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This thread has been linked to the game 'Super Mario Galaxy'.
Let's get one thing out of the way. Super Mario Galaxy is awesome.
SMG is like all your Christmases coming at once, without the drunken uncles. It's like coming home to Scarlet Johannson lying in your bed, wiggling her finger suggestively at you. It's like cinammon buns, candy canes and rainbows falling from the sky. I could probably just finish up this entry there and provide an Amazon link, but that'd be a bit of a cop out. So let's see exactly why, for the last week or so, I've not seen much of 'the outside'.
In the non-geekiest way possible, SMS was a real 'life blow'. You think, "right, I've bought this console, I've put up with the terrible advertising campaigns, poor 3rd party support and Luigi's bastarding Mansion... it's payoff time'. Then you get a game where you squirt about and doss around a real town with a shop where you can buy Shines. If I wanted some kind of mad Italian Second Life I would have bought a gash continental MMORPG. Thankfully, never has that thought crossed my mind - and so I HAVEN'T. The fact that that was what was presented to us as 'the Gamecube's Mario game' was a veritable kick to the nuts. Thanks Nintendo.
Thintendo.
But I apologise for the digression. We are now in 2007. It's time for Mario to get off his wee a**e and impress us and for that, we have Super Mario Galaxy. To say that SMG is perhaps one of the best games ever made doesn't really do it full justice. Placing the disc in the slot, then having the ambient bounce of the 'Start' screen echo softly through the TV speakers basically ticked all my boxes from the start. I was almost tempted to shut down the Wii and consider job done around this point as well, but I figured it was probably better to get on with it.
Your first foray into this brand new world involves a meteor ridden run to Peach's Castle, followed by the chasing of 3 rather quick bunnies. I won't go into detail because that would spoil it, but if this isn't the best opening to a game ever then I don't know what is. To hell with you Halo 3. Next gen graphics, HD cable, and what? Beaten by rabbits. Perhaps what will strike you most about the opening is not what you're doing, but how you're doing it, and within what surroundings. The soundtrack, unusually for a Mario game, is partially performed by the 'Mario Galaxy Orchestra'. This means that not only does it look the business, but it sounds it too. Waltzy orchestrations mix with crazy remixed versions of classic tunes to make one of the most esoteric video game music collections of recent times.
Did I mention the prettiness? I don't think I did. It's pretty. It's very pretty. I am very lucky in having a component cable for my Wii and a nice telly, so not only is it pretty, but it's vivid, and bright. The colours are absolutely incredible and the effects, in particular the glass, liquid and reflective eye-candy, are second to none. Occasionally you'll just stop, take in the scenery for a while, and sigh. Levels like the 'Space Junk Galaxy' and 'Melty Molten Galaxy' show off its super-sweet looks the best; the first being a collection of crap hovering around space with plenty of gravity tricks in store, the second (a much later level) being a planet covered in a**e-burning yet ever-so-beautiful lava. The Wii might not be 1080p, but SMG certainly stands out as a visual masterpiece. It runs at a near permanent 60fps and is easily the best looking game on the console so far.
Normally with reviews I try to avoid the sterotypical graphics, sound and gameplay-style structure. But with a game as great and as deserving of attention as SMG, I just don't want to miss anything out. Without spoiling anything too much (because there are HUNDREDS of little moments of joy), I'll quickly throw some tidbits your way: Mario has a new move - the Spin attack. Shake the remote and he'll twist violently on the spot. Shake it enough, and he'll haemorrage! Who knew? Use this when jumping on enemies becomes confusing or tricky. It's funny how difficult it is to judge a leap when you're on the bottom end of a small, transparent sphere. Not only this, but the plumber can transform! You'll have seen the screenshots of 'Bee Mario' for sure, and that's just the start. I definitely don't want to ruin the other forms, but there are a good few and each of them in turn is more awesome than the last. 'Bouncing Down Cake Lane' as a mission title might give you a little clue...
