THE HUB

OMG!!!

FEATURED GAME

FEATURED MEMBER

DoctorIrish

DoctorIrish

The Doctor is in.

QUICK POLL

One month until Metal Gear Solid 4. What will you do?

ASK THE PROS

THE GAMEPROS

FREE NEWSLETTERS

Sign up now to receive weekly or daily updates on your favorite games, stories, and more!



Wii | Adventure | Super Mario Galaxy

Boxart for Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy 157 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.75
  • SOUND: 4.75
  • CONTROL: 4.75
  • FUN FACTOR 5.00
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.8
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.9
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Review: GamePro Loves Super Mario Galaxy!!! (Page 2 of 6)

Review by Patrick Shaw | 11/06/2007 | 11:47:07 AM PST

Bee Mario: We're all abuzz over this new suit, which allows Mario to fly for short bursts and land on delicate flowers

Bee Mario: We're all abuzz over this new suit, which allows Mario to fly for short bursts and land on delicate flowers

The Wii has already been fortunate enough to receive several quality Mario titles in the last year or so. But while games such as Super Paper Mario and Mario Strikers Charged were great, their graphics were less than spectacular and they failed to really take full advantage of the functionality of the console's controllers. Now, with the release of Super Mario Galaxy, Wii owners have a game that really shows off the system's capabilities, both in terms of graphics and controls.

Where No Plumber Has Gone Before

Super Mario Galaxy begins with Mario receiving a letter from Princess Peach inviting him to the castle for the Star Festival. When Mario arrives, Peach, The Toads, and everyone else in the Mushroom Kingdom are celebrating something that happens once every 100 years: the arrival of a giant comet that flies over the Kingdom. Pieces of the comet break loose and turn into multicolored shooting stars called Star Bits which fill the sky and crash into the ground.

The Star Festival is running smoothly and everyone is having a good time until Mario's arch enemy crashes the party. Bowser and his sinister-looking fleet of airships blot out the spectacle in the sky and launch a full scale attack on Mushroom Kingdom. But this time around, Bowser doesn't just snatch the princesshe steals the entire castle using a UFO. No, you read that right: Bowser has a UFO, which means Mario must travel to different galaxies in order to save the princess.

Out of this World

Galaxy's gameplay is broken up into two main level types: there are levels where Mario is actually in space, jumping from planet to planet and then there are more traditional platformer levels akin to Mario 64. In both level types, the player utilizes the analog stick on the Nunchuk to move around and the Wii Remote to execute Mario's Crash Bandicoot-esque spin attack. The Wii Remote is also used to collect Star Bits scattered throughout levels which can be fired at enemies and objects at any time, which is a key aspect of the game.

The space levels definitely feature some of the more interesting moments in the game and offer up a new experience unlike anything we've experienced before in a Mario title. Each miniature planet has its own gravitational pull, allowing Mario to run all the way around them literally in a matter of seconds without floating off into space. The gravity is different depending on what planet the player is on which effects the gameplay. Just be warned that the potential for nausea is high, as it takes a moment or two to adjust to the camera.


Related Articles