This months issue of Official Nintendo Magaize  UK (ONM) has an interview with Yoshiaki Koizumi that should excite long time fans of the Mario franchise. “I can’t reveal the actual number of power-ups in the game right now,” says Koizumi, “but suffice to say that we do try to include enough so that people can enjoy a variety of different kinds of play experiences in the title.”

The Tanooki Suit is a nice, but here’s hoping there are a few brand new power-ups included as well. One of Mario’s newest power-ups, the bee suit, was introduced in Super Mario Galaxy which is arguably one of the best Mario power-ups to date. Maybe Alpaca Mario will make his long awaited appearance.

“But I can say that we will definitely have some more familiar suits than just the Tanooki Suit” Koizumi continues. I can’t wait to find out what classic items Nintendo decides to throw in, the more the merrier.

What items and power-ups to you most want in Super Mario 3DS?

Wired has a great piece up on how video game developers have dealt with in-game death over the years. From the power-up mushroom in Mario to the Regenerative Shields in Halo, developers have been tackling creative ways for players to ‘die’ or ‘fail’ for years.

I am of the camp that would like to see less ‘fail-states’ in gaming, because let’s be honest, nobody likes to put  45+ min into a game only to have to start over because of not clicking the potion button fast enough. The game over screen shouldn’t even be considered in this day and age, there are more inspired ways of handling the situation. After all, fail-states are relics of the coin-op era where more deaths equaled more money.
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The items in a Mario title are what defines each game. Many of the items appear in almost every title such as the Fire Flower and Mushroom, while others have only appeared in a single title such as the Frog Suit. If I had it my way, the following items would make the cut for Super Mario 3DS because of their rarity and sheer awesomeness. What items did I choose? Read on to find out! (more…)

Contra Spread Shot t-shirt wins at life. This power-up (remember when they called ‘em power ups!?) is still the best in gaming history.