“

Imagine how a kid plays with action figures, walking them along, and you get the mindAt the centre of everything is Mario, who is about two-thirds the size of a Brickhead and has little LED screens for eyes and on his belly. Although he’s odd-looking – my five-year-old described him as evil and said “Bowser has turned him bad” – he’s kinda cute once he starts talking and reacting to movement. Importantly, his voice is spot on and his exclamations, from the way he greets Toad to whooping when jumping, are gleefully authentic. Loading

PlayThe sensor underneath Mario detects the colour of the bricks he’s touching – green for grass, blue for water, red for lava and yellow for sand – making him react accordingly. There are also unique patterned tiles that have different effects. Goombas, Koopas and Bowser Jr all have them on their back, and knocking them over and scanning the tile is the equivalent of stomping on them. Toad and Toadette have conversation tiles, which make Mario say ‘Hi’ when he passes, plus there are question block tiles that reward power-ups like the Super Mushroom and the Super Star, which makes him invincible for a few seconds.

There are also unique tiles on obstacles that, in conjunction with Mario’s built-in accelerometer, detect when he’s spinning on a platform or riding in the cart on the Piranha Plant Power Slide. The more spins, the more coins.

And collecting coins is the ultimate aim in LEGO Super Mario. At its simplest, you earn coins by moving Mario through the level, stomping enemies, collecting power-ups and completing obstacles. But there are ways to earn more if you’re willing to experiment. Spinning on a platform rewards coins, but stop and spin in the opposite direction and you’ll get bonus coins; balance on the power slide without hitting the piranha plants triggers a multiplier; the longer you move without hitting the plants at either end, the bigger the multiplier. These are all things you have to discover for yourself and I’m sure there are many other tricks I’ve yet to find. LEGO Mario is about two thirds the size of a normal Brickhead.

Sharing the experience also made for some unexpected level designs too. Mine were pretty restrained, moving from one themed area to the next, almost in homage to the Mario games I’ve played in the past. But my kids, who don’t have the history with the video games, threw the rule book out of the window and created towers by stacking obstacles on top of one another. Just because Mario runs from left to right in the games it doesn’t mean he has to in real life.

When LEGO Super Mario was first announced I was a little skeptical. I found the Mario figure a little off-putting and, as a fan of LEGO, I would’ve loved to have seen display models of the Princess Peach’s castle from Mario 64, or the airship from Odyssey (I still would). I was also dubious about how it would stand alone as a game when there’s so much emphasis on the player to follow a level rather than cheat or game the system. In that respect it has a lot in common with board games – yes, you can cheat by skipping the lava or jumping straight to the finish flag with seconds to go, but where’s the fun in that? Any initial skepticism I had was short-lived and after playing and creating for a few days, there’s so much to like about LEGO Super Mario. I love the idea of exploring new levels, to find new ways to get coins, and look forward to seeing the ways the community breaks the mould when it releases in August. But mostly I love the way it captures the playfulness of LEGO and experimentation of Nintendo, fusing it into something that’s both familiar and fresh. While talking with Jonathan Bennink, the moderate interior designer on LEGO Super Mario, I was unsurprised to hear Super Mario Bros ’ World 1-1 was a huge inspiration during the four-year development of the dally image. The warp organ pipe, interview stop, Goombas – even little downy clouds – are all wonderfully created out of bricks. however, after a few hours of free rein clock time, it actually more closely resembles Super Mario Maker. While the starter set provides the essentials – the start point and the finish iris – everything in between is wholly up to you, and LEGO Super Mario is best enjoyed when you forget the instructions and let your imagination run wild.At the center of everything is Mario, who is about two-thirds the size of a Brickhead and has little LED screens for eyes and on his belly. Although he ’ randomness odd-looking – my five-year-old identify him as evil and said “ Bowser has turned him bad ” – he ’ second kinda cute once he starts talking and reacting to motion. importantly, his voice is spot on and his exclamations, from the way he greets Toad to whooping when leap out, are gleefully authentic.The detector underneath Mario detects the color of the bricks he ’ mho touching – greens for grass, blue sky for body of water, red for lava and yellow for sand – making him react consequently. There are besides unique patterned tiles that have different effects. Goombas, Koopas and Bowser Jr all have them on their back, and knocking them over and scanning the tile is the equivalent of stomping on them. frog and Toadette have conversation tiles, which make Mario say ‘ Hi ’ when he passes, plus there are question block tiles that reward power-ups like the Super Mushroom and the Super Star, which makes him invincible for a few seconds.There are besides unique tiles on obstacles that, in conjunction with Mario ’ s built-in accelerometer, detect when he ’ south spinning on a chopine or riding in the cart on the Piranha Plant Power Slide. The more spins, the more coins.And collect coins is the ultimate aim in LEGO Super Mario. At its simplest, you earn coins by moving Mario through the floor, stomping enemies, collecting power-ups and completing obstacles. But there are ways to earn more if you ’ re will to experiment. Spinning on a platform reward coins, but hold on and spin in the opposition focus and you ’ ll get bonus coins ; balance on the power swoop without hitting the marauder plants triggers a multiplier ; the longer you move without hitting the plants at either end, the bigger the multiplier. These are all things you have to discover for yourself and I ’ thousand sure there are many other tricks I ’ ve however to find.Sharing the experience besides made for some unexpected horizontal surface designs besides. Mine were pretty restrained, moving from one theme area to the following, about in court to the Mario games I ’ ve played in the past. But my kids, who don ’ t have the history with the television games, threw the rule bible out of the window and created towers by stacking obstacles on crown of one another. Just because Mario runs from left to right in the games it doesn ’ thyroxine mean he has to in real life.When LEGO Super Mario was foremost announced I was a little doubting. I found the Mario figure a small off-putting and, as a fan of LEGO, I would ’ ve loved to have seen display models of the Princess Peach ’ s castle from Mario 64, or the airship from Odyssey ( I calm would ). I was besides dubious about how it would stand alone as a game when there ’ s thus much vehemence on the player to follow a grade rather than cheat on or crippled the system. In that respect it has a batch in common with board games – yes, you can cheat by skipping the lava or jumping straight to the complete masthead with seconds to go, but where ’ s the fun in that ? Any initial incredulity I had was short-lived and after playing and creating for a few days, there ’ second then much to like about LEGO Super Mario. I love the estimate of exploring new levels, to find modern ways to get coins, and look advancing to seeing the ways the community breaks the mold when it releases in August. But largely I love the way it captures the playfulness of LEGO and experiment of Nintendo, fusing it into something that ’ s both familiar and fresh .
Alex is the head of IGN’s UK Studio and has an unhealthy obsession with LEGO. Follow him on Alex is the head of IGN ‘s UK Studio and has an insalubrious obsession with LEGO. Follow him on Twitter