"It depends on where you put the paint, not how much you splash on."

Although I have been a huge Nintendo fan since as far back as I can remember, there was a period of a few years that I missed out on in the gaming world because 'Girls' became the main point of my attention. Because of this, I was late to the Paper Mario party, completely skipping the first release in the series on the N64. When I realised later on that 'Girls' weren't all that, I fully submerged myself in Paper Mario: The Thousand-year door and I was hooked. For me, growing up with the mustachioed plumber, it has been awesome to see the character get reinvented again and again. Paper Mario is right up there with Galaxy and Sunshine as my favourite Mario games.

You can imagine my excitement then at the release of Paper Mario Color Splash. This game couldn't be more me, bright, colourful and starring that plumber that we've all come to love over the years. 

After finding a Colour drained paper Toad in a letter from Prisma island, Paper Mario and Peach embark on a mission to the island. On arrival, they meet Huey a talking paint can who is the guardian of the color fountain. Shortly after the team run to the aid of a Paper Toad who is being drained of his colour by a Slurp guy and so their adventure begins. Throughout the game there are drained Toads, colourless items and patches of unpainted wall and floor etc that need colour adding to it which you can paint with your hammer if you have collected enough paint.

With a variety of battle cards to use to defeat enemies you find along the way and paper puzzles throughout the levels, Color splash is shaping up to be a real gem of a game, everything you would expect from the Paper Mario series.

We are only a short way in to the game but its clear Color splash is going to keep us all entertained over the coming weeks. With the weather starting to get a little more bleak as we get closer to winter I think we could all do with a bit of color.

"But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold."

When Paper Mario was released on the N64 it somehow completely slipped my attention and Ive never had the chance to play it since. When Paper Mario on the Wii was release though I was completely hooked. The story was completely different to any other Mario game I had previously played and there was a new villain to try and defeat. Playing as my favourite mustachioed plumber with the added bonus of flipping from 2d to 3d was AMAZING and I became a hermet for a couple of days while I completed it. It did take me a while to work out one part from what I could remember because there was a glitch, but it was worth every minute spent playing.

When Paper Mario: Sticker star was released on the 3ds we rushed out to get a copy because I had told the boys how much I had enjoyed playing the previous game. The boys were not disappointed and they still love playing the game now. So when we were doing our usual mooching around on the Nintendo website and spotted the upcoming game Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Bros we couldn't wait to give the next installment a try. Nintendo do such a good job of dragging you in to the games and most of the Nintendo fans I know have been following many of the characters since early on.

Unlike any of the other Paper Mario titles, Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Bros includes both Paper Mario and his more lumpy counterpart when two alternate universes collide and they need to join forces to help each other out. One of the things that I loved from the very start of the game is that you are controlling both Mario and Luigi on the same screen using one button to make Mario jump and another to make Luigi do the same. When Paper Mario then gets thrown in to the equation too you can perform trio moves to get past obstacles and progress through the game. You can use the trio to add power in to your attacks, totem like The legends of Zelda Tri Force heroes and send the slender brother through tight squeezes With puzzles to complete and Pokemon style battles to take part in along the way the game has something for everyone. 

With two princess' to rescue and two Bowser's to defeat, Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Bros is shaping up to be a fantastic game and I am looking forward to getting stuck in over the festive season. Now I've got to try and get the boys off of the game for a bit of Paper Jam craft, I've made my Goomba!

Happy gaming.