Happy New Year!

That's right, it's now officially 2012, and today I am going on holidays for a week, over to a place with no internet connection. I know, it's terrible, isn't it?

On the Mario side of my life, for Christmas I received a copy of Super Mario 3D Land, which is downright amazing. I would say that if you do not currently have Super Mario 3D Land, get it!

But Super Mario 3D Land is only the beginning, I reckon this year will be the "Year of the Mario" as it marks the return of Mario Party, the release of the Wii U and the rise of the 3DS with Mario Tennis, Paper Mario 3DS and Luigi's Mansion 2 due to be released.

I've even designed a corny poster for it-

K'NEX Mario Kart Wii?

I couldn't help but notice that K'nex has recently released a Mario Kart Wii range of toys where kids can build their own Mario Kart Wii tracks.

Good idea and all, but, aren't they a little bit late on the Mario kart Wii bandwagon, like 3 years late? 

Also, isn't $30 US a bit expensive for one quarter of a track? Well, at least $100 for bowser's castle isn't too bad, and the start and finish sets are alright value.

Is this worth $100 to you? HELLZ YEAH!

Is this worth $30? Just no...

To have an "exclusive" look at this toy range, just watch this video. WARNING- Most likely won't entice you to buy the product!

Why You Should Pre-Order Super Mario 3D Land

It's only a matter of days until Super Mario 3D Land is released in Japan, and it is shaping up to be a must-have game. Here's the top 5 reasons to pre-order it-

1. It's got Luigi in it! Which means more fun for your buck, and another character with different abilities to master!
2. Special Stages! Means more challenges, more fun! The game's development team has said it has almost as many special stages as normal ones!
3. Tanooki Suit! Mario can flutter jump, spin and even turn into stone in that suit!
4. It's in 3D! Just another gimmick to help you to finally make the decision to buy it!
5. It's Mario! How else can you explain it? Mario games = awesome. No Exceptions!

So, what do you think? Rushing off to pre-order it already? Because if you aren't then... well... WHY WOULDN'T YOU?

Top Mario Side Characters #4- Luigi

Surprised? Luigi is a character in which some people hate, a lot of people love, and some just prefer other characters. I'm one of the later, as, as fun as Luigi is, I can think of three Mario characters that are cooler than him.

Luigi is one of Mario's oldest pals, which makes sense because they're brothers. Anyway, he made his first appearance in Mario Bros for the NES back in 1983, making him 28 as of today. Over the years Luigi has had many jobs, including plumber, wrecking crew captain, sportsman, captive, professional moustache grower and even ghostbuster, which I reckon trumps Mario's "wide" repertoire.

The only problem with Luigi is that we never see enough of him, which makes me very proud to know that next year Luigi will be returning to his favourite job (a ghostbuster), in Luigi's Mansion 2, which is shaping up to be a must have game of 2012.

So, happy with the choices so far? Tune in sometime in the next two days to see who's number 3!