The void levels from SMS make a pseudo-comeback too, and though not as hard they were they provide a bit of mini-game madness away from the gravity shenanigans going on elsewhere in the galaxy. Personal favourite in this category is the Super Monkey Ball-esque challenges, of which I've completed all around 17 times. Mario has to jump on top of an orb and roll around a mental obstacle course, using the Wiimote as a sort-of joystick. Seeing as I shake like a kid in the Algarve it wasn't the easiest task in the world. The mind-bending array of orbs, comets, planets and other space paraphernalia each with their own field of gravity provide plenty of opportunities for ridiculous jumps, flips and breathtaking feats of courage, or indeed, stupidity. All these bits and pieces mean that there's a lot to explore, about 25 - 30 hours worth for the average gamer. This might not seem like much to get all 120 stars, but you'll love every single second. There isn't even a moment of tedium.
It's very hard to talk about Super Mario Galaxy without slipping some massive secret. I could tell you all about the Secret Galaxies, or the hidden stars, or the bonus comets, or the extra stages, or just about how the hub world slowly but surely comes to life. But then, I'd be spoiling the whole game. If someone had explained to me in excruciating detail the innards of SMG before I had a chance to play it, I'd have been forced to slowly gouge out their mother's eyes. Thankfully, I got it at release and, because of Ninty's rather strict NDA, no reviewer worth his salt would of got away with it anyway. As such, I'm going to wrap up. Not only is it a beautiful, engrossing world in which you run, jump, float, fly and fall, but it is a perfectly balanced one as well. There are easy bits, and there are challenging bits. SMG is a game on which you can chew, and like anything worth chewing, you just want to gobble all the SMG goodness. That was a poor analogy, I know, but it doesn't matter. It's the true 'sequel' to Mario 64, and about as close as Nintendo could get to adding a 4th dimension. If you aren't enraptured by this game, then you truly are a souless, inhuman fart. I don't think you need a score for this one, just buy it already.
(Note: This review was originally posted on my own, personal blog, Synae.co.uk, and is my own work)
SMG is like all your Christmases coming at once, without the drunken uncles. It's like coming home to Scarlet Johannson lying in your bed, wiggling her finger suggestively at you. It's like cinammon buns, candy canes and rainbows falling from the sky. I could probably just finish up this entry there and provide an Amazon link, but that'd be a bit of a cop out. So let's see exactly why, for the last week or so, I've not seen much of 'the outside'.
In the non-geekiest way possible, SMS was a real 'life blow'. You think, "right, I've bought this console, I've put up with the terrible advertising campaigns, poor 3rd party support and Luigi's bastarding Mansion... it's payoff time'. Then you get a game where you squirt about and doss around a real town with a shop where you can buy Shines. If I wanted some kind of mad Italian Second Life I would have bought a gash continental MMORPG. Thankfully, never has that thought crossed my mind - and so I HAVEN'T. The fact that that was what was presented to us as 'the Gamecube's Mario game' was a veritable kick to the nuts. Thanks Nintendo.
Thintendo.
But I apologise for the digression. We are now in 2007. It's time for Mario to get off his wee a**e and impress us and for that, we have Super Mario Galaxy. To say that SMG is perhaps one of the best games ever made doesn't really do it full justice. Placing the disc in the slot, then having the ambient bounce of the 'Start' screen echo softly through the TV speakers basically ticked all my boxes from the start. I was almost tempted to shut down the Wii and consider job done around this point as well, but I figured it was probably better to get on with it.
Your first foray into this brand new world involves a meteor ridden run to Peach's Castle, followed by the chasing of 3 rather quick bunnies. I won't go into detail because that would spoil it, but if this isn't the best opening to a game ever then I don't know what is. To hell with you Halo 3. Next gen graphics, HD cable, and what? Beaten by rabbits. Perhaps what will strike you most about the opening is not what you're doing, but how you're doing it, and within what surroundings. The soundtrack, unusually for a Mario game, is partially performed by the 'Mario Galaxy Orchestra'. This means that not only does it look the business, but it sounds it too. Waltzy orchestrations mix with crazy remixed versions of classic tunes to make one of the most esoteric video game music collections of recent times.
Did I mention the prettiness? I don't think I did. It's pretty. It's very pretty. I am very lucky in having a component cable for my Wii and a nice telly, so not only is it pretty, but it's vivid, and bright. The colours are absolutely incredible and the effects, in particular the glass, liquid and reflective eye-candy, are second to none. Occasionally you'll just stop, take in the scenery for a while, and sigh. Levels like the 'Space Junk Galaxy' and 'Melty Molten Galaxy' show off its super-sweet looks the best; the first being a collection of crap hovering around space with plenty of gravity tricks in store, the second (a much later level) being a planet covered in a**e-burning yet ever-so-beautiful lava. The Wii might not be 1080p, but SMG certainly stands out as a visual masterpiece. It runs at a near permanent 60fps and is easily the best looking game on the console so far.
