Back to the Basics - Super Mario 64

In case you were wondering where I had disappeared off to, here's the answer: Super Mario 64! It started with a quest for finding more about the New Super Mario Bros. game. Before I knew it, I was hooked.

The Super Mario Brothers legacy started in 1983 with the release of Mario Brothers - an arcade game from Nintendo. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto - the man behind many of Nintendo's legendary video games. In 1985, the cult status was established with the release of Super Mario Bros., a side scrolling, first person action game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This game holds the Guinness record for the best-selling video game of all time. Most of you would have grown up with Mario (I for one have spent a small fortune playing it at neighborhood arcades). For the rest - if you still don't believe the cult status - check out the Mario Wiki which has 1072 articles written by Mario enthusiasts detailing every game in which Mario has featured (including guest appearances), every character, every place, etc. etc.

I have never been good at playing games that require more than three buttons (apart from the joystick, of course). This is pretty much why I had shunned gaming for quite some time. All of today's popular games - FIFA, NBA, Counter Strike, Quake III being good examples - require a complicated controller/keyboard configuration to play.

Super Mario 64 took me back to the good old days. It takes the Super Mario Bros. game play and gives you all you were really missing in the original. The world is 3D now - giving Mario a plethora of new moves - triple jumps, long jumps, slide attacks. Mario can also fly in 3D. Along with your old enemies - goombas, koopa troopas, piranha plants, bowser - there are tons of new ones. The levels are much more exciting. Last but not least - the graphics are fantabulous (screenshots follow).

Ever wondered what jumping into the green pipes in Super Mario Bros. felt like? You can actually see Mario fall into one in Super Mario 64.

Get your hands on it today. But be careful - Its very very addictive! Check out the screen shots below (click to enlarge):