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Sliced Gaming Feature: Wii Fit Plus Launch Party

Writer: R J Gaffney
Posted: 27th October 2009, 3:20pm

I was recently invited to attend Nintendo's launch party for Wii Fit Plus, which also served as a "here's how we're going to kick-ass over Summer" brag-fest. While there I was entertained by family-friendly faces and wined and dined with summery treats. I also got to play the New Super Mario Bros Wii and Zelda titles, among others. Also, I may or may not have flapped my arms like a bird and made a fool of myself in front of Mrs. Rafter.

The set-up: Summer themed foods (think lots of fruit, fish and chips and ice cream), summer themed drinks (more fruit and some alcohol) and walls painted like Mario levels. Oh, and a giant train set-up, with a carriage and an engine room (the former for the new Professor Layton and the latter for the new Zelda) complete with smoke machine for that authentic steam-engine haze. There were several kiosks for New Super Mario Bros Wii and Wii Fit Plus, as well as a pile of DSis in various areas for Professor Layton, Zelda and Style Boutique.

The entertainment: Peter Rowsthorn, stand-up comedian and Brett from Kath and Kim, was hosting with Maude Garret from Nickelodeon (I'm not young enough to know who she is, apparently). Rebecca Gibney made an appearance as Wii Fit Plus Ambassador (and informed the gathered throng that her pet dog is overweight). The hosts joked around as they played Wii Fit and cracked jokes with the audience. At one point Maude said that she is in love with Link and claims to want to get a Zelda tattoo. Maude also said she's been gaming since before she learnt to walk and, later on that night, admitted the first game she played was Super Mario Bros at age 7. Maybe she's a slow learner.

But that's all beside the point. Here are the games I played and my immediate impressions.

New Super Mario Bros Wii:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii feels a bit different to previous Mario games. This was something I noticed immediately. The jumping felt a lot stiffer and the movements of Mario and co was a lot more deliberate. This might have been especially noticeable given my SMB3 binge the day before, but the change is definite and threw me off for the first few levels. It manages to feel slightly different even compared to New Super Mario Bros on DS. Veterans will, of course, react immediately with horror and disgust that the world's most perfect platforming mechanics have been messed with. Other things that have been messed with include the multiplayer aspect.

NSMBWii (I'm going to get sick of that "abbreviation" fast) focuses on the multiplayer aspect to move the Mario series forward. Four players can now run side-by-side through the levels helping (or not) one another overcome the various obstacles. Sometimes the screen can feel a bit crowded, like on the ... (continued next page)