buttonmashing

Mashing buttons since 1984

NSMB

New Super Mario Brothers, first impressions

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Wow, I don’t know where to start. I picked this up over the extravaganza weekend but just now had a chance to really give it a whirl and I feel like I’m twelve years old again. There hasn’t been a game that has done that in forever. The only reason I’m writing this and not playing is because I just finished the first world as my DS’s battery was about to die and I decided I’d best shut it down and charge it for the night instead of moving on to the next world.

So far, so freaking good.

But how can a game I played almost twenty years ago be any good? Because it’s the quintessential Mario elements – easy and responsive controls, cartoonish appeal, vibrant colors, beautiful music and two dimensions. The platforming presents the same enjoyment as it did years ago and even though there are a few differences in the levels, I could still find the 1-up mushroom in the 1-2 level. I wish I hadn’t started playing so late as I want to keep playing. Curse you, early morning alarm!

It feels good to be a Super Mario Brother again!

Extravaganza Recap

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Well, as is often the case, even though I had lots of free time, I didn’t get to do everything I had hoped to do during my “free time.” There never seems to be enough hours in the day.

One thing I did accomplish was playing a lot of golf. I got in 45 holes in a 24 hour period. That’s a lot of golf. I golfed some of my best golf, which always makes the rounds that much better. I had two chip-ins for birdies, which for me is a rarity to do it once, so doing it twice in a weekend is close to golf Nirvana.

As far as gaming goes, I got some time online with Halo 2, finally played Brinstar for our STOB match (I won 0-(-1), not very convincingly) and I picked up the New Super Mario Brothers (more on that later). One game that I didn’t play, surprisingly, was EVE-Online. I think it’s time that EVE and I start seeing other people. I may go back to it, but currently there are other games I’d rather play, which means EVE goes into hibernation. I’m not giving up on it, it’s just no longer a priority, and if I don’t plan on paying for something I’m not playing.

So now the family is back in town, bringing this year’s extravaganza to a close.