Gamer Conversations: MarioPosted by Eddy on May 25th, 2009

Welcome to a new GamerSushi feature, Gamer Conversations, where Anthony and I attempt to actually have a civil conversation without the GameCop/LameCop or other personas. These are just casual talks about some of our favorite gaming icons, ideas or stories. Best of all, you guys get to join in when it’s all done.

Today’s topic: Mario. He’s everyone’s favorite plumber, and has been a thing of legend amongst gamers for decades now. The most interesting part of this Nintendo mascot is that he means something a little different to everyone.
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Dude, Where Are My Genres?Posted by Eddy on May 21st, 2009

The more I look at this generation of video games, the more I grow perplexed and a bit worried about what gaming is turning into. No, not that games are somehow becoming lame or less fun. But more in the sense of the quickly disappearing idea of video game genres.

Allow me to explain. When I first started playing video games in the mid 1980′s, there was really only one main genre: the 2D sidescrolling platformer. Super Mario Bros. defined this. While we always had things like Pac-Man and such, the image of Super Mario Bros. and what it stood for as a game was synonymous with the idea that people young and old alike had in mind when thinking of video games. Over time, this idea grew to encompass all kinds of different types of video games, including sports, shooting, puzzle and even fantasy role-playing games.
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The Super Mario Wish ListPosted by Eddy on September 18th, 2008

For many, the name Mario is synonymous with platform gaming and console gaming as a whole. Nintendo’s mustached mascot has become a global icon over the past couple of decades, and his self-titled platformers seem to show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

With the release of each successive proper Mario title (let’s just exclude Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Sunshine, shall we?), Nintendo has found ways to up the ante, building on the formula and shaking it up enough to make it new and exciting.

SMB3 added super suits and a huge world where players could explore new areas by choice, Super Mario World expanded the exploration and included new platforming elements, Super Mario 64 blew open the Mushroom Kingdom into three dimensions and Super Mario Galaxies stretched those dimensions upside down and around curved planetoids.

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