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I’m a big fan of Netflix.  A lot of people are.  The thing that I like the most about it is probably the fact that they’ve been trying to figure out more and more ways to get movies and TV shows to you.  The first innovation they came up with after the whole mail thing was to have movies stream right on your computer.  You don’t have instant access to their entire catalog, but they add plenty of movies all the time.  A year or two ago, they debuted the ability to stream through the XBox 360, and not long afterwards, they added the service to the Playstation 3.  That’s all well and good, but the Wii was still left out.  I realized that this was probably tough to do, seeing the technical capabilities of the Wii.  Sure, it’s capable of going online, but software restrictions make it hard to install a capable front-end program.  Also, the Wii doesn’t use the standard DVD format for its discs.  So how could they do it?

WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE

Hey, who cares how they did it?  I got my disc in the mail and after a quick setup, I was able to pick movies from my queue that were available to stream.  You can also browse all sorts of categories for other stuff to see.  It’s not the most impressive stuff (lots of Sci-Fi Channel Original Movies™) but plenty of Criterion flicks, so it’s like when you burn the outside of your pizza rolls but the center is still frozen.  It all evens out.

So far, though, the best thing about it in my eyes is that I can watch a lot of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on it.  I’m feeling a viewing of Future War coming on…

Altogether, though, I’m pretty happy with the latest development from Netflix.  I am impressed with the quality of the streaming video (looks great on the HD TV, newer movies are close to DVD quality) and the fact that I can watch all I want at no additional cost is pretty sweet.  If you’ve got a Wii, it’s kind of stupid not to pick this up.

It’s been about a month since Christmas and I’m still getting a real kick out of my favorite present. When I heard that there would be a new side-scrolling Mario adventure, I knew I’d had to get it. Call me a purist, but I think that Super Mario Bros. 3 was the series’ zenith. All these years later, downloading Super Mario World on the Wii was an incredibly underwhelming experience. This was it? This was the game that so many people I knew thought was so great? I don’t need to ride a cute dinosaur to have a good time. Give me a leaf that turns me into a raccoon, that’s all it takes to make me happy. I haven’t even bothered trying Mario 64 or any of the other 3D adventures since. That’s why New Super Mario Bros. was the one to watch.

Oh, HELL yes.

The thing that makes NSMB so good is that it gets right back to those basics while incorporating new elements in a seamless fashion. I’m too inept to deal with more than two buttons when I’m playing as Mario, so it’s great to know that stuff like the spin jump were not mapped to the buttons, but instead could be activated by shaking the Wiimote. Another thing I was VERY happy to see was the long-overdue addition of the wall-jump. Now I can save myself from dying in pits fifty percent of the time rather than watch helplessly as I drop off the screen.

The entirely new stuff is also a ton of fun to learn.  For instance, some new mushrooms have been added (as far as I can tell), like the Ice Flower, which lets you throw snowballs that freeze your enemies, the Propeller Hat, which lets you fly with a shake of the Wiimote, and my personal favorite, the Penguin Suit, which includes the snowballs and also lets you walk easily on ice or slide on your belly.

Of course, the game’s biggest selling point is the fact that you can now play with up to four players on the same screen simultaneously.  I initially assumed this would mean the game would use the Wi-Fi capability of the Wii.  It doesn’t, and now that I’ve played it with my sister, I can see that there is serious trolling/griefing potential with this game.  When it comes to Mario, you don’t want to piss anyone off, you just wanna have fun.

And believe me, there’s plenty to be pissed at when you’re playing.  Not in a bad way.  It’s just that the game is just diabolical enough to make you curse and try to throw your controller, before you remember that you strapped your Wiimote to your wrist.  You did read the safety advisory, didn’t you?  But you’ll be back.  You’ll come back, you’ll plan your jumps and maybe even get your friends in on the action, but just remember… when you’ve beaten one Koopa kid, there’s always another lying in wait.

I haven’t beaten it yet.  I only get the time to play a little here and a little there.  But I kind of like it that way.  I don’t like sitting around and plowing through a game, especially when there’s no replay value.  But even when I’m done with it, I’m sure that I’ll be ready to start all over again.  There’s always more hidden treasures to find when you go back.  And since I’m playing without a walkthrough right now,  I’m sure there’ll be a lot of good stuff waiting for me on the second run.

If you’re a Mario fan, you’re doing yourself a big disservice by not playing this.  If you’ve got kids, they’re going to love this game, too.  Play it with them and show them a thing or two about stomping goombas and dodging Bullet Bills.  It’s time to pass it on to another generation!