While I’m not quite sure who the fellas were that joined me in a four-player session of Super Mario 3D World at E3 2013, I can say that one was out to screw everyone else over. And that was just fine by me because this game was focused on competitiveness…and yes…teamwork (pphhhttt!).
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When the game loaded up, it felt just like a 3D version of Super Mario Bros. Wii U. A four-player adventure through the multi-tier koopa filled levels that had plenty of twists and turns for teammates to completely ‘cross’ others to their demise. The level we played had tower-like blocks for players to climb up on their way to claiming not only the most amount of coins and points, but also the first to the finish line. What was cool about these towers is that they offered two distinct ways of getting to the top.
The first way involved hopping up on moving, disappearing and static clouds, which were a bit tricky to navigate if some (bleeper) decided to forge ahead without waiting — and why should he wait? It’s more of a traditional way of doing things, and they also threw a few more obstacles on the way through the ascent. Still a very traditional Mario way of doing things.
The second way was made for the cat suits, which allowed players to latch/claw their way to the top. That wasn’t difficult to do, and it was sure as heck a lot more fun way to win. The only caveat is that if you’re dragging yourself up one of these towers and someone forges ahead, then you’re done for. As you can imagine, that happened plenty of times to the few who braved the climbing cat suits.
Again, very competitive.
Then things shifted…
The next level made us cooperate with each other (bleh! Kidding, kidding). The next level featured for us at the demo had all four of us riding the back of a super cute swimming dinosaur. The dino had to be maneuvered through a bevy of waterfalls and dangerous paths, while collecting coins and avoiding enemies. To this day, I still haven’t figured out how to drift that dino around dangerous waterfall curves. Anyway, each player could control the dinosaur on their own, which meant that we all had to be on the same page and shout out what we were going to do before we did it. While it sounds incredibly geeky, we all counted to three when announcing turns or jumping (flipping?) of the dino during the level. By the end, it was quite cool feeling like we were a team.
We also had the pleasure of finding some secret hiding spots in the level (very Mario Kart-ish) and found new things when we had to restart a few times. The map was quite cool, as was the concept of teamwork.
Teamwork, sigh.
The game was definitely sporting some sharp graphics, multi-layered active backgrounds that reminded you that you were playing a Mario game. I particularly loved the dino map, as it made me want to go out to a water park and go swimming. All of the maps were very colorful and distinctive in their own personality.
At the end of the demo, the only conclucion that could be made is that Super Mario 3D World is going to be fun as hell when it comes out, and I’m sure Nintendo has a few surprises in store for us. Looking good as it is, though.
