The famous plumber's latest outing on Wii U is the most fun you'll have with a platform game this year, says Ashton Raze

Weirdly paced multiplayer doesn't stop this game from being awesome!

Brilliant presentation; Cat power-up is a joy; Control options and characters for all; Many secrets to uncover; Strong level design

First two worlds are a bit unsurprising; Multiplayer has some setbacks

Just when the Wii U needed a hero, Mario has returned in Super Mario 3D World, the plumber's latest console outing. Don't confuse it with last year's 2D sidescroller New Super Mario Bros. U , though.

Lush, expansive HD worlds; Overflowing with creative power-ups; Nostalgic without being stuck in the past; The best multiplayer in a Mario platformer yet

Gamepad controls don't add much to the experience; Doesn't feel quite as ambitious as past console Mario games

Super Mario Galaxy 2 successfully iterated on one of the most inventive platformers of the last console generation. takes slightly smaller steps in the grand scheme of the platformer genre, but it fulfills the promise of a multiplayer Mario much better than anything that the Japanese game maker has...

Unabashedly creative; Great co-op multiplayer; Skillful platforming; Excellent music; Great art direction

Four-player camera

Mario games are filled with branching paths, letting players pick between the obvious route or the more challenging one, and the series as a whole has seen a similar divergence. While the Galaxy series went in an incredibly rewarding and complex direction, Super Mario 3D World (and its predecessor,...

Pure platforming fun; Multiplayer finally works; Makes great use of HD visuals

Some lackluster boss fights; Highs make occasional lows more annoying

A strident burst of brass announced the hero's arrival in Super Mario Galaxy: a bold, triumphant fanfare to herald the return of the king. Mario landed with a gymnastic flourish, spreading his arms wide in a gesture of pure showmanship, as if to say "Ta-da! I'm back!"

Brimming with brilliant moments; Marvellous counter-co-op multiplayer; New standards of variety and invention; Latter stages will test even Mario veterans

GamePad functionality is somewhat trivial

Years ago when we were told they were pulling their plumber into a 3D world, few believed the essence of the series would be preserved. Yet Super Mario 64 became one of the most acclaimed games ever. The story was the same on Wii with Super Mario Galaxy.

Super Mario 3D World is the missing link between 2D and 3D Mario games and is chock full of more fresh ideas than we've seen from Nintendo in some time. If you own a Wii U, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.

Simplified take on 3D Mario; Enough challenge for veteran players; Cat Mario; Double Mario; and tons of other power ups; Multiplayer is addictive and competitive

Sometimes difficult to correctly jump; Four-player camera isn't always user-friendly; Storyline is as simple as ever

Super Mario 3D World is a game of exceptional craft, of painstaking focus on the minute details that are integral to making it feel special. The pace at which you're thrown from one ingenious concept to the next as perspectives, tempos, and mechanics change would choke a lesser game, but here it's...

Wildly imaginative level design; Effortless controls; Loads of challenging extra content to discover; Gorgeous; colourful visuals and a catchy soundtrack; It's Mario in a cat suit

In the past few years, Nintendo has clearly had to dig deep to keep the Mario series fresh. "Super Mario 3D World," the first 3D multiplayer Mario game, strikes a good balance between cooperative and competitive play.

Excellent balance between cooperative and competitive play; Refreshing challenges; Interesting level design; Gorgeous; irreverent art style

Depth-perception problems at normal TV distance; Screen crowding and tracking issues with four players; No online multiplayer