New Super Mario Bros - Preview

Mario... smash! The Godzilla-style rampage is... um, well, it seems like a bit of a gimmick, actually.

After bouncing through a couple of level's-worth of traditional Mario fun, you finally find a mushroom that takes several headbutts to dislodge, growing each time.

Scoff it and Mario gets super-sized, ready for a block-walloping rampage that only lasts about 20 seconds. Fun, but ultimately just a bit distracting.

"It's upsetting that there isn't more detail in the characters"

The real fun's in the more conventional Mario action. Though it's similar to the original, the action's been subtly altered to reflect developments in platform games.

So, for instance, Mazza's got a double-jump as well as a wall-bounce and a flying arse-splash. This may be nothing new to platform veterans, but it's certainly an interesting addition to pipe-n-flower land.

Slightly disappointingly, the touch-screen's barely used, except as an inventory - it's possible to keep up to three power-ups in the clip at once, tapping them to activate.

It's also upsetting that there isn't more detail in the characters. At the moment, they look almost as if they've been imported directly from the likes of Mario World and Double Dash, instead of being developed specifically for this game.

Mario Bros does exactly what retro-heads would expect, but anyone raised on the madness of Jak and Daxter might want to look elsewhere for their platforming thrills.

New Super Mario Bros will be available for DS in October