New Super Mario Bros. Tips and Tricks, More About Microsoft's Numero "Uno", Toys R Us Wii Preorder Rumors and the Maturing of Nintendo

Anyone know what time it is? Yup, it's Game Time once more. After writing the first edition of my new column, I felt so comfortable doing so that early one morning I decided to put in my second release to make it ready as soon as I could! So here it comes, right smack at you... again. (Please note, however, that some details in this article were added and/or changed during the wait for approval to better reflect events which occurred after the original version was submitted.)

So what have I got this time, you ask? Well, how about some nifty tricks for New Super Mario Bros. for your Nintendo DS? I'm sure that you've heard of Nintendo's first all-new side-scrolling Mario adventure by now - after all, it's the first of it's kind since the days of Super Mario World et al - so I'll bet you're itching for some trickery to get back in to the swing of this reinventing of a videogame classic! 

I've also got another way to play Uno online that I missed the first time around, along with a rumor, its confirmation - and some bad news about it - that involves preorders, the Nintendo Wii, and Toys R Us (and the general state of preorders at thisw time. Finally, I'll touch on why this Nintendo console launch is different than before where maturity is involved. So let's get started already!

First, though, I'll share those handy tips for New Super Mario Bros. And if you prefer green over red, you'll like this first one which lets you swap a green plumber (that is, Mario's brother Luigi) for red (as in Mario himself) when you play this hot game. You'll probably pick up on a hint as to how to perform this trick when you complete the game, but if you're impatient and want it sooner, here it is: from the file selection screen, choose a file, hold both the L and R shoulder buttons, and press A. Bam! Now you’re playing as Luigi!