"They're ALIVE!"

What's this? Two new Mario platformers on one system? Wait...in one year! Nintendo DOES love us! Everyone, rejoice!

All jokes aside, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 is an excellent addition to both the Mario series and the Donkey Kong series. Why, you ask? Read on to learn more.

Now, the story goes something like this: Mario is there at the grand opening of Super Mini Mario World (an obvious reference to Super Mario World for the SNES). And he's brought his girlfriend with him. No, not Peach; it's Pauline, the damsel in distress from the original Donkey Kong! And speaking of that big ape, turns out he's at the grand opening as well...and still smitten with Pauline. He offers her a Mini Donkey Kong, while Mario offers her a Mini Mario. Pauline chooses the Mini Mario.

Big mistake, Pauline.

In a fit of rage, DK kidnaps Pauline and goes up the elevator. Mario can't follow them, for whatever reason. I dunno why...maybe he's allergic to some new cologne that DK has?

Anyway, Mario sends a bunch of Mini Marios at DK in his place. Will they succeed? That's for you to decide.

The Mini Marios can't do much. They don't have the ability to use any of those fancy acrobatics that Mario can use. All they can do is move right, move left, and jump. On top of that, they don't even have any minds of their own, so they can't do any of these things of their own accord. This means that you will have to do this stuff for them. Tap the minis to activate them. Swipe left to make them move left, swipe right to make them move right, and swipe up to make them jump. But be careful; once they start moving, they won't stop unless they get to an elevator, a moving platform, or you tap them again to deactivate them. If they fall in the water, onto spikes, or if they hit an enemy, you can kiss that mini goodbye.

There are a bunch of items that you'll need to use to get through the level; switches that open certain doors but close others, trampolines that'll make you either go straight up or make you fly in a certain direction, big DK toys that will juggle you, and even the Fire Flower. These are only a few of the items in the game. Trust me when I say that each new item will be fun to play around with.

Of course, with Mario games come enemies. And boy, are these enemies tough ones. Goombas? Nowhere to be found. In their place are enemies that'll crush, squish, eat, and imprison your Mini Marios. These guys are no pushovers; without a Fire Flower or hammer, they're indestructable.

The graphics aren't completely 3D, like New Super Mario Bros. Instead, they're 2D with some 3Dish effects. The game has a cheerful art style, one that'll make you smile. There isn't really much more to be said about the graphics.

Most of the game's replay value comes from WiFi...and boy, does this game's WiFi have replay value! Instead of going head-to-head, you can actually create your own levels, then upload them onto WiFi for your friends to enjoy! Obviously, you can download your friends' levels, as well. The level editor is easy to use, and it's a blast to play through levels of your own creation. I spent over an hour fine-tuning one of my levels!

The one problem with this game is that the single player feels like it's over before it started. Still, you can play limitless other levels through WiFi, so it doesn't matter much.

Overall score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/02/06