We promised more details, and now we have them for you, along with some artwork and screenshots. The new Super Mario Bros. Wii is a four-player side-scrolling platformer with a balance of co-op and competitive elements to it. You can choose to save your friend from danger by picking him up, or toss him into a pit of spikes or an incoming fireball. Why? Because it’s hilarious, that’s why.

Mario and Luigi are both playable characters, as are two Toad characters. Nintendo promises that many of our other favorites from the Mushroom Kingdom will make appearances in the game, which makes me wonder if any of them are secret playable characters, or if Nintendo is just keeping a lid on who is playable besides the Bros. and Toads for now.

The game will have some motion control, and it can be used for both co-op and competitive purposes. For example, you have seesaws in the game that can be used to get to hard to reach areas on the screen; if you’re the first character on it, you can either help your friend out, or be a jerk and mess with the incline to stall your friend. This is also important, because the game tallies your score at the end of each level to see which one of you is the highest scorer.

The game has sold me on the concept of competitive multiplayer, as well as Penguin Mario. He turns into a freakin’ penguin! That’s the most adorable thing I’ve seen since… well, Bee Mario.

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About The Author

Marc Normandin was gaming editor of Blast from 2008 to mid-2010. You can reach him via e-mail at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @Marc_Normandin

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