I recently got a chance to sit down with the full version of Super Mario Galaxy. During my play time I transversed through the intro and the first group of planets called "The Good Egg Galaxy". SMG is THE defining game on the Wii. Simple yet devilishly complicated, planets are filled with gravity altering spaces, classic and all new power-ups as well as warp pipes and other nostalgic Mario fare. Don't let the small size of the first few galaxy's planets fool you, there's plenty to explore on every one regardless of how minute they might be. One planet had me dodging fiery boulders while frantically trying to gather up pieces of a star platform that would launch me to my next destination. Another had me punching rubbery plants in attempt to strike a rooted flower monster while avoiding their back-swing. I became obsessed with sweeping my pointer across the screen to collect small colored stars that I could use as projectile to stun enemies by pressing the 'B' trigger. There's so much to see and do in each level that there's always a sense that you're missing something and need to play through again just to catch the details. A classic '?' box yielded coins when I smashed it. Yes folks, this is the TRUE sequel to Mario 64....and maybe even a bit of a sequel to Mario 3. My only gripe is that controlling Mario felt a bit sluggish but it's a very minor gripe. It's the best looking game on the system to date as well. I can not wait to get this game when it's released next month and you can be sure there will be a full, in-depth review on The Wiicast.

Posted in: on Thursday, October 25, 2007 at at 3:37 PM