Mario Games 1.0 first lured me in with the thought of a semi-new, side-scrolling Mario game. Now, the game is done in a similar style and it is the traditional Mario from those first, few games; however, out of the three “levels” you get to choose from, there is no side-scrolling at all.

This game is about remaining on the same chunk of land and trying to rack up your score in various ways: squashing gumbas, Koopa shells, or collecting coins from the pipes that randomly shoot up from the ground. I get that the point behind this game is to reign champion among the elite in the online gamer boards, but I must admit I was a little disappointed.

You can check the leader boards for each “level” on the menu screen. Clicking on the “World Score Tables” tab takes you to an internet page to do just this. The “More Mario” and “Tips and Tricks” tabs take you to the internet, as well, opening up pages designed by Softendo, mainly to advertise their other Mario games.

The music in this game, while it isn’t exactly the familiar Mario music we all grew to love and sing in our sleep, isn’t too bad. It has a light, playful style just like that of the original soundtrack. Even the sounds of smashing turtles and collecting coins are the same, too. I just can’t get over how much this game leaves to be desired. Even if smashing gumbas and getting points were all you did in the game, making it an actual side-scrolling level jumper would have been nice. The fact that this is Mario we’re dealing with here does give the game a memorable charm, but without that I believe this game would crash and burn. If you’re a huge Mario fan and want to play nothing but games featuring the old plumber, then you should download Mario Games 1.0. If not…well, you may be better off finding something with a little more depth.