I've been hopping my way through the worlds trying to save the Princess in New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Nintendo 3DS. Here are my thoughts on the game so far.

If you loved New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, then you'll love playing this sequel. It's got all the familiar Mario elements like classic platforming, secret passages and levels, and unique power-ups. The twist in this one is Nintendo wants you to collect a whole bunch of coins - a million to be exact. That's a lot, and it'll take a lot of grinding through the same levels to achieve that goal.

Each world offers fun environments that add challenge, even though you'll rack up extra lives in no time from collecting coins. Snow levels make movement slippy. Big fish will try and eat Mario up. Haunted houses are filled with non-linear paths that begged to be played again. Once again, Nintendo succeeds in level design.

Despite the new coin-collecting element, there's not a lot of innovation from the DS to the 3DS. The 3D effect isn't a big deal, even though I like the blurry background effect when it's turned on. Coin Rush mode does add replayability by trying to collect as many coins in quickest amount of time through different levels. Nintendo is promising DLC, which for the right price should be a good thing. But with New Super Mario Bros. Wii U coming out for Nintendo's new console this holiday, it's going to be an overload of 2D side-scrolling Mario. If Nintendo does make a third version for the handheld, changes will be needed to refresh the series.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 releases Aug. 19. Watch out for my full review at www.theoaklandpress.com.

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