Michelle Mucker

SMG or Super Mario Galaxy, came out last Tuesday. Of course, I pre-ordered it AND waited in line for it for 15 minutes at my local GameStop. I have been playing it and forgoing all other responsibilities ever since. I'm seriously thinking about asking my mother to hide it somewhere or take it to work until Thanksgiving break.
I think the only cuter, more addicting and adorable game will be Spore. Can't wait till that comes out... hopefully after I graduate.







Graphics and Controls
So why is this game so great? Well it stars Mario - everybody's favorite Italian plumber. As we all know the graphics on the Wii are nowhere near as sophisticated as those on the XBOX 360 or PS3, but SMG is one of the first Wii games to fully and successfully utilize the Wii-mote and Nunchuk. For example, by rotating or twisting the Nunchuk, Mario can climb up vines! He can also spin like Link! He flies through three-dimensional space (much like Super Mario World 64) and the use of the two controllers is actually intuitive. More consistency between games would be nice. The B-trigger and A-action are similar to other games like Red Steel, Zelda, and Resident Evil but I often catch myself firing with B when A is required! If B is the trigger, let it always be the trigger!

Swimming underwater is much more evolved thus difficult than it was in SMW 64. In 64, swimming underwater made me very queasy. I think I may have even been afraid... but in SMG, you can see everything at every depth from dry land. There are no dark spots or surprises, although the color changes semi-realistically (loses color) the deeper you go. Mario can dive with the Z button (which is also used for crouching and stomping) and he has a lot more air. He can stay underwater much longer than he could in 64. There are lots of air bubbles and coins so staying underwater for an entire level is no longer a drag. Unfortunately, the controls are still not completely intuitive for swimming.

The graphics are not the greatest, but they are some of the best on Wii: much more crisp and more cohesive than games like Wii Sports/Play, Super Mario Party 8 or Super Paper Mario though, naturally, not as realistic as those in Red Steel or Splinter Cell. The graphic experience is one of overkill: there are so many brightly colored, cutely rendered, sparkling objects begging for interaction that playing the game can be dizzying.



New Powerups
*Red Mushroom - Increases max health from 3 to 6.
*Bee Suit - Mario takes flight! He loses his suit in water and can climb on honeycombs and walk on flowers. Not as cool as the feather/cape from Super Mario World SNES but way cuter!
*Ghost Mario - He becomes invisible. He can walk through walls but he can't walk into the light. I haven't gotten this far in the game.
*Flower-power makes a comeback.





Other Cool Additions
*For extra stars, you can beat a world after you have attained the first 3 stars in a 4 minute countdown mode. I have yet to attain this, either. 4 minutes is pretty short!
*Mario can roll, jump and squash enemies on a huge ball. Controls are easy to master.
*Mario goes ray-surfing on a giant sea-ray. Controls are difficult to master.






The bottom-line? It's like crack. Try it. It's great. But it's really difficult to kick.