Normally with reviews I try to avoid the sterotypical graphics, sound and gameplay-style structure. But with a game as great and as deserving of attention as SMG, I just don't want to miss anything out. Without spoiling anything too much (because there are HUNDREDS of little moments of joy), I'll quickly throw some tidbits your way: Mario has a new move - the Spin attack. Shake the remote and he'll twist violently on the spot. Shake it enough, and he'll haemorrage! Who knew? Use this when jumping on enemies becomes confusing or tricky. It's funny how difficult it is to judge a leap when you're on the bottom end of a small, transparent sphere. Not only this, but the plumber can transform! You'll have seen the screenshots of 'Bee Mario' for sure, and that's just the start. I definitely don't want to ruin the other forms, but there are a good few and each of them in turn is more awesome than the last. 'Bouncing Down Cake Lane' as a mission title might give you a little clue...
The void levels from SMS make a pseudo-comeback too, and though not as hard they were they provide a bit of mini-game madness away from the gravity shenanigans going on elsewhere in the galaxy. Personal favourite in this category is the Super Monkey Ball-esque challenges, of which I've completed all around 17 times. Mario has to jump on top of an orb and roll around a mental obstacle course, using the Wiimote as a sort-of joystick. Seeing as I shake like a kid in the Algarve it wasn't the easiest task in the world. The mind-bending array of orbs, comets, planets and other space paraphernalia each with their own field of gravity provide plenty of opportunities for ridiculous jumps, flips and breathtaking feats of courage, or indeed, stupidity. All these bits and pieces mean that there's a lot to explore, about 25 - 30 hours worth for the average gamer. This might not seem like much to get all 120 stars, but you'll love every single second. There isn't even a moment of tedium.
It's very hard to talk about Super Mario Galaxy without slipping some massive secret. I could tell you all about the Secret Galaxies, or the hidden stars, or the bonus comets, or the extra stages, or just about how the hub world slowly but surely comes to life. But then, I'd be spoiling the whole game. If someone had explained to me in excruciating detail the innards of SMG before I had a chance to play it, I'd have been forced to slowly gouge out their mother's eyes. Thankfully, I got it at release and, because of Ninty's rather strict NDA, no reviewer worth his salt would of got away with it anyway. As such, I'm going to wrap up. Not only is it a beautiful, engrossing world in which you run, jump, float, fly and fall, but it is a perfectly balanced one as well. There are easy bits, and there are challenging bits. SMG is a game on which you can chew, and like anything worth chewing, you just want to gobble all the SMG goodness. That was a poor analogy, I know, but it doesn't matter. It's the true 'sequel' to Mario 64, and about as close as Nintendo could get to adding a 4th dimension. If you aren't enraptured by this game, then you truly are a souless, inhuman fart. I don't think you need a score for this one, just buy it already.
(Note: This review was originally posted on my own, personal blog, Synae.co.uk, and is my own work)
phuzzy wrote:
> Hey man, hows tricks? Long time no see - it's not often one of
> the oldies comes posts anymore!
>
> Ah, Synae, the memories. Over-ambition the understatement of the
> century, but damn it you got into ECTS :D Wouldn't tell that to
> your masters at MCV, what's the story there?
Well I'm the Editorial Assistant for MCV and PC Retail, which is a sorta training staff writer job with a title of its own. It's great, really enjoy it. Didn't actually imagine I would get into professional writing however. I guess SR, Synae, Cube-Europe, Nintendojo led me here in the end...
> Hey man, hows tricks? Long time no see - it's not often one of
> the oldies comes posts anymore!
>
> Ah, Synae, the memories. Over-ambition the understatement of the
> century, but damn it you got into ECTS :D Wouldn't tell that to
> your masters at MCV, what's the story there?
