New Super Mario Bros. is a side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was released in North America and Japan in May 2006, and in Australia and Europe in June 2006. It is the first original side-scrolling platform game starring Mario since Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins in 1992, and it is the first game to be a part of the main Mario series of video games since Super Mario Sunshine in 2002. The game's story is similar to those of other side-scrolling Mario games. New Super Mario Bros. follows the titular Mario as he fights his way through Bowser's henchmen to rescue Princess Peach. Mario has access to several power-ups that help him complete his quest, including the Super Mushroom, the Fire Flower, and the Starman, each giving him unique abilities. While traveling to eight worlds with ten levels in each, Mario must defeat Bowser Jr. and Bowser before finally saving Princess Peach. Reviews were generally favorable towards the game, which received an aggregated score of 89% from Metacritic. Praise focused on improvements made to the Mario franchise, while criticism targeted the game's simplicity. New Super Mario Bros. received several honors, including Game of the Month awards from Game Informer and Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Editors' Choice Awards from IGN and GameSpot. In Japan, the game broke the record for the best-selling debut for a Nintendo DS game. Overall, the game has sold 17.63 million copies worldwide.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Super_Mario_Bros.

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1204:

Fourth Crusade: Count Baldwin IX of Flanders was crowned the first Latin Emperor in Constantinople. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_I_of_Constantinople

1811:

Peninsular War: An allied force of British, Spanish, and Portuguese troops clashed with the French at the Battle of Albuera south of Badajoz, Spain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Albuera

1877:

President Patrice de Mac-Mahon dismissed Jules Simon and installed Albert, Duc de Broglie as Prime Minister, triggering a political crisis in the French Third Republic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16_May_1877_crisis

1929:

The first ceremony of the Academy Awards were held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award

1975:

Based on the results of a referendum held about one month earlier, Sikkim abolished its monarchy and was annexed by India, becoming its 22nd state. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikkim

2003:

In the deadliest terrorist attack in Morocco's history, a series of suicide bombings in Casablanca killed 33 civilians and 12 out of the 14 bombers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Casablanca_bombings

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

draconian (adj): 1. Very severe, oppressive or strict.

2. (in fiction) Of or resembling a dragon http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/draconian

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Nothing happens to anybody which he is not fitted by nature to bear. --Marcus Aurelius http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius