Over the past year, I've completely fallen in love with a games' multiplayer that you generally wouldn't think to be a premiere game in the fierce and competitive genre of multiplayer games. My sweet addiction? New Super Mario Bros. for the DS.

Specifically, the Mario vs Luigi mode they introduced just for this game. Now, there are little mini-games that are playable with up to 4 people and can be fun for gamers and non-gamers alike, but nothing for me has had the legs of this 1 vs 1 battle royal. Remember way back to the first true Mario game? I don't mean Donkey Kong, I mean Mario Bros. for the arcade and NES. The premise is similar, as you beat the shit out of each other, but different in execution.

You collect stars.

Hey, stop rolling your eyes. Stars randomly appear on the stage and you go and get them. It sounds simple at first, but keep in mind that another furious Brooklyn plumber is chasing you down to slam on your head to steal your stars. All the powerups from NSMB are in this mode, as well as all the moves. This means you can wall jump, butt smash, hurl fireballs, turn into a shell and generally kill and be killed in a number of hilarious situations.

This mode is one of those things you need to play to understand just how deep and unforgiving it is. The action is fast, the gameplay polished and for the most part balanced (The shell can be useful but the mini mushroom is suicide.) Nightly, you can hear the screams of my brother and I as we vye for dominance in this unlikely place.

Have you fell in love with this mode? Leave a comment and tell me how right I am.