E3 2005: Luigison
TMK at E3 2005

New Super Mario Bros.

It's been over a decade since the last 2-D Mario platformer, Super Mario World. Super Mario World only had an alternating two player mode, but in New Super Mario Bros., two players can play simultaneously. I haven't heard yet if its going to be online or have a multiplayer coop mode, but that would be awesome to play with or against fellow TMKers.

New Super Mario Bros.'s gameplay is reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. on the NES, but with characters, enemies, and other elements in a 3D style similar to Super Mario 64 DS. Having many of the 3D moves like back-flip, wall-jump, and ground pound from SM64DS in a 2D platformer was fun to play. The graphics are similar to SM64DS and SMB, but Mario's poses and moves reminded me of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, but with more of the free roaming feel of Super Mario Bros. 3. I ran through most of the desert level including the whirlwind.

Many of the animated objects are dynamic. Jumping on a tightrope or grabbing a hanging rope will make it move. How far it swings or stretches depends on where Mario connects with it. The mushroom platforms aren't simply slanted, as I had thought from the press pictures, but sway back and forth. They even lean in the direction of Mario's weight, and their angle determines how fast Mario can run up/down them. These types of elements, while not entirely new, take Mario beyond his early platforming roots. The camera is also dynamic and zoomed in and out on the action.

New Super Mario Bros. has great 3D graphics and classic 2D gameplay, but with a few new twists. The Super Super Mushroom is one of them. I was a little apprehensive about the new Super Super Mushroom, but after playing with it I thought it was a lot of fun and didn't last too long. I was also a afraid that they would add the Super Super Mushroom and remove the Starman, but they had both.

They even had a lighting bolt like the one in Mario Kart to shrink and slow your opponent (Mario or Luigi).

I played all three levels in the E3 demo, but didn't see any water or flying worlds. I wish I could have seen how the manaray from the press release images moved, and how Mario flies in NSMB.

I wish it had been on a big screen so I could have taken videos and pictures. I couldn't get good pictures of the DS screens because of the glare from all the flashing lights. I liked the New Super Mario Bros. game better than anything else at E3 2005.

Mario & Luigi 2

Nintendo only had two DSes set up for Mario & Luigi 2 so I could only play for a couple of minutes. The section I played in seemed to be devoid of enemies, coins, and most interactive objects. The power button was disabled so I couldn't reset to see the opening, menu, or battles. In the game I started with adult Mario and Luigi. Their control and moves (that I saw) were identical to the ones in the first Mario & Luigi for GBA. I couldn't figure out how to change the leading brother from Mario to Luigi, but it may not be possible now that there are two sets of bros. Instead I changed to baby Mario & Luigi.

Mario Kart DS

I played the "Luigi Circuit" course from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. It had graphics that were surprisingly close to those of the GameCube. It also had tracks from various other incarnations of Mario Kart. I'm not a big racing fan, but this game is at least equal if not better than all the other kart games. I finished in second place and got a cool Mario Kart stylus.

DDR Mario Mix

I'm very much anticipating this game, but didn't play it at E3. I wish I had been there all three days and had used my time more efficiently. I recorded some video of Lizard Dude playing and watched a few other people play and the demo video. It looked very cool and the story mode looks interesting, but it was too loud at E3 to hear the songs. I can't play well without hearing the beat anyway.

Super Mario Strikers

I didn't play the new Mario Strikers soccer game, but saw video of it and heard several people say it very good.

Animal Crossing DS

The line for Animal Crossing was long because of the interviews with Charles M. I didn't get a chance to play the demo, but based on the fact that I spent several hundred dollars on the GCN version, I'm sure I'll like the DS version.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

This will most likely be the must-have game of 2005. We waited in line for about five hours to play it. There were a lot of playable demos in the dungeon, but I only played the horse battle demo in the first room. After watching several people in front of me, I learned the best techniques and completed the horse battle demo fairly quickly. In this room they also had a town demo. I thought the people in the town looked a little strange, but they fit with their surroundings. I didn't see Link turn into a wolf, or with any cats in any of the demos.

In the second room Nintendo had several more battle demos, but I did not play any of them. Instead I did a lot of filming that I hope to edit and upload later.

WarioWare: Twisted!

I didn't see WarioWare at E3, but just bought it this week and Iike the new gyro/rumble cartridge. It started out easy, but then either got much harder or I was too sleepy to play well after midnight.

The Mushroom Kingdom \ TMK at E3 2005 \ Luigison