Well I'm the Editorial Assistant for MCV and PC Retail, which is a sorta training staff writer job with a title of its own. It's great, really enjoy it. Didn't actually imagine I would get into professional writing however. I guess SR, Synae, Cube-Europe, Nintendojo led me here in the end...
Hey man, hows tricks? Long time no see - it's not often one of the oldies comes posts anymore!
Ah, Synae, the memories. Over-ambition the understatement of the century, but damn it you got into ECTS :D Wouldn't tell that to your masters at MCV, what's the story there?
Ah, Synae, the memories. Over-ambition the understatement of the century, but damn it you got into ECTS :D Wouldn't tell that to your masters at MCV, what's the story there?
Hello Phuzzy!!!
How's it going? I see Synae's still alive and well :D
Nice to see your name crop up on here, I rarely post anymore but I do still stick my head around the door.
I've recently started working for MCV, how cool is that?
How's it going? I see Synae's still alive and well :D
Nice to see your name crop up on here, I rarely post anymore but I do still stick my head around the door.
I've recently started working for MCV, how cool is that?
Cheers, it's my first post in *quite* a while.
Very good review.
Great game too.
Great game too.
Let's get one thing out of the way. Super Mario Galaxy is awesome.
SMG is like all your Christmases coming at once, without the drunken uncles. It's like coming home to Scarlet Johannson lying in your bed, wiggling her finger suggestively at you. It's like cinammon buns, candy canes and rainbows falling from the sky. I could probably just finish up this entry there and provide an Amazon link, but that'd be a bit of a cop out. So let's see exactly why, for the last week or so, I've not seen much of 'the outside'.
In the non-geekiest way possible, SMS was a real 'life blow'. You think, "right, I've bought this console, I've put up with the terrible advertising campaigns, poor 3rd party support and Luigi's bastarding Mansion... it's payoff time'. Then you get a game where you squirt about and doss around a real town with a shop where you can buy Shines. If I wanted some kind of mad Italian Second Life I would have bought a gash continental MMORPG. Thankfully, never has that thought crossed my mind - and so I HAVEN'T. The fact that that was what was presented to us as 'the Gamecube's Mario game' was a veritable kick to the nuts. Thanks Nintendo.
Thintendo.
But I apologise for the digression. We are now in 2007. It's time for Mario to get off his wee a**e and impress us and for that, we have Super Mario Galaxy. To say that SMG is perhaps one of the best games ever made doesn't really do it full justice. Placing the disc in the slot, then having the ambient bounce of the 'Start' screen echo softly through the TV speakers basically ticked all my boxes from the start. I was almost tempted to shut down the Wii and consider job done around this point as well, but I figured it was probably better to get on with it.
Your first foray into this brand new world involves a meteor ridden run to Peach's Castle, followed by the chasing of 3 rather quick bunnies. I won't go into detail because that would spoil it, but if this isn't the best opening to a game ever then I don't know what is. To hell with you Halo 3. Next gen graphics, HD cable, and what? Beaten by rabbits. Perhaps what will strike you most about the opening is not what you're doing, but how you're doing it, and within what surroundings. The soundtrack, unusually for a Mario game, is partially performed by the 'Mario Galaxy Orchestra'. This means that not only does it look the business, but it sounds it too. Waltzy orchestrations mix with crazy remixed versions of classic tunes to make one of the most esoteric video game music collections of recent times.
Did I mention the prettiness? I don't think I did. It's pretty. It's very pretty. I am very lucky in having a component cable for my Wii and a nice telly, so not only is it pretty, but it's vivid, and bright. The colours are absolutely incredible and the effects, in particular the glass, liquid and reflective eye-candy, are second to none. Occasionally you'll just stop, take in the scenery for a while, and sigh. Levels like the 'Space Junk Galaxy' and 'Melty Molten Galaxy' show off its super-sweet looks the best; the first being a collection of crap hovering around space with plenty of gravity tricks in store, the second (a much later level) being a planet covered in a**e-burning yet ever-so-beautiful lava. The Wii might not be 1080p, but SMG certainly stands out as a visual masterpiece. It runs at a near permanent 60fps and is easily the best looking game on the console so far.
