Mario games, the good ones, anyway, are a gestalt, rising above their sundry components to become something truly special. Yoshi's New Island is no such beast. It is exactly the sum of its expertly-hewn parts, offering a platforming experience that is impressive in its intricacy, nonetheless feeling like the result of a well-researched equation. It plays all the right notes without ever quite making exquisite music, masterful but not special. Sure, you'll dig it, but will it be a game you look back on with wistful nostalgia ten years from now? Probably not.

Once again, the stork has proven that he is particularly ill-suited to transporting newborns, as Baby Mario and Baby Luigi go missing. Mario tumbles to earth on the new, egg-shaped island home of the multicolored Yoshis, and immediately starts crawling off in search of his diapered brother. The Yoshis, being the sweet-hearted souls they are (or perhaps simply reluctant to take up child rearing) decide to help the tyke locate his sibling, each Yoshi handing Mario off to the next as they navigate the treacherous and oddly-constructed terrain of the island. Seriously, who moves into a place littered with spike traps and falling platforms?

At least the property taxes are probably low.

http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/13/yo...te-dino-might/