Sure, Mario gets around, but New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS is out to prove that the protector of the Mushroom Kingdom hasn't forgotten his roots. He still knows how to throw down against goombas, koopas, that jerk Lakitu, and the rest of the classic Mario foes, and this 2D platformer is a really interesting mix that, so far, manages to feel like the 2D classics from the Mario catalog without feeling too tied to the old material.

The game opens in a pretty standard fashion. The princess gets kidnapped, and as Mario, you set out to save the day in standard 2D platformer fashion--you run to the right, though if you absolutely have to, you are permitted to run to the left, as well. You can jump on stuff, you can jump up and break blocks, mushrooms make you big, fire flowers make you throw fireballs, all that standard Mario sort of stuff. But while the game even reverts all the way back to the two-button control scheme of the original, New Super Mario Bros. does have plenty of new stuff.

For example, there's the mega mushroom, which makes Mario grow large enough to practically fill one of your DS screens. This is an invincibility sort of mode, and as you run, you'll bust through pipes, blocks, and everything that gets in your way. The more you bust up, the more extra lives you'll earn. On the other end of the size spectrum, there's a mini mushroom that'll let you get small so you can fit through tiny passageways. There's also a turtle shell suit that lets you turn yourself into Mario's worst enemy of all time...a fast-moving, sliding turtle shell that wipes out enemies. Regardless of your size or suit, you can also pull off a pretty handy wall jump, and the butt stomp, popularized in Mario 64, is here, too.

The game has an overworld, similar to Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World. There are eight worlds in the game, though you won't have to see each and every one of them to beat the game. As you might expect, each world has its own theme, so you'll see a desert, an ice world, and so on. The game doesn't let you save at any time you want, but it will prompt you to save after finishing a tower level at the midpoint through the world or a castle at the end of a world.

Visually, the game keeps the classic Mario look, but it's a polygonal game. So Mario is pretty well animated and overall, the game looks really sharp. It's bright, colorful, and full of style.

All in all, New Super Mario Bros. is the sort of game that wild horses couldn't drag you away from...but the world's largest video game trade show probably could. We'll have a full review of the game after the Electronic Entertainment Expo.