Super Mario Galaxy 2

Another early post, as tomorrow I will be too busy playing the above game to write about it...

I mentioned last week that "Super Mario Galaxy 2" was being released...on May 23rd to be precise. I picked up my pre-order and took it for a spin and was actually pleasantly surprised with it. I was both right and wrong in my assumptions. Though it most definitely is more of the same (for those familiar with the original) in that it utilizes the same game engine, the same gravity effects, etc., I'm only about half-way through the second world (I like to savor the Super Mario experience) and it literally destroys its predecessor in every respect. The best comparison I can come up with is comic book movies. The first one is always heavier-handed, with lengthy character introductions and back-story. It serves to situate us and ease us into the universe so that the second one can then really take off (think "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight"). Such is the case with "Super Mario Galaxy 2".

The first one introduced us to the space setting, got us comfortable with the gravity mechanics and being able to run all the way around a spherical level, taught us that black holes indicate areas where we can't run all the way around, lest we want to plunge to our death, and gave us a basic understanding of the game mechanics as a whole which, let's face it, were mainly borrowed from "Super Mario 64".  The sequel, however, takes those concepts and runs with them. It makes the game what, in my opinion, the first one should have been. It's more difficult (at least the first worlds are harder than the early sections of the last game) and there's just something more inspired about the level design. It's like that sense of youthful fun that was missing in "Super Mario Sunshine" and to a lesser degree in the original "Super Mario Galaxy" has been restored. Playing through the levels, it's mind-boggling to consider the degree of care and planning that went into it all. I can't imagine there will be another platformer this year on any of the major gaming platforms that will trump this one. It's just that good. Even the sections that seamlessly switch into 2D for some throwback side-scrolling best anything that I encountered in "New Super Mario Bros. Wii", a game that was entirely designed as a 2D side-scroller.

Also, the hub world has been cast aside in favor of a more standardized level-selection screen. Though I thought I would miss the aspect of "finding" the levels, I don't; and a main contributing factor to that is probably that I strongly disliked the hub world in the original Galaxy. Compared to the castle in "Super Mario 64" and even Delfino Island in "Super Mario Sunshine" the spaceship from "Super Mario Galaxy" came off as fairly uninspired. The level selection system they've adopted in this one is therefore more akin to "Super Mario World" for the SNES, though I wish they would infuse it with as many secrets. Can't have it all, I suppose. In either case, it works well and therefore drops the tedium of the last one.

Putting aside gameplay, it's also worth noting that this is a gorgeous Wii game. Nintendo knows how to milk everything they can out of their console's modest processing power. Other developers need to take notice; other than "Metroid Prime: Corruption", no third-party effort seems to come close to this quality of visuals. And the sound work is also commendable. It's always great to hear fully orchestrated themes, and they take greater care this time around to include even more tunes from the Mario games or yore.

I've read some reviews that end with comments in the vein of "this is the reason I still play games" and I would have to agree. This is videogaming for the very reason games were conceived in the first place: fun. Everything about "Super Mario Galaxy 2" is inspired and polished; you can't ask for much more from a game. For Wii owners, this is a must buy!