Russ Frushtick of MTV Multiplayer got a chance for some hands-on game time with the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii, due out this fall. His conclusion? The game is freaking hard.
With the inclusion of a "Super Guide" feature — essentially, computer-assisted gameplay via an AI-controlled Luigi — the developers have free reign to crank the difficulty levels to previously unheard of heights. Apparently, the "Super Guide" is there to handle that tricky jump or nail that pesky boss–but only after a few humiliating deaths.
Releasing a reprisal of the classic Mario platformer may cause a lot of exasperated sighs with many gamers, but the boosted difficulty serves as a healthy wake-up slap in the face. Or something like that.
Frushtick elaborates:
"You remember those ghost house levels from ‘Super Mario World‘ where you had to stay on the moving platform and it slowly chugged past ghosts and other obstacles? Ok, imagine that, but turn the platform into a slavering bone dragon and speed it up by about 3 times. Oh, and throw on three other homicidal friends who would rather jump on your head than let you make a perfectly timed jump. I went in expecting instant success, I left with zero lives and a lower sense of self worth."
Call me crazy, but haven’t "autopilot" features in past games crashed and burned horribly? Hopefully, throwing in an easy-mode button will not stop gamers from trying their luck on a tricky stage or boss on their own first. That having failed (with many hairs teared out in the process), enabling the "Super Guide" might come in handy.
