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elit3deception's Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
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| [January 25, 2008 12:28:27 AM]
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GAMEPLAY
After playing the game for a second time I began to appreciate the expanse of the game as the story began to unfold. I found that, even after beating galaxies, you can still go back and do various challenges to obtain new stars. For example, when a comet is present in a galaxy, I was allowed to do a timed race through a planet. Also, many levels have "hungry stars" that require an arbitrary amount of star bits in order to become a planet. I thought this greatly added to the overall replay value of the game, making it even harder to put down.
In addition to this, I was also amazed by the level design of some of the planets. What I found particularly impressive was how the planets explored the 3D aspects of the environments to solve puzzles and progress. Many of the levels forced me to "think outside the box" in order to move on, and in ways that I haven't had to think in previous games. One level in particular caught my attention. It was a space junk level that required me to use all the junk surrounding me as platforms to move around. I thought this aspect was very unique and was something that I haven't seen in any other game I have played.
DESIGN
One design aspect that I found intriguing was the use of the Wii controllers (both the Wiimote and the Nunchuck). At first it was troublesome trying to move Mario with essentially two hands, but the simplicity of the first planets you play on really helped me to get used to it and give me a taste of the moves I would have to be doing in the future (for example you learn how to wall jump early on which I ended up using on almost every level later in the game.
In addition, I felt the controls helped to make me feel even more immersed in the game. I had to pay attention all the time (which I didn't mind doing) and eventually the controls became very natural and intuitive. Many levels required that I point the Wiimote at the screen to pull Mario around (like the blue stars that acted as intergalactic monkey bars), which I found to add to the overall difficulty of the game.
The controls helped me enjoy the game more especially in relation to the various boss battles. I found that all the boss battles require that I use a combination of various moves that I had learned through the the galaxy that the boss pertains to. (For example, later Mario becomes "spring Mario" and, in that galaxy, the boss requires you battle in that form of Mario). I thought that this allowed for a very smooth learning curve, and the bosses never seemed too difficult, (though they were often not very easy either).
The one drawback I found was that often the camera angles were frustrating and difficult to control. And though this didn't greatly detract from the overall game play, I found that it sometimes got annoying and was hard to adjust. Even though the camera angles were adjustable (using the D-Pad) I found that the situations when I needed to change the angles were too intense to deter my concentration enough to use the D-pad.
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| [January 24, 2008 11:49:23 PM]
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SUMMARY
Mario Galaxy is an immersive action game utilizing classic Mario moves and story lines. Mario's quest in this installment of the series is to, as always, rescue the princess from the clutches of the evil Bowser. The levels are unique in that they play out in the forms of various galaxies and planets, as you search for your beloved Princess Peach.
GAMEPLAY
As soon as I began to play this game, I found it very difficult to put it down. The levels begin very easily (with a tutorial exploring the basic moves and methods in which you can explore the planets you're on) and they progress to higher difficulties. Even at the start, the levels are engaging and the storyline progresses in a very easy to follow method. You are guided through the levels with the help of various smaller stars (some which become planets).
Upon completing my first "galaxy" within the game (which consists of about 4 planets including a "bowser" planet) I was afraid the linear format (beat one world move on to the next with 4 planets and a boss planet) would get old. However, I found that in the next galaxy, the levels were even more interesting and graphically pleasing then the previous.
Something about the game that made me particularly drawn to it was the different "Mario forms" you could obtain depending on the planet you were on. For example, on the honeycomb planet, Mario becomes a bee and has special powers until he is hit or touches water. I felt this aspect was particularly unique and really helped prevent me from getting bored with the level designs.
Another fear I had going into the game was that it might be too easy. I easily conquered the first galaxy as well as the second, but I found that my fear was proven wrong by the difficulty of the following galaxies. Not only this, but the story soon reveals your ability to feed your star bits to smaller stars making them turn into planets, or levels.
Another aspect of the game that I really enjoyed (and didn't notice at the start) was the music. Many of the levels use "remastered" versions of older Mario music, even dating back to the original Mario for NES. I thought this was very clever, and it was something that I haven't seen in any of the previous Mario installments.
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elit3deception's Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Thursday 24 January, 2008
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