Super Mario Run Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

Quite a few people online seem confused that Super Mario Run isn't a traditional Mario platformer, criticising the game because Mario can't stop and turn back and because it doesn't control like the other games in the New Super Mario Bros. series.

These criticisms don't make much sense, however, when you consider that Super Mario Run is primarily an endless runner (I mean it's right there in the title) and secondly, is a mobile game, and everyone knows how much virtual d-pads suck on touch pads.

Super Mario Run might be a Mario game, but it's intended to be played differently than other platformers in the series, and that's okay. In fact, Mario Run is a breath of fresh air, shaking up the traditional Mario formula in a couple of interesting ways.

Given the fact that Mario is always running, the game judges players on timing and foresight, for example, rather than analysis and jump precision.

The inclusion of the pause blocks - which stop Mario in his tracks and allow the player to start moving again by tapping the screen - allow for some very interesting scenarios, presenting multiple paths to the player and letting them choose (or making them time a particularly dangerous onslaught of attacks).

This shift in focus makes perfect sense for a mobile game, especially given the fact so many fans have routinely protested against "yet another" New Super Mario Bros. game.