Not since Super Mario 3D Land has the 3D slider been put to such good use; conclusively, the enhancing of the 3D effects is less of an eye-piercing distraction than an unruffled visual polishing.
Sticker Star may not in the running for the all-out best-looking 3DS game to date, but it is, without question, the title that takes the most advantage of the system’s 3D lever.
Gathering what stimulus it can from the series’s famed past is the game’s transparent plan of attack, and for the most part this method replicates the success of its counterparts.
The puzzles are consistently well-designed from an entertainment perspective—just hard enough to keep you busy, but clear enough that you’ll enjoy a rush of “I am so smart!” every few minutes.
Mario Tennis Open’s bone structure isn’t thin by any means, simply tonally unimaginative and devoid of an honest-to-goodness Nintendo sensibility.
The game doesn’t quite raise the bar, but it unquestionably polishes it to a glowing gleam.
A little bit of Super Mario Bros. and a lot of Elite Beat Agents, Rio for the DS combines elements of platformers with a rhythm game.
It’s bundled with a commemorative CD of 20 Super Mario tunes and sound effects, as well as a booklet filled with unreleased concept art and interviews with the high-bouncing, Italian-American plumber’s creators.
Each wee little level contains just a few parameters, perfect for playing in 90-second bursts and therefore well adapted for the subway, elevator, and bathroom enhancer that is the Nintendo DS.
Along with the technical problems, the game also makes design decisions that badly compromise the player’s sense of agency.
Each objective in each galaxy is just long enough to keep things fresh without feeling monotonous.
Day sixteen is easily, without a doubt, the worst and most painful day of shooting on God’s Land.
Looking at story, character and design while ignoring interactivity would be akin to analyzing a movie based solely on the script; the entire point of the medium would be lost.