THE NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII IS A MUST HAVE GAME!

It's not a pipe dream: The most famous plumbers in video games have returned in "New Super Mario Bros. Wii."
The game, in stores now, is a return to the classic side-scrolling formula that brought the franchise to its high-water mark in 1990's "Super Mario 3." But make no mistake – "New SMB" isn't some tired sequel or a next-generation remake. It is one of the best installments in the series' 26-year history.

Players will find a familiar mix of bright visuals, cheerful atmosphere and sadistic obstacle courses as they attempt to yet again rescue the princess from the evil Bowser. Spanning over dozens of boards, the level designs in "New SMB" stay remarkably fresh and inventive throughout. More importantly, even as the game becomes progressively challenging (and the urge to throw the controller in frustration increases exponentially), it never loses the lighthearted feel that has endeared the franchise to millions of players.

Played alone, "New Super Mario Bros. Wii." is a Mario masterpiece. But played with friends, it becomes something else entirely.

The game supports up to four players simultaneously. Players can cooperate, sharing powerups and literally carrying less skilled players through difficult sections. Alternatively, players can go the competitive route and seek to bump off their cohorts at every opportunity.

Whatever course of action players choose to take, the game quickly becomes a chaotic, fast-paced romp, as entertaining to spectators as it is to the people playing.

In fact, this multiplayer experience is a surprisingly exciting feature, not just for "New SMB," but for the Nintendo Wii as a console. Mario creator and Nintendo wunderkind Shigeru Miyamoto has long championed video games as a unique experience in social entertainment. "New SMB" goes a long way in proving him right.

It does not achieve this with gimmicky controls or the watered-down, family-friendly content that plagues the lion's share of Wii titles currently on the market. "New SMB" creates its new video-game dynamic with an ambitious reexamination of classic game design and a deep appreciation for fun (especially if you define fun as braining your buddy in the head with a barrel).

Somehow, "New Super Mario Bros. Wii." manages to be all things to all players. It is challenging enough to satisfy gamers who've grown up with the franchise yet forgiving enough to welcome newcomers. It is friendly enough for kids and compelling enough to convince even the most grizzled of first-person shooter vets to put down their digital machine guns. And it does it without ever losing sight of what it is: a Mario Bros. game.

'New Super Mario Bros. Wii." is a must-have game for the Wii. And if you don't have a Wii, Mario is the reason buy one.