Last year, we bought a set of 12 Hollywood Video rental coupons on eBay — one rental per month for about $1.50 apiece. While some games were better than others, we really enjoyed being able to go out and get a new Wii game every month without breaking the bank. I kept meaning to write about the games that we got, but never got around to it.

So we were on the lookout for the same coupons when 2010 rolled around, and we found a 36-pack online — 3 sets of 12 each. We kept one for ourselves and sold the other two for a tidy profit. (Our price for each rental this year — $0.00!) And I decided that I am going to document each rental — a year of Nintendo Wii fun.

First up for 2010: New Super Mario Bros. The game has gotten great reviews, and even won several awards for best game of the year 2009, so I was looking forward to it. We got it while Sarah’s sisters were staying with us for the holidays, and I wanted to try out some of the cool multi-player stuff that’s new in this latest edition of the classic Mario series.

I liked playing the game, and I didn’t find it too difficult, having beaten Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo back in the day. But none of the other people at our house who were trying to play the game had much experience with the Mario franchise, so they didn’t know how to run and jump high, for example. They didn’t enjoy it very much and kept dying. Multi-player with these guys was a joke.

Regardless, in the four days we had the rental, I got through the first castle on the second world and enjoyed myself greatly. I’ve seen videos of some tough stuff in the later levels, so I think the game is sufficiently challenging. If I’d been playing with other Mario veterans, I think it would have been much more enjoyable for everyone.

My final score for New Super Mario Bros: 9/10