets old watching a huge ghost peek at you from behind it's hand. The boss fights are also more original, and certainly the graphic detail, such as the lighting in any lava filled castles, are a joy to see.On the main gameplay alone this is a 5 star game. What let it down for me was the game extras. I don't find the gold rush game gimmick annoying, I would be surprised if anyone has seen a "Game Over" on a recent Mario platformer for some time, so the fact I have so many extra lives on this game means nothing. What I lament is that this is the only extra, with a complete absence of the Minigames that I loved on New Super Mario Bros. Many an hour I spent trying to beat my high scores on these and a host of new games to try would have been nice.New Super Mario Bros 2 is probably a better 2D platformer than New Super Mario Bros, and that is high praise indeed. But it's been 6 years since that game and surely the series should have moved on a little. I worry how quick Mario games seem to be coming out recently for the 3DS, without due care. Mario 3D Land was a good game that never reached near its potential. Mario Kart 9 was a solid addition to a long series. Mario Open Tennis was a huge disappointment compared to its GBA predecessor. And there are too many aspects of this that feel lazy. I seem to recall a certain blue hedgehog who is lambasted whenever he doesn't release a near perfect title, yet Mario seems immune from wrong which is leading to complacency. Buy this and enjoy it for what it is, but I hope there is more to come.

Be careful with the seller’s listing, I’ve had two and both were grey marker imports from UAE which will not work on UK (PAL) devices. Each purchase was from a different seller and each purchase now returned.

I wasn't particularly impressed by New Super Mario games (Wii and NDS versions). I bought this version with a few reservations. I have to say this third iteration is by far the most accomplished. It may be just because the difficulty curve is a little less steep, but the game appears more balanced (i.e. less fiendishly difficult).Some reviews stated that there is not much Nintendo can do to innovate while sticking to old formulas. That's true, but this is a winning formula, and it would be unwise to change it too much.Evolution rather than revolution.I highly recommend this game, together with Super Mario 3D Land, which is a different take at the Mario universe. Both games are masterpieces, so if you don't own them, you know what to ask Santa Claus!