Suck up those star bits...wonderful
From the moment that Super Mario Galaxy begins - the moment when that menu screen loads up and the familiar voice of Mario treats you a high pitched rendition of the words 'Super Mario Galaxy-y-y-y-y-y-y-y'- you're taken on a magical experience that is heart-warmingly familiar, yet world's apart from the Italian's 2D antics in the original Super Mario Bros. At its core it still has that old-school Mario feel, but the unique scenarios and level design, unshakable game mechanics, captivating audio and unique Wii-controls have been blended together seamlessly to create a dazzling gaming experience.Super Mario Galaxy is worthy of its hype. It has stirred up something deep inside of me and reignited my passion for videogames this year, which was flagging slightly following the broken promises of innovation and new gameplay ideas from many of the year's top games. Nintendo has put many developers to shame and has delivered on their promise by bringing us a title that borrows some of the brilliant ideas from past Mario games and creatively expands on them, throwing in plenty of new scenarios and incorporating them into fun, solidly designed levels. If you throw into the cosmic melting pot the gravity-defying gameplay system, which plays a huge part in the adventure, and fuse that with, arguably, the most solid use of the Wii-mote to date , you're left with a platform game that truly is out of this world.
Following the kidnapping of Princess Peach by Mario's turtle-like arch enemy, Bowser, Super Mario Galaxy follows the moustached plumber on an exploration through space on the hunt for his beloved. On top of that, Bowser has stolen power stars which are needed to travel around the galaxy so Mario travels from planet to planet on the hunt for these stars, which in turn allows him to unlock further galaxies and bring him ever closer to saving the Princess.
Super Mario Galaxy begins when you arrive at the centennial Star Festival event in Mushroom Kingdom. It's your first chance to take a look at Mario and see how the Wii controls have been superbly mapped to the pot-bellied hero, but it's also your first glimpse at the dazzling, new look environment. The beautiful visuals and the familiar and charming musical score instantly jumped out of the screen at me and I felt a warm fuzzy feeling running through my veins (sometimes videogames have the power to do this to me). Whenever this feeling crops up I tend to attribute it to the 'feel good factor'. Super Mario Galaxy has the power to make you smile and feel happy, it has that 'feel good factor'. It's games like Super Mario Galaxy that make me thank my lucky stars that I'm involved, albeit in a very small way, in such a wonderful industry.
