New Super Mario Bros. U

New Super Mario Bros. U is a Mario game for the Wii U. It was officially revealed at Nintendo's 2012 E3 conference on June 5, 2012. The game allows for up to five players to play at the same time; One with the Wii U GamePad, and four others with Wii Remotes. Like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, players have the option to play as either Mario, Luigi, Yellow Toad, or Blue Toad, but players also have the option to play as their Mii characters.

Plot
Mario, Luigi, Yellow Toad, and Blue Toad are in Peach's Castle having lunch together. Bowser arrives in his airship. The airship, now armed with a giant mechanical fist, smashes the four and throws them far away. With the Mario Bros. out of the way, Bowser hijacks Peach's Castle. Mario and the gang land in a giant acorn tree, launching Super Acorns throughout the area. When the four get back onto solid ground, they realize they are now in Acorn Plains, far from Peach's Castle. The four run back to save Peach once more.

Gameplay
New Super Mario Bros. U iterates on the gameplay featured in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The objective of each level is to reach the goal flag at the end while avoiding enemies and hazards. The game can be controlled either using Wii Remotes or the Wii U GamePad, the latter of which allows play seperate from the television screen. Like the Wii game, up to four players can play simultaneously, choosing from Mario, Luigi, and two toads (coloured blue and yellow, same as in New Super Mario Bros Wii). Certain game modes also allow players to play Mii characters saved on their console. New to this version is an asymmetric multiplayer experience called Boost Mode. In this mode, an additional player using the GamePad can use the touchscreen to place blocks on the screen or stun enemies to aid the other player(s). This can be used to both assist amateur players and allow expert players to perform speed runs.

Along with returning elements, such as Ice Flowers and Yoshis, New Super Mario Bros. U introduces new power-ups, such as a flying squirrel suit that allows players to glide across long distances or slowly descend down vertical paths and cling to the side of the walls. Baby Yoshis, which last appeared in Super Mario World, can be carried by the individual players. Each Baby Yoshi has a special ability based on its color, such as inflating in midair (magenta), blowing bubbles to attack enemies (blue), and illuminating dark areas (yellow). Some older power-ups also have new abilities; for example, the Mini Mushroom now allows players to run up walls. Unlike New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which had separate maps for each of the game's worlds, New Super Mario Bros. U features one large map containing all the game's worlds and levels, similar to that of Super Mario World. Some levels have multiple exits that lead to different areas on the map.

The game features two new modes of play, Challenge Mode and Boost Rush. Challenge Mode adds unique challenges to various levels, such as clearing them in as quick a time as possible or earning as many 1-UPs in a row as possible without touching the ground. Boost Rush takes place on an automatically scrolling level which increases in speed as players collect coins, with the goal to clear the stage as quickly as possible. The game will also utilize Miiverse, allowing players to share comments or feelings about particular levels with one another.

History
Rumors about a New Super Mario Bros. title being in development for the Wii U had circulated since the Wii U tech-demo New Super Mario Bros. Mii was playable at E3 2011. In early 2012 Nintendo confirmed that they were indeed working on a new game based on that tech-demo. On Sunday, June 3, 2012, during a Nintendo Direct live video stream, video of the game was shown, though not directly confirmed to be an actual game in development. The video focused on showing how the Wii U's social network Miiverse might be used while playing a game. The video showed comments from players around the world appearing when Mario failed a level as well as on the over-world map. The game was officially announced and named at E3 2012, as well as a trailer.

Playable Characters

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Yellow Toad
 * Blue Toad
 * Mii
 * Yoshis

Power-Ups

 * Super Acorn
 * Super Mushroom
 * Fire Flower
 * Ice Flower
 * Mini Mushroom
 * Starman

Transformations

 * Flying Squirrel Mario
 * Super Mario
 * Fire Mario
 * Ice Mario
 * Mini Mario
 * Invincible Mario

Enemies

 * Goomba
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Piranha Plant
 * Fire Bro
 * Boney Beetle
 * Boos
 * Paragoomba
 * Urchins