New Super Mario Bros.

A new Mario title that builds off of the original gameplay mechanics of Super Mario Bros on the NES. The faint memory of first seeing Super Mario Bros. at my friend's house completely blew me away - the combination of amazing colorful (and aesthetically consistent!) graphics and rich (consistent!) sound was hands down the most transcendent media moment i had ever had.

This new title, while obviously not able to hit a reset button to my youthful enthusiasm, was a pleasant return to the simple beautiful world of Mario Bros. The mechanics are in place, some wrinkles and pixels are added, but the game is essentially the same experience. And you know what? It's still fun.

Dan Norton