You'd be hard pressed to find anyone in their early 30s that didn't rush through their homework in hopes of playing "Super Mario Bros." I spent many afternoons with my cousin Jeremy smashing bricks and jumping on turtles while looking for hidden caverns filled with golden coins. The only problem was that we couldn't play together so rather than cheering him on, I found myself hoping that he'd fail miserably, die quickly and give me a chance to show him up. Nearly 25 years later, Nintendo has rectified the problem.

A few weeks ago, Nintendo came to town and let me have a sneak peak at their revamped "Super Mario Bros." adventure. As far as nostalgia goes, it doesn't get much better than "New Super Mario Bros. Wii." For all intents and purposes, this was "Super Mario Bros." as I remembered it, but better because now I could bring along my friends.

Visually, the new Mario looks like he used to, only this time he isn't made out of squares and boasts a richer color set and lives in a world that has some dimension to it. The controls are the same, only they've added a couple of options that utilize the Wii Remote (nothing too dramatic, mostly just shaking). With the help of my Nintendo guide, it wasn't long after that I found myself happily sliding down a flagpole and finishing off the first level.

Weeks later I picked up the game when it was released, and after hammering my way through it I'm somewhat disappointed. The game is vastly more fun when you have someone to play with, and because online gaming isn't a Nintendo priority, those of us who don't have a stash of readily available gaming partners are left on the outside of what makes "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" exciting. Sure, I like throwing snowballs and flying, but flying solo gets old after awhile.

That aside, this Mario is perfect for parents who want to spend some time with their kids while revisiting their own childhoods. It's not incredibly hard and it's very easy to pop in and out of the game should you, or your child, have a short attention span or need to take a break. If they'd included online co-op options we'd have the best of the old and new school of gaming.