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First Reviews for New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land

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Mushroom icon By Posted bySuperZambezi

The UK-based Gamesmater magazine has released the first two reviews for two the most anticipated Wii U titles: New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land. Overall, the magazine had mostly good things to say about the games, and Nintendo Everything was able to recount some of the major details from the two reviews:

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New Super Mario Bros. U

  • May look the same, but there are some “incredible tweaks”
  • GamesMaster feels it’s easier than NSMB Wii
  • Took under seven hours to complete
  • More to the game outside of the main campaign
  • Most of the innovation is saved for the final levels
  • “Without wishing to spoil anything, we were surprised, excited, and twinkly-eyed during an excellent finale. It’s almost as if Nintendo suddenly realised that they were in fact working with a Wii U, with a game-changing GamePad and everything.”
  • Hopes Nintendo will “build on this solid, if not mind-blowing, foundation.”
  • Graphics: 82%
  • Gameplay: 85%
  • Accessibility: 90%
  • Lifespan: 80%
  • Innovation: 75%
  • Overall: 82%
  • “A great excuse for families to gather round the TV, and an enticing glimpse of Mario’s HD future.”

 

Nintendo Land

  • “…Luigi’s Haunted Mansion, Animal Crossing Sweet Day and Mario Chase offer up some of the most innovative, raucous and party-fueling fun we’ve ever had with a console”
  • Plaza is filled with all things Nintendo
  • There’s menu music for each attraction that bleeps out in NES chimes
  • Monita, the floating computer, guides you around the park’s features
  • Spend winnings on pachinko-esque coin game
  • Win a jukebox, day/night cycle button, and more
  • Miis from your console and other consoles through the Internet
  • Attraction mode: set up a Nintendo Land party; choose a time limit and player count and then head to a points-based tournament of mini-games
  • Multiplayer games are fun, but GamesMaster says the single-player ones are sometimes forgettable
  • A few games highlight “some seemingly inherent problems”
  • Ex: Takamaru’s Ninja Challenge – “constant screen misalignment”
  • GamesMaster says GamePad/TV crossover usually works best when done in tandem
  • “As a discerning gamer, you may not find all that Nintendo Land has to offer to your liking, but should you fork out for a Wii U, you owe it to your family, to your friends and to everyone else you know, to bag a copy of this to go with it.”
  • Graphics: 90%
  • Gameplay: 86%
  • Accessibility: 95%
  • Lifespan: 82%
  • Innovation: 92%
  • Overall: 86%
  • “An essential purchase for party lovers that whets the Nintendo appetite. Bring friends.”

 

UPDATE: We now have our second set of reviews, this time coming from GamePro Germany:

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