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> Results: Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
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The ESRB Says:
Mild Cartoon Violence: GamerDad found the destruction of toys, and comic pratfalls from the ape. Nothing concerning here. Mario's latest adventure casts him into the role of master toymaker, inventing cute clockwork Mario robots as well as versions of other Mushroom Kingdom denizens. The toy line is so successful that he opens an amusement park to showcase his minis. The park attracts a bunch of familiar characters, including Donkey Kong and Pauline (the long-forgotten femme fatale from the first Donkey Kong game). Donkey Kong takes a monkey-shine to Pauline and, true to his nature, promptly captures her, smashes up the park, and hides himself within the clockwork factory. Our little mustachioed friend Mario comes to the rescue, with the help of scores of wind-up alter-egos. MARIO VS. DONKEY KONG 2: MARCH OF THE MINIS offers nine themed worlds (each with nine levels), a bunch of clever mini-games, and a showdown boss level against the wily monkey himself. There's a lot of game here, but players need to realize that this is not a sequel to spring's excellent New Super Mario Bros. This is a clever puzzler much like the fan-favorite PC legend Lemmings. The game is simple and addictive. Tap a mini-Mario to get him moving, make him stop, or get him to jump. Each level has obstacles, enemies, pits, traps, and more, and getting the minis safely to the door on the other end of the screen is the goal. You'll do plenty of timing and tapping with the stylus to get them to stop at the edge of a pit, or enter an elevator at just the right time. Multiple minis populate the screen as the difficulty rises, making for some seriously frantic gameplay. Bonus points are awarded for speed in completing the puzzle, for not stopping, for collecting all coins and hidden items, and for bashing the bad guys with hammers and other tools. The game offers a Construction Mode, a powerful tool that lets players use the stylus to build their own custom levels and challenges. Even better, these can be traded via WiFi. This is good, clean, challenging fun for puzzle fans and Mario fans alike. There's nothing "mini" about the gameplay here.  
The game is perfectly safe in terms of content and will teach your kids to think creatively and react quickly. It's a fun puzzler, but some might find it overly frustrating. Construction Mode rewards creativity, and adds a new dimension of value and replayabilty to this excellent game.
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