Nintendo’s venerable mascot Mario is back with a new game that harks back to the old days, but with some new tools in his kit.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii looks and plays strikingly like the beloved two-dimensional Super Mario classics of the past — running left to right, jumping, bopping, spinning and collecting coins along the way.

But for the first time, it allows four players to get in on the action at the same time, and the game’s innovative help features are designed to aid novices.

Longtime fans of Mario, who first appeared in arcades in 1981 with Donkey Kong, will need little prodding to pick up the new game.

In addition to controlling Mario, players can control his green-capped brother, Luigi, or one of two toad characters.

Using the Wii remote like a standard game controller, you move the characters across the screen, collecting coins and evading enemies.

Occasionally you shake or twist the Wii’s motion-sensitive controller for special moves. You also can help or hinder other players, depending on your strategy.

Also new is the Super Guide feature that appears after players fail a level eight times. Opt in and the game shows Luigi making his way through the level.

Just when you think that Nintendo couldn’t come up with anything to trump the Mario achievements of recent times, another classic console gaming experience is thrown into the mix.

Transformed technologically from the amazing 2D Mario adventures of 20 years ago, NSMB Wii is everything you could ever wish for in a title from the franchise: personality, innovation, excitement — and an inimitable feeling of pure love that’s been poured into the production of this game from start to finish.

The co-operative experience is up there on a par with any other co-op title in any genre, and it’s just not worth picking at faults when a game is this good. Nostalgia realised in glorious 21st-century technology, NSMB Wii is a title that gamers of every age and experience level must add to their collection.