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Thursday 21 February, 2008
GAMEPLAY
It might just be because I am not used to the controls, but I find the dislocation of the thumb stick and the Wii-mote to be a bit frustrating at times. With ordinary controls, the thumb stick that controls motion is usually controlled by the left hand. One would say that it’s no big deal and that the right hand can easily control the Wii-mote but herein lays the problem: I’m left handed! This makes it difficult to control Mario’s movement because I must hold the Wii-mote with the left hand for comfort and the nun chuck with my right. A minor problem but it seems like a minor flaw with the control and game design that makes a player like me have to feel awkward with controls to such a fun game.
On a lighter note, I did find my second hour of play enjoyable regardless of discomfort. The game environment made me feel very comfortable and happy. Everything from the way the characters are drawn to the music in the game is meant make the player feel happy. I was easily entertained the way Mario interacted with the environment.
One last thing about the gameplay is that it doesn’t seem to get old. I have only been playing this game for two hours but I have not gotten tired of anything so far. Every level that I have played so far seems to be just as fun as well as slightly more challenging than the last but at the same time it doesn’t get too hard too fast. I have been entertained so far.
DESIGN
The first thing to take notice of in the game is the level design. I can easily compare this game to Psychonaughts. In both games the main character navigates different levels that have their own physics or feel to them. In Super Mario Galaxy each level consists of the player going from planet to planet navigating obstacles on each planet that has its own gravity. Sometimes the physics of the game can really make someone sick. The physics engine is amazing in itself.
One thing that kind of bugs me about the game is that even though Super Mario Galaxy has lots of room for good cut scenes, it still resorts to out of date text boxes. The funny part of the whole thing is that there is still some voice acting in the game even though its takes the form of phrases, grunts, and roars. That part of the game really bugs me. I don’t think that anyone can use the Link card on this one. We already know how Mario sounds like every character has a familiar voice that people recognize. So why not just have good voice acting instead of obsolete text boxes? I think its Nintendo being cheap.
So that would be what I would change about the game: the voice acting, or lack thereof. I really feel that Nintendo has no excuse for this and that they should get with the times. But of course this is my own personal grudge and has nothing to do with how awesome Super Mario Galaxy is.
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