There's a reason Mario and videogames are practically synonymous: the videogames he stars in are always--always--good. Blockbusters, usually, long lived and esteemed well after other games and their three sequels have lost their luster and clutter the bottom of the bargain bin. And there's been lots of them over the years; everyone has played a Mario game at some point in their life. Mario = videogames.

You don't have to like Mario's eternally cheerful chortling, his inane habit of popping mushrooms to power up, his perpetually co-dependant Peach of a girlfriend that can't seem to stay out of trouble, his dimwitted nemesis, Bowser, that never learns... you just have to know that when he stars in a game, said game will be both instantly familiar and refreshingly fresh; a new take on an old genre or boasting new tricks in a timeless one.

Such is the case with New Super Mario Bros for NDS.

At its core, it offers very much the same side-scrolling, platform hopping, brick-bopping, Goomba-stomping gameplay found in the original Super Mario Bros from the heyday of arcades back in the '80s (later on the SNES home console in the early '90s). But the characters and backdrops are eye-popping in 3D, but still stuck in that 2D world, which looks too cool. Plus, the levels are entirely new (though some look like retooled classics), all long-playing eighty of them, loaded with all new pitfalls, secret passages, hidden items, the usual, the works. Likewise, all the old tricks are here as well as a few brand new ones, plus an ultra-mega-size-me mushroom and a Uber-inky-dinky-me one.

The touch-me sensitivities of DS' lower screen are only employed modestly, mostly for frivolous mini games. Speaking of which, New Super Mario Bros. also boasts multiplayer mini games off a single cartridge, which is mostly fun if you're a fanatic with a similarly fanatical buddy or three. Still, as a single player game, this is old-school meets new school in all the right ways. A must-have.

Of course, if you never cared for the chortling plumber, his brother, their oversized noggins, their painfully thick mustachios and perpetual cheerfulness, then there's a wealth of content in New Super Mario Brothers to keep you not caring.

• TIP: New Super Mario Bros, like the original, still rewards you with huge bonus points if you land near the top of each level's final flagpole. However, this time, landing right on top of it will net you a 1Up.