14 DAY TRIAL // The game is another winner from the series that looks absolutely flawless but keeping the original Mario gameplay experience. You've certainly seen some screenshots of the game but how about some in-game footage? No? Well, you should know that this year's GDC showed off some pretty neat stuff in the Super Paper Mario for Nintendo's Wii console. You could easily mistake it for the NES title, Super Mario Bros. and think that it's an improved version, but later on, you'd notice that the typical next-gen Mario features appear, like hovering sidekicks.
Oh, and that's of course if the superb visuals don't give it away. But just when you thought you'd seen it all, the environment suddenly changes from 2D to 3D. Yeap! It's Nintendo's version of Sega's Crush. Well, Mario is still there in the 3D landscape, but the idea with the switching between two viewing dimensions is the same as Sega's. Other than that, all the typical elements are there: coin gathering, question mark popping, platform jumping and all that stuff that screams Mario.
The game can also be played using the Wiimote's motion-sensitive feature in some parts of the game, but the classic button pressing still seems to be the best choice, if you want to jump or make fast maneuvers. The thing is that it's still that classic jump-run-and shoot typical Mario game we're all familiar with, only the visuals have been improved, a couple of sidekicks are there to help you in your quest and the environment switches from 2D to 3D at the press of a button. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing you've played before, it's just the style that remained the same.