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Friday 25 January, 2008
Entry #2
Gameplay:
While Super Mario Galaxy is a very good game, it is certainly not without its flaws. Many of these issues are of little consequence earlier on in the game, but as the game progresses and the difficulty increases what was once a trivial annoyance becomes a significant source of frustration. Later levels sometimes feature strict time limits for completion of the level which force players to quickly and effectively navigate the level in order to complete it within the time allotted. Time limits by themselves are certainly not an issue, but having to quickly navigate a level force some of the game’s camera issues into the forefront. Generally the default placement of the camera is pretty good and the player doesn’t really need to worry about it, but when the player does need to move the camera around quickly many problems arise. The game will sometimes not let the player rotate the camera around for what seems like no reason whatsoever, this can be infuriating when the player needs to see what’s going on in from of them in order to plan ahead. Admittedly there are only a few sections of the game where this camera issue arises, but when it does it can be very frustrating.
Design:
Despite some of the camera issues mentioned above, I found SMG to be a very enjoyable game for most of the time I spent playing it. The only real problems in terms of camera and player controls don’t really become major issues unless the player is a completeist and is attempting to collect all the stars in the game.
I think that SMG is a master course in creating a game that can appeal to players of all ages. There is no content that could really be considered inappropriate for younger players (such as sex, violence, drugs, etc.) but older players will find that the game isn’t ‘dumbed down’ and is more than able to provide a significant challenge for even series veterans.
The use of small discrete worlds means the there really isn’t any room for the player to get lost and so the player always knows where to go and what to do (unless it’s explicitly designed as a puzzle). The minor downside is that the player isn’t really able to explore the area at their own leisure and is acutely aware of how linear the game is.
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