11.9.2015

When the Wii U was first announced, you could forgive us Wii loyalists for dreaming about the many different ways in which a second screen may be used. Regrettably, Nintendo failed to take advantage of this hardware early on, and so fans have been left to pick up the pieces; first party titles with little, no, or poor Game Pad integration (ahem, Mario Party 10).But as the saying goes, "better late than never".Super Mario Maker is the definitive Wii U title, the very game that should have shipped with this console from Day One. It a glorious celebration of all that has preceded in platforming, and unusually, all that is to come.And who can resist this special edition?As well as the game disc and a case with exclusive artwork, you get a very original artwork book and an amiibo that will be sought after for years to come - 8-bit Mario in his original NES colours.The artwork book is a tangible feast; it can be treasured and enjoyed by anyone, anytime, without playing the game. The 90+ pages feature a wealth of inspiration to spark your creativity, which whilst not intended to be step-by-step instructions, lay some groundwork for charming and unusual designs that could never adapt to the story modes of the regular 2D Mario titles . Also included are production documents from the original games!Then there is the amiibo, which is one of the best so far. It has a surprising weight and size to it that I wasn't expecting, but boy does it look great on display. It offers a couple of little perks over the standard Mario amiibo in-game - a power-up that makes Mario super sized, and a retro CRT TV effect - but otherwise has the same functionality for other titles.What's most surprising is how easy the game is to pick up and enjoy. The interfaces are clean and self-explanatory, with plenty of (good) cues from smartphone games, where touch interfaces have been perfected over the past serveral years. As such, those without a lot of technical experience will understand the mechanics of the game in little time, though Nintendo made sure to include some very helpful tutorials.In the creation mode, some exploration is required to utilise more advanced features. Additional items are unlocked depending on how long you play the title, and stylus-gestures breathe new life into items that you drop onto your course, from changing their scale to their behaviour. Your collection of amiibo may also be used as additional 8-bit characters for the Super Mario Bros maps. I won't spoil the surprises...Creating a level is as simple as dragging, dropping and resizing elements all with the Game Pad stylus. Once complete, you may choose to save the level locally or upload it to 'play' area where your hard work is accessible alongside others from around the world. Keep in mind that due to the obvious high number of levels been/being created, gaining social traction is tougher than it is easier.Outside of creation, the user may also play pre-designed levels that offer further inspiration and challenge, as well as the opportunity to unlock further content. The highlights of this are the 10 and 100 Mario Challenges, which allow you to play multiple stages with a set number of lives. These are incredibly fun and provide yet more inspiration, as well as the option to save the levels locally.The fact is, this title is an absolute blast, and has been crafted with a lot of love, care and attention. The choice of graphic styles in the create mode - Super Mario Bros, 3, World and U - are all iconic and represent the era that each was lived in. Crucially, mixing different items from different games is like opening a Pandora's box, as you have the ability to genuinely surprise a player with neat tricks and designs. As long as you yourself can complete the level, that is the only requirement for uploading it.In addition, the user interface is the best that I have seen from Nintendo in years. Whilst I hate to sound callous, it signals to me that they have finally woken up to the current trends of touch input, and have produced a range of graphics and menus to match the best out there.Even without the amiibo, Super Mario Maker is a bargain if only for its replay value. I can't wait to see what crazy masterpieces are going to be made.