Normally with reviews I try to avoid the sterotypical graphics, sound and gameplay-style structure. But with a game as great and as deserving of attention as SMG, I just don't want to miss anything out. Without spoiling anything too much (because there are HUNDREDS of little moments of joy), I'll quickly throw some tidbits your way: Mario has a new move - the Spin attack. Shake the remote and he'll twist violently on the spot. Shake it enough, and he'll haemorrage! Who knew? Use this when jumping on enemies becomes confusing or tricky. It's funny how difficult it is to judge a leap when you're on the bottom end of a small, transparent sphere. Not only this, but the plumber can transform! You'll have seen the screenshots of 'Bee Mario' for sure, and that's just the start. I definitely don't want to ruin the other forms, but there are a good few and each of them in turn is more awesome than the last. 'Bouncing Down Cake Lane' as a mission title might give you a little clue...
The void levels from SMS make a pseudo-comeback too, and though not as hard they were they provide a bit of mini-game madness away from the gravity shenanigans going on elsewhere in the galaxy. Personal favourite in this category is the Super Monkey Ball-esque challenges, of which I've completed all around 17 times. Mario has to jump on top of an orb and roll around a mental obstacle course, using the Wiimote as a sort-of joystick. Seeing as I shake like a kid in the Algarve it wasn't the easiest task in the world. The mind-bending array of orbs, comets, planets and other space paraphernalia each with their own field of gravity provide plenty of opportunities for ridiculous jumps, flips and breathtaking feats of courage, or indeed, stupidity. All these bits and pieces mean that there's a lot to explore, about 25 - 30 hours worth for the average gamer. This might not seem like much to get all 120 stars, but you'll love every single second. There isn't even a moment of tedium.
It's very hard to talk about Super Mario Galaxy without slipping some massive secret. I could tell you all about the Secret Galaxies, or the hidden stars, or the bonus comets, or the extra stages, or just about how the hub world slowly but surely comes to life. But then, I'd be spoiling the whole game. If someone had explained to me in excruciating detail the innards of SMG before I had a chance to play it, I'd have been forced to slowly gouge out their mother's eyes. Thankfully, I got it at release and, because of Ninty's rather strict NDA, no reviewer worth his salt would of got away with it anyway. As such, I'm going to wrap up. Not only is it a beautiful, engrossing world in which you run, jump, float, fly and fall, but it is a perfectly balanced one as well. There are easy bits, and there are challenging bits. SMG is a game on which you can chew, and like anything worth chewing, you just want to gobble all the SMG goodness. That was a poor analogy, I know, but it doesn't matter. It's the true 'sequel' to Mario 64, and about as close as Nintendo could get to adding a 4th dimension. If you aren't enraptured by this game, then you truly are a souless, inhuman fart. I don't think you need a score for this one, just buy it already.
(Note: This review was originally posted on my own, personal blog, Synae.co.uk, and is my own work)
SMG is like all your Christmases coming at once, without the drunken uncles. It's like coming home to Scarlet Johannson lying in your bed, wiggling her finger suggestively at you. It's like cinammon buns, candy canes and rainbows falling from the sky. I could probably just finish up this entry there and provide an Amazon link, but that'd be a bit of a cop out. So let's see exactly why, for the last week or so, I've not seen much of 'the outside'.
In the non-geekiest way possible, SMS was a real 'life blow'. You think, "right, I've bought this console, I've put up with the terrible advertising campaigns, poor 3rd party support and Luigi's bastarding Mansion... it's payoff time'. Then you get a game where you squirt about and doss around a real town with a shop where you can buy Shines. If I wanted some kind of mad Italian Second Life I would have bought a gash continental MMORPG. Thankfully, never has that thought crossed my mind - and so I HAVEN'T. The fact that that was what was presented to us as 'the Gamecube's Mario game' was a veritable kick to the nuts. Thanks Nintendo.
Thintendo.
But I apologise for the digression. We are now in 2007. It's time for Mario to get off his wee a**e and impress us and for that, we have Super Mario Galaxy. To say that SMG is perhaps one of the best games ever made doesn't really do it full justice. Placing the disc in the slot, then having the ambient bounce of the 'Start' screen echo softly through the TV speakers basically ticked all my boxes from the start. I was almost tempted to shut down the Wii and consider job done around this point as well, but I figured it was probably better to get on with it.
