One of the biggest surprises at E3 this year was the announcement of not one, but two new Mario games for the Wii. Of the two, New Super Mario Brothers Wii was the only one that was playable on the show floor and I managed to spend some quality time with the game during my stay at the Nintendo Booth.

Let’s start with the obvious. New Super Mario Brothers Wii is a throwback to the classic 2D Mario gameplay just like the original New Super Mario Brothers was back on the Nintendo DS. In fact, the graphical style and overall look of the game is basically unchanged from how it was on the DS, albeit much more polished and vibrant. So what makes New Super Mario Brothers Wii so exciting if it looks so much like the DS game of the same name? Well aside from the fact that New Super Mario Brothers on the DS was an awesome game by itself, this new Wii version is also the first traditional Mario game to feature complete 4 player support throughout the main game.

The E3 demo featured about ten or twelve levels that spanned nearly the entire spectrum of traditional Mario levels. You’ve got your castle level, desert level, ice level, sky level, cavern level, etc. I got to check out a little more than half of them and I can safely say that the level design is definitely up to snuff with previous Mario games. In one of the more interesting levels, there is a platform with an icon on it that indicates which player is currently standing on it. When it shows your icon, you can actually tilt the Wii Remote and the platform will tilt along with it. Aside from using these platforms to get across gaps, it’s also fun to mess with your friends by wildly tilting the controller and making them panic as they try to remain on the platform.

And that right there is what makes New Super Mario Brothers Wii so much fun. It’s the fact that you can completely mess with your friends when playing in the competitive co-op mode. By running up to a buddy and shaking the remote you can pick them up and throw them, you can jump on their heads, suck them up with Yoshi, burst their bubble that brings them back to life when it’s over a pit, steal their powerups, and all other kinds of evil and hilarious deeds. I’m evil, I know, but considering that all the while the other three strangers that I was playing with were laughing their heads off along with me while we played, I have a feeling I’m not the only one who considers that kind of stuff fun. It’s the same kind of appeal that Legend of Zelda: Four Swords has, so if you enjoyed that style of gameplay, you’re going to love New Super Mario Brothers.

Unfortunately it was too early to get answers regarding the amount of levels that the game would have and whether there would be online play, so the only thing that I have to go on is my gameplay experience from the several demo levels that I played. I can assure you one thing though; the game is definitely going to be the next big multiplayer game for the Wii when it comes out this holiday season and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. It’s my pick for best Wii game of E3.