New Super Mario Bros. 2 Initial Impressions

I have NSMB2 (3DS) rented right now and having played it for around an hour or so I thought I would post some initial impressions of the game. I'll just write this one up in bulletpoint style. Quick and easy (both to write and to read).

Story

-Princess. Plumber. Rescue. Angry turtles. About as passé as it gets. Does anyone play Mario games for the story though?

Difficulty

-I obviously cannot comment as to the difficulty of the later stages of the game, but having played through all of World 1, most of World 2, and a couple of later stages in Coin Rush mode (one from W3 and I believe the other was 5-3) I can say that thus far it seems as though this game is going to be a little too far on the easy side. I did, however, read that the secret stages are pretty tough, and some of the downloadable coin rush stages are supposed to be very hard, so in the end it sounds like the game should appease all types of gamers with respect to the difficulty found therein and how it appeals to their particular preferences. 

Nintendo 3DS Swapnote Slideshow Demo Video "God Slideshow"

3DS price drops to $170 on August 12; Ambassador Program Announced

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/28/3ds-price-drops-to-170-on-august-12/

http://www.gametrailers.com/news/nintendo-3ds-price-drop-ambassador/3675

Looks like I am MUCH more likely to get a 3DS now (at some point, not anytime soon):


Well, this is interesting. After what can only be described as a less than stellar initial launch, Nintendo of America today announced plans to drop the suggested retail price of its portable Nintendo 3DS system to $169.99 in the United States.

The new price, down from the suggested launch price of $249.99 and effective Aug. 12, takes place just a few months after the hardware hit store shelves in the US and is undoubtedly Nintendo’s attempt to set up a strong holiday season for the system. Japanese gamers will also be seeing a price drop on the handheld device effective August 11 that will see the units MSRP go from 25,000 Yen to 15,000 Yen. Meanwhile, details of a price drop throughout European markets are expected soon, but online reports suggest that the the cost of the 3DS will go down “about a third” throughout Europe.

”For anyone who was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy now,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “We are giving shoppers every incentive to pick up a Nintendo 3DS, from an amazing new price to a rapid-fire succession of great games.”