Super Mario Galaxy review

It’s seemed like an age but at last Mario gets a full proper game on the Wii and we haven’t seen him strutting his stuff like this since Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube. In fact, that game being not quite what it should have been it’s actually the best game since Super Mario 64 or its remake on the DS.

This time, Mario’s exploring space on lots of spherical worlds that completely break the boundaries of gravity, what’s up, down, and if and when Mario should stick to the floor or go flying through space. Once again you’re on the hunt for stars after Bowser steals Princess Castle and the whole castle from under her and flies off into space with it. Gives a whole new meaning to moving home doesn’t it?

Anyway, what this means for you the gamer is a fantastic adventure full of fun, new ideas and plenty of varied gameplay which never gets tiring. There’s the usual jumping on heads, jumping down pipes and coins to collect, but also the ability to spin into enemies with a flick of the wrist with either the nunchuck or the remote. I was a bit worried when I saw Mario running around round planets as to how it would handle but the good news is it feels as natural as breathing, and a lot more fun (although not essential to living).

When it comes to special abilities, Mario can turn into a bee so he can buzz around the levels and climb over honeycombs, let fireballs fly with his flower power and can zoom round space by jumping into stars he can launch on with a shake of the remote. You also need to point it to sweep up Star Bits which appear whenever you bash enemies or run through flowers etc. It’s quite addictive grabbing all those bits which you’ll need at points in the game to feed to stars that open up new locations or do you special favours. There are also other ways Mario can move about according to the level you’re on – sometimes you’re riding on the back of a stingray, or walking on top of a ball using the Wii remote to tilt it. Constantly there are new ways to get hold of those precious stars and you’re going to have to use your brain as well as your reactions to play this one.

This game is also one of the best looking games so far on the Wii. It’s bright, colourful and the world you enter at the very start of the game is breath-taking. It’s also nice to see Bowser back to his proper nasty ways. Well done lad!

It moves along at a great pace and it’s one you’re not going to want to put down.

So, to sum up, if you have the weekend spare I recommend you get this on a Friday and really get into it as you’ll be itching to get back on it as soon as you put down your remote.

It’s rare I do this but I’m going to go into fractions here and give it 9.5 out of 10. If you have a Wii, you must own this.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 review

 

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