A sincere apology has been extended your way from your friendly Game On administrator. You see gamers, the return of Mario is in full swing over in my neck of the woods and I could not be happier! My initial impressions of this title are remarkable and I will no doubt be returning to play this quality title by the time you are reading this post.

No worries however as we will be recording a brand new podcast later this evening so keep a look out for that. Other than that, I hope you are enjoying Super Paper Mario as much as I am. Game ON, and we will see you later tonight.

UPDATE Initial Impressions:
It seems like it has been forever since we had a brand new console Mario title. Mario’s last foray into the console world was in Super Mario Sunshine which was an amazing title, but still received mixed feelings on whether it was a “true sequel” to the ever popular Mario franchise…..But that’s a different topic altogether.

I am here gamers to discuss what I feel is one of the most refreshing titles thus far on the Nintendo Wii console, Super Paper Mario. Yeah it’s a new Mario title and we all know we can expect good things, but I have fallen in love with this title in my first 2 and a half hours with it.

My initial reaction was “Man this is a lot of reading” but once you get past that, it’s a barrel of monkeys. Soon I was discovering every inch of this vast, beautiful landscape all the while switching from 2-d to 3d worlds and enjoying myself the whole time. Not once has it felt repetitive switching between the 2 worlds but that may change down the road.

While the graphics may not win any awards, thie title is just oozing with style. Being an illustration major, I have to say that I absolutely love the art direction that this title has taken.

Couple the art direction with spot on controls and you have a winner. Although these initial impressions are short, I can safely say that I love this title.

The story line is great (you will do A TON of reading), and whimsical. You will enjoy this adventure.

Below is a list of what you can expect to see on store shelves this week. Super Paper Mario for me!

Wii
April 9 - Super Paper Mario

Virtual Console
Galaga (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
BRAVOMAN (TGX16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)

DS
April 10 - Cake Mania

Keep it up Nintendo!

Hardware - This Week | Last Week | Total 2007 Sales | Lifetime Sales

1.) Nintendo DS Lite - 79,897 | 130,549 | 1,928,805 | 9,352,129
2.) Wii - 51,365 | 75,571 | 1,042,075 | 1,961,718
3.) PlayStation Portable - 39,077 | 41,546 | 684,551 | 5,216,680
4.) PlayStation 2 - 17,787 | 16,961 | 258,701 | 20,413,560
5.) PlayStation 3 - 16,889 | 20,459 | 353,823 | 811,381
6.) Xbox 360 - 3,889 | 3,492 | 79,013 | 343,715
7.) Game Boy Advance SP - 609 | 607 | 12,361 | 5,928,244
8.) Game Boy micro - 588 | 765 | 14,990 | 574,920
9.) GameCube - 205 | 270 | 5,514 | 4,174,982
10.) Nintendo DS - 115 | 135 | 1,486 | 6,583,841
11.) Game Boy Advance - 9 | 22 | 505 | 8,823,614

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The inevitable return of the every one’s favorite whimsical plumber, Mario, will be happening next week when Nintendo releases Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii. The game is set to release on Tuesday of next week here in the states and I couldn’t be filled with more joy.

The lucky stuffs over at IGN, recently got a chance to review the upcoming 2-d, 3-d adventure and had this to say about the title:

Super Paper Mario proves the point that even as Nintendo makes titles like Wii Sports and Wario Ware, it hasn’t forgotten about the hardcore gamer. The title not only harkens back to the days of the 2D platformer, but retains enough of the RPG mechanics to satisfy players who liked the previous outings in the franchise. And unlike some Wii titles, which can be completed in an afternoon, this undertaking will keep you busy for a good 20 hours, give or take — incidentally, you’ll find yourself challenged more and more as the quest progresses.

You can find the rest of the review here.

Quick Update: Click here gamers, and enjoy some of the first Maple Story footage for the Nintendo DS. Maple story is a free side-scrolling MMORPG that will be coming to a DS system near you.

**Be Sure to click on each Image for a larger view**

Also- here are some tasty new details on the title.

-First Person view
-On rails shooter (arcade style)
-Story will be about the fall of Umbrella Corp
-Chris, Jill, Rebecca, Billy and Wesker are in the game

Although I am not too sure about the whole “on rails” part, the game does look rather nice though. More as it comes….

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Well gamers, it seems like the newly announced Nights game for the Nintendo Wii cannot stay out of the news as of late. Sega of Europe has published a list of Nights: Journey Into Dreams details online, and heres a quick summary for your viewing pleasure:

- Masks allow NiGHTS to shape-shift into a dragon, a dolphin (Ecco, anyone?), and a rocket

- Exchange items via WiiConnect 24

This news comes welcomed with open arms and I will soon be preordering the title!

The first online title for Nintendo Wii has been announced in the form of Super Mario Strikers.

Mario Strikers: Charged Football will lead Nintendo Europes into the wonderful world of Online gaming on the Nintendo Wii.

The crazy soccer title which pits popular characters from the Mario universe against each other is currently scheduled for a European release on May 25th. Game On!

**If anyone is interested in Game ON’s Official Forums page, click here and sign up! We are planning some BIG things once the online enabled titles come out for Wii so be sure to sign up today.**

More good sales news for Nintendo and its innovative 5th console Wii. The Wii seems it’s outselling Sony’s PS3 2 to 1 in the land of the rising sun. Nintendo has managed to sell through 1.95 million Wii units, while Sony has sold 812,000 units of the PS3. Game ON Sony. More as it develops.

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