I'll admit, I was very skeptical of this game at first. $8 for an NES game? That was absolutely ridiculous to me. However, it did come bundled with many, many options. There are many different options for customization, including several screen filters that emulate old CRT TVs. There's the the regular game, of course, but a Hi Score mode reminiscent of actual arcade games and a Caravan time-attack mode that challenges you to get the highest score in five minutes. These goodies add a nice value proposition, and give plenty of replayability to those who wish to beat everyone else online.
The main draw of this purchase is the game, a modified version of the original Mario Bros. Like previously stated, it is a harder version of the original game. Now, originally I was worried about how different it would be and if it would be worth $8, but after getting to the second world I noticed that the difficulty was increased by a pretty large amount. The game gave a great challenge to a self-proclaimed decent platformer like me, and I have to say that replaying the levels over and over again never got tiring or unfun. Even though the game is tens of years old, it still is extremely fun and pretty long.
Now, the game sometimes gets wonky. Many times shells got stuck in weird places and on one occasion a spring disappeared which forced me to die, but there aren't any massive glitches. Speaking of springs, those are the most frustrating part of the game, and I find that I die on them half of the time. However, it is great when you get a satisfying bounce and fly into the air.
Each level is different, too. There are above ground levels, below ground levels, water levels, ice levels, castle levels, and dark levels, each with their own challenges. Levels are the perfect length-none feel too short or too long.
I was originally skeptical of this game, but after playing for a good ten hours I have to say that the value is there. It's different enough from the original version to make it interesting for veterans yet hard enough to give a good challenge, and plenty of goodies included help increase value tremendously. In addition, there is a minimal multiplayer mode, but I haven't been able to try it yet because I have no friends. If you want an old Nintendo game with a cool twist, Arcade Archives VS. SUPER MARIO BROS. is a great option.
6/10
Pielover out.