The game that made creating levels fun
Super Mario Maker makes good on the promise of the Wii U pad and also has a really good set of level creation tools. Until now none of the games made for the Wii U have used the gamepad in a way that makes you think that this game could only be made for it. Along with the ease of use of the creation tools also makes this game a step above other games based on level creation like Little Big Planet. When the player starts creating a level all they have to do is place items where they think they should go and by the end they'll have a modest level. Each item you can place is equal to one part of a level like the ground or a bunch of ? mark blocks.To place a item all you have to do is tap on the touchscreen and from there you can edit it's properties in a few different ways. Like making a enemy huge with the mushroom or even placing a bunch of enemies on top of each other to make a tower of death. After figuring them out it is possible to create any kind of Mario level you want limited to the set of tools they give the player.
Of course creating a level is only one part of the game since playing all the levels everyone else made is also worth doing. The 100 Mario Challenge will most likely be the easiest way to play a set of 16 random levels other players have made. The goal of this mode is to make it through those levels without losing 100 lives which can be quite a challenge if you attempt expert mode. Obviously this game plays like a Super Mario game and I never had any issues with missing jumps other than being annoyed by musical note blocks. It is also possible to play levels one at a time by searching through the courses/creators tab which gives you the most stared level this week or even levels that just got uploaded. Seeing how people create a super unique level by using the building blocks in a different way than expected is always a delight.
The biggest flaw this game has is that I wish it had more items from all the games it is based on. To list a few it isn't possible to create a Angry Sun level like in SMB3, climbable fences in SMW and NSMB doesn't have the penguin suit. The online searching tools are also lacking since it doesn't let the player search for specific things like auto scrolling levels. But both of those flaws are countered by the fact it is just so fun to make a level. Up to this point I've never enjoyed making anything in a video game thanks to the fact that the tools were always complicated and slow. Sure creating something isn't for everyone but this game makes it easy enough that almost anyone should have a fun time creating a Mario level. If that sounds fun to you then check this game out.
