When it comes to video game royalty, it’s hard to think of a bigger name than Mario. For over 25 years now, he’s always brought fun to the table. And Nintendo’s Wii console has been given great acclaim from both fans and industry folks alike, making video games accessible- and fun- for people who have never played before. Now, the duo combine as Mario takes to the skies for his first Wii adventure- and in a sideshow, takes on his biggest rival face-to-face for the first time.
The main attraction is Super Mario Galaxy, Mario’s first Wii adventure. This time around, Mario takes to the skies as Bowser uplifts Princess Peach’s castle. He’ll visit different planets, use gravity to his advantage, transform into a bee and a ghost, and learn the story of the mysterious space princess Rosalina. According to Wired’sChris Kohler, the game consists of many small worlds, each one different from the last, rather than the larger worlds of previous Mario games. Reviews of the game are unanimously appreciative- each one saying that this is possibly Mario’s greatest adventure to date, and is like Super Mario 64, only better- and is a vast improvement over the fun-but-flawed Super Mario Sunshine. There’s also a fun new game mode unlocked if you collect all 120 stars which they say brings new challenge to the game. I know what it is, but I’ll let you look for yourself. I’ll just say it’ll be real before 2041. Galaxy will be coming out tomorrow, November 12, 2007.
Also, another interesting-sounding game is NOW AVAILABLE, brought up from its December release date: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games from SEGA. The two great heroes and their buddies face off for the first time in the 2008 Olympics. Reviews are mixed, but all seem to say it’s fun to use the Wiimote to perform in different events including swimming, running, archery, Ping-Pong®, and fencing. You can also use Miis as competitors, and according to 1UP, you can also choose a nation to represent your friend in these international games- including Iran. (There are no homosexuals in the Mushroom Kingdom!) There are also “dream events” which combine Olympic events with Mario and Sonic fantasy elements. IGN gives a very good, in-depth review.
These two games look like they’ll be keeping us Wii owners busy well into February- when we’ll be ready for Mario, Sonic, and the rest of the crew to face off in the ring in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
wow thanks for the info. I’ve been waiting for xmas before i got buy some more wii games. (hoping to see some specials on). Hadn’t heard anything about these 2 games, they will defiantly be on my shopping list!
I beat** Mario Galaxy** last night, and oh man, it is absolutely without peer. It’s like the exact opposite of Mario Sunshine, which is the highest compliment I can pay. The game made me smile more than I can count, which no other game has in years.
The game is mind-blowingly awesome and if you play games at all, you owe it to yourself to play this one. One of the best games ever made.
I read the Gamespy review of Super Mario Galaxy, and I have to admit, I’m completely stoked for it. I hadn’t really paid much attention to it at all until that review, but so far, all these highly acclaimed games I’ve bought have been excellent.
Okay, is Mario and Sonic at the Olympics a good game for, say, a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old who really enjoy the Wii sports stuff? (7-year-old excels at tennis, 4-year-old can beat his father at boxing and loves it.)
I just got the impression you’re a hard-core gamer and Galaxy is awesome, unlike Sunshine and I’m leery when hard-core gamers like something. I can’t finish games within hours of it being released and what turns on hard-core gamers often kicks my Hard-casual gaming ass.
I like to spend a month or more working through a good game, and I also like to have some hope of making it through the final boss battle.
If Galaxy releases on the 12th, and today is the 11th, you beat the game in like, negative time! (I know, you prolly got it from Japan or something.)
Haha, you got me. I was able to grab the game early from some friends I have at Nintendo (I used to work there). Normally I don’t power through games this quickly, but I made an exception this time for two reasons:
It’s my job (I write game guides for a living), so I wanted to enjoy it before having to write about it.
The game is so amazingly fun, I never tired of it, even during my 13 hour jaunt on Friday, and that never happens.
Anyway, I actually found the game to be less frustrating than Sunshine. If you were able to beat that game, I don’t think you’ll have much trouble with Galaxy (not to say it’s easy, because it isn’t, but the gameplay and learning curve works so well, there’s few things you won’t be able to tackle after a few tries).
Honestly, even though I’m a “hardcore” game (I do work in the industry after all), very few of the “hardcore” games actually resonate with me. However, Mario Galaxy hit me in a soft spot and made me remember why I play games: to have fun. And Galaxy represents the pinnacle.
Did anyone else think reading that topic line that somehow the games “Super Mario Galaxy” and “Mario and Sonic” somehow made it into being Olympic games?
Remember in SM sunshine, there were these “bonus” levels, sorta floating-in-space oddities that required platforming madskillz to beat? it that what SM Galaxy is? Just a succession of dozens of those levels?
Why does everyone dislike Sunshine and treat it like they treat SMB2*? It didn’t revolutionize anything, but I thought it was very fun. As noted above, I too loved the trial levels where you had to run insane obstacle courses floating in space. The water hose was a fun little toy, albeit gimmicky. And I liked all the secrets that were packed in the Delfino plaza hub world. And it had Yoshi.
Anyway, Galaxy looks amazing. Nintendo always has the ability to make me feel like a kid again.
100% agreement on SMB2. Even if it didn’t start its life as a Super Mario Brothers game it was still a great platformer. My personal favorite for the NES, in fact, even if The Princess’s ability was useful in only one place (Luigi could jump the exact same distance she could float and go higher; only in one section is there a low ceiling that prevents Luigi from making a jump).
I wasn’t incredibly thrilled with Sunshine, though. If the game was all those crazy platform sections I would have liked it more but I thought the water gun gimmick just didn’t work that well. I also found the game to be much shorter and simpler than Mario 64. I didn’t hate it but it was definitely the weakest entry in the main series so far.
Even still I have high hopes for Galaxy. It’s been ten years since Mario 64 and we could just some lively Mario-style platforming.