This Italian plumber has been through a lot. Aside from his day job, Mario has been moonlighting as a princess saver, go-kart racer, a brawler, a doctor and even several impressive types of sportsmen.

This year, Mario is revived in full 3d effect by handheld console, Nintendo 3DS. Early reviews look to this franchise as the sole reason why anyone would want to own a 3DS; and that's an extremely impressive feat as for years no one has heard a peep about the infamous Mario and now, suddenly, two titles are set to be released within weeks of each other.

The game play can be seen as a "best of" of all the Mario outings; taking bits and pieces from the multi-layered games and editing those factors down to the bare minimum. The result is a tight and nearly flawless level designs that are sure to make even the most hardened Mario fan's heart melt.

Not to mention the amount of refinement that Mario's moves have amassed over those years of saving princesses and manoeuvring go karts. The Web site telegraph.co.uk sums up the 3DS experience perfectly.

"Super Mario 3D Land is far from the most challenging of the Mario platformers, although much like Galaxy the challenging elements are there for anyone who wishes to be pushed a little harder. The main section won't challenge Mario veterans too hard, but that's the beauty of Mario. He's at his best when you're pulling off a series of flawless leaps and bounds, the pixel-perfect controls making way for displays of sheer skill.

"The charm, inventiveness and knowing nods to Mario heritage bring constant smiles, and it's not only a superb Mario game but a fantastic advert for the hardware it appears on," the glowing review reads. Indeed, Mario has taken a bold leap forward to the future and is keen to show gamers from all over that this isn't your momma's Mario.