March 1st 1997. The UK launch of the worlds first 64-bit console. Super Mario 64 was THE launch title. N64's were selling on a one to one ratio with Mario 64. It was the only game anyone wanted to play. Three years on, and it's the first game ever to sell over ten million copies. Why? Read on.

Super Mario 64 broke the mould in many ways. Never before had a videogame been displayed in a real-time, free roaming 3D environment. This truly was next generation stuff. Graphics are sea ... more >>

March 1st 1997. The UK launch of the worlds first 64-bit console. Super Mario 64 was THE launch title. N64's were selling on a one to one ratio with Mario 64. It was the only game anyone wanted to play. Three years on, and it's the first game ever to sell over ten million copies. Why? Read on.

Super Mario 64 broke the mould in many ways. Never before had a videogame been displayed in a real-time, free roaming 3D environment. This truly was next generation stuff. Graphics are seamless. No fogging, no polygon folding, and very little pop-up. It's these features that helped to create a truly immersive environment, curtesy of Shigeru Miyamoto. Seeing the real-time graphics of a convincing pool of water was breathtaking.

And if graphics wasn't pleasing enough for some of you Sony zealots, gameplay was. Make no mistake, game play is nothing less that exceptional. With fifteen unique worlds, this game is huge. The story goes something like this: Defeat King Koopa, rescue Princess Peach, restore peace to the land. No surprises there then. The idea is to wander through the 3D worlds, completing tasks and collecting stars along the way. The more stars you collect, the more worlds you can access. Simple, eh?

If there was one aspect of the game that could be faulted, it would have to be diffculty. SM64 is simple too easy. With 120 stars to collect, 100 of them can be picked up with relative ease.

This aside, SM64 is nigh on perfect. Only Nintendo could have the capability to construct a game of this calibre. << less