Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story // DS

It would be lazy to describe Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story as the third instalment in a trilogy of Mario games that you’ve never played, but it wouldn’t be far from the truth. Developed by Alpha Dream and not the big N (with the reduced marketing budget that that entails) and featuring the plumber and his friends in an RPG-like mechanic, virtually guarantees that this series will never get the audience it deserves. Which is a shame, as it’s a beautifully polished gem that should be in every DS collection.

Mushroom Kingdom Valentines Treats

For Valentines Day, Lady Infinitecontinues treated her videogames-obsessed significant other with a batch of cookies iced with three well-known Mushroom Kingdom characters – Boo, Chain Chomp and the Super Mushroom. Despite the craftsmanship (check out the actual links in Chain Chomp’s tail), I can’t help but think she got the better deal. Not only did she get a two-course meal, lovingly slaved over for an hour or more, she also burnt the shit out of the cookies. Still, 10 out of 10 for effort and artistic talent, though.

What games are you looking forward to in 2010?

Last year was a bumper crop for games, with enormous triple-A titles like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2 finding their way onto our consoles in the final quarter of the year alone. Seemingly, there will be no let up in quality titles in 2010, with many in the industry predicting the start of this new decade to be the best year the videogaming industry has ever seen. With a cursory glance at the release schedule of Q1, it’s hard to put forward a decent argument against that. So what are you looking forward to the most? For me, there are two titles that stand out as particularly promising.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii // Wii

I’ve been slack. Once a devoted Nintendo fanboy who would devour any new Mario games within days of release, I’ve recently allowed myself to become distracted by numerous other games on other consoles. Today, I was determined to make amends, to give New Super Mario Bros. Wii the dedicated attention it deserved, and sat down to my save at World 5 determined not to get up again until the final credits rolled.

Top 5 Most Pleasing Mario Power-ups

Recent playtime with New Super Mario Bros. Wii had me musing over the Ice Flower, one of several new power-ups in this instalment of the Mario franchise, and one that left me feeling pretty ambivalent about it. But it got me thinking of a wider topic; of all the power-ups littered throughout the gameworlds of the plumber’s adventures stretching right back to the days of the NES, and which of those were the most momentous and fun to use. So, without further waffle, I present my Top 5 Most Pleasing Mario Power-ups, in reverse order.

Wario Videogame Minimalism tee now on sale

Mario’s evil namesake is now available to buy as a t-shirt from my MySoti store. Pop along and check him out. Don’t forget to vote on him while you are there!

More Videogame Minimalism

Thanks to links from Kotaku and Gizmodo, my Videogame Minimalism set has received a whole heap of new interest. Welcome to those new to infinitecontinues. You’ve come for the art, hopefully you’ll stay for the words too!

First Impressions: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Balancing the expectations of a veteran enthusiast who grew up with Mario games, and a casual gamer only just getting to grips with the platforming exploits of the portly plumber was always going to be a tough task. Judging by the amount of laughs me and my girlfriend shared within our first few hours of the follow-up to the DS game, New Super Mario Bros. Wii makes a decent fist of it. And it does it in vibrant and colourful style, with a grin-inducing spoonful of nostalgia to boot.