Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis

[EnemaEms]

So, has anyone picked this up yet? I downloaded the demo from the kiosk at EB and it is very fun. Using the stylus to control the minis is much better than using the controls on the Gameboy. I was going to pick it up this week, but saw that Circuit City will have it for $24 next week. If you already got it, how do you like it so far, and how is the difficulty of the puzzles?

 

-Dean-

[EnemaEms]

OK, since it appears that I am the only one buying DS games right now, I will write my initial impressions up on this as well.

 

I caved and picked this up today (will get my money back once the ad comes out). The 1st levels I played were the demo that I had previously downloaded. The only difference was I was able to now get Gold/Silver/Bronze stars for my score. The game plays so well with the stylus and is even more fun than the original. Where this game shines though is the ability to create your own levels and then share them over the Internet via the WiFi in the DS. This is just spectacular. This gives the game so much replay value....as long as you guys buy the game.

 

-Dean-

[JFo]

Dean;

 

Thanks for the impressions. I think I'm going to pick this one up next week after I get paid. I LOVED the first game and have been looking forward to this one since I first heard about it back at E3. I'll post something about this once I get my grubby hands on it.

[Ryan FB]

I picked it up at CC earlier, so far it's an enjoyable kind of Lemmings-ish puzzler. It takes me a while to get through a level though since if anything goes wrong I get all OCD about it and restart the level. I'm kind of interested in the original GBA game now, since I don't recall ever playing it.

[Robot Monkey]

I played through the demo I downloaded and I definitely like it. How well does the creating and the sharing work? And is that fun?

[Ryan FB]

I haven't really played around with the level creation stuff yet, but I'm pretty sure it's the ultra-paranoid online system as most other WFC games. That is, you have to add someone as a friend and they have to add you as a friend before either of you can download the other's level.

[JFo]

I picked this up yesterday. I'm on the fourth floor now and I'm having a pretty good time with it. Gameplay-wise this is completely different from the first Mario Vs. Donkey Kong, which focused on platforming elements and puzzle solving. The puzzle solving is still there, but the platforming has been replaced by a Lemmings-like system that rewards players for manipulating the mini-Marios in such a way that they never stop moving and all reach the goal at the same time.

 

As with the first game, the level design is really good and the some of the puzzles are pretty difficult to figure out. Part of the fun (for me at least) is not only trying to figure out how to get all the mini-Marios to the goal safely but how to do it in such a way to get as high a score as possible. Bronze, silver, and gold stars can be earned by earning high scores, although I'm not sure if doing this will obtain you anything more3 than bragging rights.

 

My only real frustration at this point is that often the stylus isn't as precise an instrument of control as I wish it would be. For the most part, it works very well. The control is more akin to Kirby Canvas Curse in which you don't directly control your character (or in this case, characters) but instead guide them along by drawing lines across the screen. The problem is that sometimes you may want a mini-Mario to jump, but you'll end up stopping them in their tracks, screwing up your chain and causing you to lose out on a crucial end-of-level bonus that helps your high score. Aside from that though, this game has proven to be just as addicting as the original for me. I can only imagine how difficult the game gets in the latter half. If it's anything like the original one, my DS will be lucky to survive a complete run through it.

 

I'll post more as I play.