3.9.2019

After previously playing Wild World and Lets go to the City, I bought New Leaf this year and have grown obsessed! It's just such a cosy and relaxing game. Everything is happy and playing really cheers me up when feeling down. It's nice to just escape from real life for a while in my little Animal Crossing bubble.There are so many things to go in this game and you could play for years and never run out of things to do or collect. You'll start off life as the mayor of your New Leaf village, with a few animal villagers which you will become friends with, chat to, carry out tasks for (if you wish). Over time, you will soon have up to 10 villagers move in. When you first start you will gather tools which will allow you to fish,catch bugs, hit rocks containing hidden gems, bugs or bells (the currency in AC). The more you buy from your shop, the bigger it will expand until you have a three-storey model, housing a designer boutique on the top floor. You can also purchase clothing, and even design your own. Talk to Sable (the hedgehog behind the sewing machine who always seems too busy to talk) for 10 days and you'll unlock a sewing machine which doubles as a QR machine, allowing you to download the many clothing patterns on the internet, or even design your own.You will build on your town, planting trees and flowers and building Public Works Projects to make your town beautiful. For each day your town is perfect, you will receive a rare flower near your cliff edge.The more you play, the more you'll unlock. Expand your catalogue and build a museum of fossils, bugs, fish and paintings that you'll collect over time. Not forgetting upgrading your home and designing it with the furniture you'll also buy and collect.If that's not enough, there's also mini-games you can play within the game; find a Wii U and a DS in a fortune cookie in Nooks shop to play Desert Island Escape and Puzzle League. There's also an Island you can visit alone, or with friends and you can play mini-games there too.There are over 80 special events that happen throughout the year too, such as the fishing tourney, Bug Off, Mother's Day, Autumn Moon, Halloween and Toy Day to name just a few. On these days you can collect special items which are not available the rest of the year.If you're looking for a nice relaxing game, this is definitely the one for you. Ideal from any age. I play daily, aged 38, as does my 9 year old Daughter and 19 year old son!This game was updated in recent years to include the welcome amiibo update. You will find a lamp with a little ghost inside. Scan in an amiibo character or card (great collectibles in addition to the game) and you can invite them to move in to your village, ask them for a unique item, or ask them to visit your campground in their RV and order their special furniture items. 3DS and 2DS XL consoles have a reader installed. You just swipe on the bottom screen. But older 2DS's, you will have to buy an NFC reader if you want to use this part of the game, but again, it's optional.

29.2.2016

What a great game and idea who has never wanted to make your own mario levels!First of all the amiibo that comes with it is very well made and looks like hes made of 8 bit blocks and is quite large when compared to others and works in all my other games where mario amiibos can work for example mario kart and yoshis woolly world. He also unlocks the giant mushroom in mario maker which allows you to make a giant wall smashing ground breaking 8 bit mario only in the original mario making game mode tho.The game is great you can play course world which are courses made by nintendo and you can unlock certain levels that have been used in nintendo tournaments and also the weird mushroom can be unlocked

21.9.2015

Although I own a few great games on the Wii U, this is the first that has kept me coming back to it day after day.Super Mario Maker is essentially split into two parts: building levels with the (excellent) level editor and playing levels made by both Nintendo developers and the whole of the Wii U community.Building levels is very straightforward. When you first launch the game you are presented with a fun tutorial which takes the form of finishing off an incomplete level. Afterwards you have access to only the basic level components with which to start building but trust me this is enough to begin with. During the course of playing with the level editor and experiencing other players' levels,

18.9.2015

Amazing game / creative tool. Must have internet and join the Miiverse to get the most out of it. (Nintendo's internet services are free!)Very addictive. The only game I've really not been able to put down since I was a teenager, over 15 years ago.If you ever played Super Mario in your life then this is the perfect game to get to relive some of that excitement, curiosity and humour all in glorious widescreen and HD. The graphics of the New Super Mario Brothers U levels are absolutely gorgeous. But the gameplay in the old styles is great too that I personally don't mind so much which style comes up next. There are 4 different skins the levels can have (Mario 8 bit, Mario 3, Super Mario World,

17.9.2015

I remember as a small child, crouched in the corner of my bedroom, with a pad of graph paper and a pencil, sketching out my own make believe Mario levels. Back then, I was sure I could create the ultimate Mario level that would change the world forever. Now I can finally try to prove myself, however, I'm a bit older and need to tap back into my childhood creativity, to fulfill my destiny. That's the great thing about Mario Maker, such a simple and obvious game to make, but somehow it felt like it would never exist, but now it does!It's unusual for Nintendo to hand out their precious mascots for all and sundry to go crazy with, and you should relish this opportunity posthaste.

11.9.2015

Having been lucky enough to get this bundle a day early it took me away from the mammoth sittings of Metal Gear Solid I've had of late. I've been playing it all night and trying a bit of creating too but I'm not sure how successful I will be on that side of the game but found it great fun nonetheless. I was very glad to see the 'Course World' section is already boasting a plethora of great creations from players around the world, some of which are incredibly tough. As it's still so very brand new and I've only played it a few hours I can't give the game play a real in depth review but there are plenty of those out there on the usual gaming sites already,

7.10.2019

I ADORE this game! I had Wild World on the DS/DSI and was really upset when my DSI began to play up. I got a 2DS XL as soon as I possibly could after the DSI stopped workly successfully and this was the first 3DS game I knew I wanted and that I bought. I have had the game for about a year now and play it every day. I adore the ability to change your hair style and colour that I couldn't get in Wild World, the ability to customize the fashion further with tights, socks and shoes, the beautiful graphics, awesome weather phenomenons such as meotor showers, wishing stars and fireworks that you can design the shape of! You are mayor and the way in which you become mayor is constantly hilarious to me.

