In his evil plot to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, Fawful tricks Bowser into eating a magic mushroom. The mushroom causes Bowser to begin inhaling everything around him, including Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach! Do the Mario Bros. have the guts to rescue Peach and escape?

That’s right.  Bowser ATE Mario & Luigi and now they have to make their way through challenges and keep their nerve if they want to find a way out of Bowser and rescue Princess Peach.  Since I have yet to beat the game, I won’t speculate on their exit strategy.

The new game for the Nintendo DS, Mario & Luigi Bowser’s Inside Story, features two separate storylines that players can switch between whenever they’d like.  One features Bowser and his efforts to stop an arch-villain from taking over his castle. Meanwhile, inside Bowser, the microbe-sized Mario & Luigi must muscle their way through challenges and keep their nerve if they want to find a way out. They take action to control Bowser from the inside – but (he he) without his knowledge.

What happens inside Bowser affects what he’s doing on the outside. Sometimes Mario & Luigi must solve puzzles and challenges behind the scenes to help Bowser overcome various obstacles and advance the plot.

There is a lot of reading with this game, as there is with most Role Playing Games, and I think too often people don’t take advantage of the benefits you and your child can gain from this.  While it would be too difficult for my son to play alone, reading the storyline to him is not only helpful in playing the game, it can almost be treated like one of those interactive story books we played as kids.  You read the plot and make the decisions to see how the story will continue, only now we have actual technology involved.

I don’t think anything should replace books, of course, but I do think that when you’re on the go or in a restaurant and you want a way to interact with your children and have a good time playing video games, you can’t go wrong with the latest role playing game for the DS and DSi.

This is more for school aged students and you can check out the website Nintendo has created where you can find free downloadable content like calendar’s, bookmarks and wallpapers as well as watch trailers and check out the cast of the game.

Mario & Luigi Bowser’s Inside Story is rated E for Everyone and has a suggested retail price of $34.99!  Enjoy!