Super Mario 3D Land review roundup

You may have noticed the lack of a Super Mario 3D Land review from Pocket Gamer this week. Unfortunately, our copy from Nintendo is currently running the gauntlet of the Manchester postal service.

While we wait to pass a verdict, let's take a look at what the rest of the internet thinks. At the time of writing, Super Mario 3D Land has an 89 Metacritic rating - very respectable indeed.

Here's a pick of some of the reviews currently out:

IGN - Audrey Drake
"Super Mario 3D Land represents the first 3DS title to fully make use of the system’s capabilities. With an expertly balanced difficulty progression, dazzling level design and masterful Power-Ups, this is the ideal 3DS experience."

Game Informer - Bryan Vore
"Super Mario 3D Land isn’t perfect, but the few complaints I have (like the lack of variety in boss fights and some re-hashed levels) can’t bring down this entertaining mix of nostalgia and innovation."

GameSpot - Maxwell McGee
"Super Mario 3D Land is still a delight. With well-realized stages and responsive controls, it's an easy recommendation for all action-loving 3DS owners."

CVG - Matthew Castle
"It's the Ferrero Roche to Galaxy's Toblerone. Or, if you're feeling festive, the Big Green Triangle of Mario games - delicious, but overpriced. But if you can't treat yourself at Christmas, when can you? For all its limitations, Super Mario 3D Land is never less than a treat."

Eurogamer - Christian Donlan
"You could wish for 3D Land to be a little more challenging in places, then, but you couldn't wish for it to be any denser, any more imaginative, or any more daring. Most importantly, you couldn't wish for it to be any more playful."

Wired - Chris Kohler
"3D Land is a grabby borrower of a game — enemies from Mario 3, music from 2006’s New Super Mario Bros., gameplay from Galaxy. Eventually it starts borrowing from itself. It's an excellent game because all of these things work so well together; the only thing keeping it from perfection is that it cries out for more innovations to call its own."

Watch out for Pocket Gamer's review some time next week.