Your first foray into this brand new world involves a meteor ridden run to Peach's Castle, followed by the chasing of 3 rather quick bunnies. I won't go into detail because that would spoil it, but if this isn't the best opening to a game ever then I don't know what is. To hell with you Halo 3. Next gen graphics, HD cable, and what? Beaten by rabbits. Perhaps what will strike you most about the opening is not what you're doing, but how you're doing it, and within what surroundings. The soundtrack, unusually for a Mario game, is partially performed by the 'Mario Galaxy Orchestra'. This means that not only does it look the business, but it sounds it too. Waltzy orchestrations mix with crazy remixed versions of classic tunes to make one of the most esoteric video game music collections of recent times.
Did I mention the prettiness? I don't think I did. It's pretty. It's very pretty. I am very lucky in having a component cable for my Wii and a nice telly, so not only is it pretty, but it's vivid, and bright. The colours are absolutely incredible and the effects, in particular the glass, liquid and reflective eye-candy, are second to none. Occasionally you'll just stop, take in the scenery for a while, and sigh. Levels like the 'Space Junk Galaxy' and 'Melty Molten Galaxy' show off its super-sweet looks the best; the first being a collection of crap hovering around space with plenty of gravity tricks in store, the second (a much later level) being a planet covered in a**e-burning yet ever-so-beautiful lava. The Wii might not be 1080p, but SMG certainly stands out as a visual masterpiece. It runs at a near permanent 60fps and is easily the best looking game on the console so far.
Normally with reviews I try to avoid the sterotypical graphics, sound and gameplay-style structure. But with a game as great and as deserving of attention as SMG, I just don't want to miss anything out. Without spoiling anything too much (because there are HUNDREDS of little moments of joy), I'll quickly throw some tidbits your way: Mario has a new move - the Spin attack. Shake the remote and he'll twist violently on the spot. Shake it enough, and he'll haemorrage! Who knew? Use this when jumping on enemies becomes confusing or tricky. It's funny how difficult it is to judge a leap when you're on the bottom end of a small, transparent sphere. Not only this, but the plumber can transform! You'll have seen the screenshots of 'Bee Mario' for sure, and that's just the start. I definitely don't want to ruin the other forms, but there are a good few and each of them in turn is more awesome than the last. 'Bouncing Down Cake Lane' as a mission title might give you a little clue...
The void levels from SMS make a pseudo-comeback too, and though not as hard they were they provide a bit of mini-game madness away from the gravity shenanigans going on elsewhere in the galaxy. Personal favourite in this category is the Super Monkey Ball-esque challenges, of which I've completed all around 17 times. Mario has to jump on top of an orb and roll around a mental obstacle course, using the Wiimote as a sort-of joystick. Seeing as I shake like a kid in the Algarve it wasn't the easiest task in the world. The mind-bending array of orbs, comets, planets and other space paraphernalia each with their own field of gravity provide plenty of opportunities for ridiculous jumps, flips and breathtaking feats of courage, or indeed, stupidity. All these bits and pieces mean that there's a lot to explore, about 25 - 30 hours worth for the average gamer. This might not seem like much to get all 120 stars, but you'll love every single second. There isn't even a moment of tedium.
It's very hard to talk about Super Mario Galaxy without slipping some massive secret. I could tell you all about the Secret Galaxies, or the hidden stars, or the bonus comets, or the extra stages, or just about how the hub world slowly but surely comes to life. But then, I'd be spoiling the whole game. If someone had explained to me in excruciating detail the innards of SMG before I had a chance to play it, I'd have been forced to slowly gouge out their mother's eyes. Thankfully, I got it at release and, because of Ninty's rather strict NDA, no reviewer worth his salt would of got away with it anyway. As such, I'm going to wrap up. Not only is it a beautiful, engrossing world in which you run, jump, float, fly and fall, but it is a perfectly balanced one as well. There are easy bits, and there are challenging bits. SMG is a game on which you can chew, and like anything worth chewing, you just want to gobble all the SMG goodness. That was a poor analogy, I know, but it doesn't matter. It's the true 'sequel' to Mario 64, and about as close as Nintendo could get to adding a 4th dimension. If you aren't enraptured by this game, then you truly are a souless, inhuman fart. I don't think you need a score for this one, just buy it already.
(Note: This review was originally posted on my own, personal blog, Synae.co.uk, and is my own work)