| | by hongchong7, December 25, 2007 |
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Mario has been a family favorite throughout his decades of game-industry platform successes with hit titles as the original Mario Brothers, Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64. Mario's newest adventure is not just traversing the single Mario Planet, but an entire Universe of planets in Mario's newest adventure, Super Mario Galaxy.
The Star Festival is coming, as Mario traverses through a town filled with Toads, as Mario runs through the town collecting Star bits, small and sweet tasting bits of stars that the player can shoot at enemies and feed to other stars. As Mario is about to enter the castle and meet Princess Peach, Bowser (gasp) uses his new star power to lift the castle from the ground and have it as a floating fortress for Bowser and his malevolent schemes. Can Mario stop Bowser and save not just Princess Peach (again) but defend the entire universe from Bowser and his new found power to create new galaxies?
Graphics -
The Wii's Broadway processor and graphics system bring this game beautiful scenery with a stunning 3D perspective of the universe and stars. The water moves fluidly with transparency and the numerous galaxies are filled with exciting twists and turns that will have Mario's red shirt and blue overalls radiating sheer zero frame-skip glory in his newest adventure. In short, the graphics and visuals are great.
Sound -
As with all Mario games, the sound is always too, "game-like." The orchestra performing the main theme seems just a bit too strong for my personal tastes, and maybe some others too. However, as with all of Shigeru Miyamoto's games, the music dictates the current situation. For instance, when the space station Mario is trying to power has little power, the music is a sweet, but melancholy viola solo waltz with echoes of other instruments as accompaniment. When the station has plenty of power, the music is vibrant, vivid, and joyful with a full orchestral waltz.
Gameplay -
This is where Mario Galaxy truly shines. Instead of normal and flat, gravity pulls Mario to the earth and there's nothing you can do about it, there is a physics engine running, mostly focusing on center of gravity. Mario travels upside-down, sideways, and other zany directions in this gravity defying adventure. The gravity bending nature of the game can be disorienting to some players. I myself found my eyes following Mario underneath planets and had to take frequent breaks at first, for I was feeling dizzy. After so long, one gets used to the gravity manipulation of the game, and can sit and play longer. Although friends and family may get a bit dizzy watching.
Mario has many new abilities in this game, such as Bee Mario, who can fly and stick to honeycombs, or Ice Mario, who can walk on water. Nintendo brings back the great classic Fire Flower Mario, who shoots fireballs from his hands. Mario also has a new spin attack, which becomes his primary attack along with the classic jumping on the head tactic.
Replay Value -
There is some replay value to Mario Galaxy, however, it's very repetitive, and frustrating. After getting all the power stars one needs to fight the final boss, there is always the option to collect the rest of the power stars, which is very time-consuming, tedious, repetitive, and downright annoying too. Some people may find it fun, but as a mature gamer, and a college student with a busy major, I find this to be very tough to do, as one will need to spend possibly 30 hours to collect the remainder of the stars, AND do something else that I cannot spoil, but is also very tedious and time-consuming.
Overall -
Mario Galaxy is a great game targeted for Mario Loyalists and a younger audience. I'm a mature teenage and I grew up around Mario, so I saw familiar themes and motifs, but in the end, I believe this game is for just about everyone, no matter how old or young one is. There's even a co-op play for those who wish to share the joy! At last, our prayers have been answered! Nintendo's Mr. Miyamoto has produced a wonderful game that with the Nintendo Wii's groundbreaking control system, creates a unique, breathtaking, and completely wild experience.
9.5/10 stars |
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