Nintendo's mascot is making his 10th straight console launch appearance with this updated Nintendo 64 game. Rather than just port the N64 game over to DS, Nintendo has actually added a lot of content to this game. For starters, the "adventure" portion of the game (there's also a "versus" and "rec room" mode) now has 150 stars to collect, and a lot more bunnies to chase. There are also completely new levels in the game to explore. One new level shown had a room filled with platforms that rose up and down. The surroundings were covered in poisonous gas that hurt Mario if he fell. While the gameplay is in tune with the rest of the game, it was nice to see some new environments.

To begin with, the game looks great thanks to cleaner textures than even the E3 version sported. The colors really shine on this game, and for a launch title, this bodes well for later titles in the graphical department.

The adventure mode starts off with you controlling Yoshi. Mario, Luigi and Wario are trapped in the castle with Princess Peach and it's up to you, as Yoshi, to save them. As the game progresses, you'll be able to control Mario, Luigi and Wario. But there's an option to play as these "lost" characters before you've discovered them in the castle by finding a color-coded hat. Find the red hat and you can play as Mario until you've been hit.

Nintendo has introduced new gameplay elements to spice things up for veterans who've beaten the N64 game. Each of the four character has special moves. For instance, Yoshi has a hover jump and he can eat people and throw eggs, while Luigi has a back-flip. On top of that, power-ups like the power flower will allow Yoshi to breathe fire, Mario to turn into a balloon and float into the air and Luigi to turn invisible. Mario will also gain abilities in the game that turns him giant and you can find metal shoes to walk on the bottom of any body of water.

Nintendo offers several options in controlling Mario and the gang on DS. In the default mode, you control your character's walk with the left directional pad, run with the Y button, jump with the A button and punch with the B button. The camera can be repositioned at any time with the touch screen. This option worked fine, but some gamers may want more precision. There's also an analog control option. Using the thumb pad that will ship with the DS (it's like a sewing thimble), you control your characters directly on the touch screen. While this option wasn't playable, it was demonstrated at the event.

Mario will allow up to four players to play wirelessly off one cartridge. Nintendo has a new versus level on display, which took place on an island area with plenty of water. Players had to fight it out for a certain number of silver stars to win this game.

One of the coolest new modes is the rec room, which offers 36 quick single-player games. Each of the four characters has been assigned nine mini-games and a theme. Luigi has a casino backdrop and games like Mario Slot, Picture poker and Mushroom Roulette. Yoshi offers up ghosts and wigglers in games like Mix-a-Mug, Hide and Boo Seek and Puzzle Panic. Wario's destructive nature comes out in his games like Bob-omb Squad, Snowball Slalom and Lakitu Launch. Mario's games are action-oriented and include Shuffle Shell, Connect the Characters and Pounce. While some of theses mini-games get old fast, the majority of them are addictive and a great way to kill some time.

On top of all that, Mario also offers a doodle feature that allows you to use the stylus to deform the head of one of the four game characters. You can also write your name or message on this screen.