Nintendo has sent out the official press release for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, one of the two new Mario games for the Wii announced at Nintendo's E3 press conference yesterday. Probably the biggest draw in this version of Mario is the simultaneous four-player gameplay. Just thinking of all the chaos and fun this aspect will bring to the table has me all excited.

All my days of playing Contra has taught me one thing: playing with other people will inevitably lead to a death race for powerups, so I was wondering if the same would hold true here. Apparently, it'll even be more competitive than Contra, as New Super Mario Bros. Wii will combine both cooperation and competition.

Players can pick each other up to save them from danger or toss them into it. Players can also ride different Yoshi characters that can swallow enemies or their fellow players.

The press release also mentions another scenario: the first player to reach a seesaw might make it tilt to help his or her character reach a higher platform -- and then tilt it incorrectly just to mess with other players.

Scores are calculated individually in the simultaneous multiplayer mode, and players will be ranked based on coins collected and how many enemies they defeated.

Mario, Luigi, and two Toads are all playable characters, and other characters from the Mushroom Kingdom will also make appearances. There are also new items such as a propeller suit that shoots players high into the sky. Mario also has a new ability to transform into a Penguin Mario.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is scheduled for release this holiday season.

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