Super Mario Galaxy 2: Just as Fun as the First Blast Into Space

Well folks, Mario's back to his planet hopping ways that we first saw in the original Super Mario Galaxy. Once again the Princess gets whisked away by a Galactus sized King Bowser (this gal gets captured more than Nancy Drew) and Mario is off to save her. Storyline wise, I'm kind of confused as if this is supposed to have anyting to do with the first one at all. But this is Mario, let's not let something as trivial as "storytelling" get in the way of a good time.

This game is just as much a hoot as the first. The level design is nothing short of amazing. The boss battles are probably even more fun and imaginative than the first one as well. And I found those original battles full of both. I would say that I am very fond of the drill that shows up early in the game, I thought that was neat. The old powerups are all back, including a couple of new ones, including the neat-o cloud Mario and the insanely awesome rock Mario. I could still probably go through an entire game without being Bee Mario and and not lose a lot of sleep over it. And I don't know if its the fact that I'm not Super Gamer Man, but I still have a bit of trouble with the direction of the fireballs when I'm wearing Mario's patented White and Red Fireball Suit.

And let us not neglect our little buddy Yoshi, back after being absent in the first Galaxy Game. Yoshi, as always, is a helpful little dinosaur and I don't think I'll ever not get a kick out of watching him eat a red pepper. Go, Yoshi, Go!

If there's one nitpick I have, and yes, I realize its only a nitpick, it is the new World Map. I kind of miss the whole Hub World idea from the previous 3D Mario titles. Now we've gone back to Side-Scrollin' Mario's World Map where we go along a line til we get to the planet we must conquer next. Of course there are splits in the road, so you do get choices, but it just kind of loses that little feeling of freedom a hub world gives you. Like I said, just a nitpick really and has nothing whatsoever to do with the fun factor of actually playing these deeply imaginative and super-designed levels.

If Mario ever decides to take another trip out into the galaxy, I won't hesitate to follow him, even if he waits for the Wii U (which is more likely).

New Super Mario Bros Wii

Fess up time, I've had this game for a while. It's one of the very, very, very few games I bought within the first couple of months of release. But I'm not playing much new right now, so the next couple of posts will be on games that I've already played a while ago. So here are my thoughts on New Super Mario Bros Wii...

Nostalgia can take you so far,  but the sheer fun is what brings it home. Sure, playing this game took me back to playing the original NES games when I was a wee lad; same gameplay, ect, but I'm almost positive that I would find New Super Mario Bros. Wii a blast if I'd never had any inkling of what the plumbing siblings from Brooklyn were all about. Make no mistake, Mario has been a fixture in gaming for eons and its not because of the mustache (though let's be honest, the mustache doesn't hurt), it's because they are consistently top quality games. This one is no different. From the vibrant graphics and colors to the familiar and effective gameplay, this game is very addictive. The level design is most excellent as I entered each world wondering what other kind of wacky situations the game designers could possibly get the Mario Bros. and their Toad pals into and was never let down. Yes, there are difficult levels. It might take a few frustrating tries to get some levels figured out, but once you do and conquer that bad boy, it is immensely satisfying. This is simply the Mario Way.

Try activating this lever when the wife keeps accidentally leaping on it first.

And multiplayer, ah yes, multiplayer. What a wonderful creation that has been. There's nothing more fun than sitting down with a buddy and plowing through a rousing game of Mario Bros. And at the same time, there's nothing more frustrating than sitting down with a buddy (or significant other) and dying your way through Mario Bros. Just a word to the wise; if you head into a game with someone with a few less years of experience at the joystick, go with patience. Loads of patience. I'd hate to see good marriages break up over a mustached plumber in red overalls. To be fair though, once I changed my mindset from "go in to win!" to "let's just have some fun", playing with the wife was indeed fun.

It's cool that the game lets you use the controller like an old school NES controller, but this too can have frustrations. Maybe I'm just not as nimble with the fingers as I used to be or I've grown more accustomed to analog sticks, but the D-Pad feels a little small and it can be annoying when trying to hit the "down" button and going sideways or vice-versa. Just a minor quibble though that doesn't take away from the fact that this game is just sheer fun for the whole family.

How it compares to other modern Mario games just varies on your mileage, I suppose. I think I may find Mario Galaxy a bit more fun, but the wife definitely prefers good ol' Side Scroller Mario. In the end, for me, just give me a fun game with that crazy plumber in the tripped out Mushroom Kingdom, and I'm sure I can find a reason to play.

More Mario Kart Wii Online

On further review, screw Mario Kart online.