21.9.2015

Short version: buy this.Okay, buy this or the other version with the"art book."The game is fantastic. Not only can you create your own Super Mario levels, but you can grab levels from other players. The range of level styles are huge, from those based on classic levels to auto playing ones!When you start designing, you have an extremely limited set of tools and level styles. This sounds like a negative, but it makes learning so much easier. Every couple of days you get new items and level styles. You just need to spend 5 minutes or so per day to ensure this.Now why get the book? Quite a lot of the illustrations have a 4 character code. Enter this into the game and it plays a video of the level,

9.10.2020

I’m very new to the animal crossing games and I really thought it wasn’t for me I thought it would be slow and boring so I put it off many times but I kept hearing its popularity growing and people talking about animal crossing so much I thought I’ve got to see what all the fuss is about for my self and I’m so glad I do I really really enjoy the game it’s different to other games and its very relaxing to play without all this heavy action keeping pumped it normal gaming you can just pick it up and relax your way through a little town that you help create with you home and activities to do its really good it runs of the time zone that you living in I.E country (Uk USA)

12.9.2015

This game consists of 2 things - making levels, and playing levels. Both are amazing. The ability to design your own Mario courses is really well implemented. Utilising the Wii U gamepad makes creating levels a breeze. It's amazing the sheer number of combinations possible with loads of tools and combinations you can literally create an near infinite number of levels. And you can switch between different Mario designs from over the 30 year history, from Super Mario Bros on the NES, to Super Mario World on the SNES and even New Super Mario Bros on the Wii. Once you've made your level, you can upload it and share with others. The game features a pretty good portal for discovering new levels with various filters and search tools for drilling down to what you want.

21.5.2019

I got a new 3DS XL and this game is just.. its amazing, and it is the most realistic game with time travel. Let me explain Your young the world is a happy colorful place and everythings just nice but there are dangers, when you do travel through time and become an adult, everything is poop, every one is depressed, dying, miserable, ruined, destroyed. Everything just sucks and everything is trouble.But it is one of the best games of all time ported to the 3DS so you can play this portable on the move.. Buy it. The controls work nice with it, the 3D is pretty decent its like looking through a window rather than looking at a screen.If you have played the N64 version one thing that will probably

31.7.2019

On the evidence of this I prefer this type of game to platform or sports one.it seems to be a game format that Nintendo do well and which plays well on my son's 2DS.There's humour in the game and nice touches as you puzzle out the ways to get around the various rooms and mansions.Battling the ghosts can be at times, exhilarating, stressful or a bit irritating (when struggling to defeat them).It is really clever and the atmospheric music adds greatly to the game.I am not too enamoured of the dialogue with the professor which drags and which we rush through or skip at times.I have now played about 8 games on the 2DS and this far this is mine and my son's overall favourite.It can be frustrating

12.9.2015

This game is a great level editor, in which you can make and play Mario levels. At first you only start with basic things like ground blocks, but you can unlock more as you use the editor, and other things you can do in the editor is play a fly swatting mini-game. If you don't have internet access or just don't want to play or make your own levels, the 10 Mario Challenge is perfect, because it come with quite a bit of sample courses which you unlock after completing them. The online section of the game is called Course World, and it has user-made courses and the 100 Mario challenge, but to publish your own levels you have to complete them first, which can be very rage inducing.

18.9.2015

Mario Maker is a system seller game and the Wii U is well over-due, some well deserving success.The Wii U GamePad really comes into it's own as you build your levels, because it feels so natural and is very easy to do for people of all ages.One needs to be able to complete their levels, before they can post them online for other people to play and rate. The more levels you design, the more game tools and level backdrops are giving to you, for you to experiment and have fun with.Also the more people who rate your levels, will give you the ability to build more levels to upload. The amount of levels which one can play online already is mind boggling and some of them are the best 2d Mario levels,

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