Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

Product Description
The most critically acclaimed Wii game ever returns, as Mario battles Bowser and his minions across an even more bizarre galaxy of worlds. The first game is already acknowledged as the greatest 3D platform game ever made and this new sequel adds to the excitement with long-time Mario ally Yoshi.

Not only will the little green dinosaur give you a ride wherever you want, but you can aim his tongue with the Wii remote and gobble up bad guys and bonuses alike. Eat a fruit and Yoshi will turn into a giant balloon or gobble a hot red pepper and he'll suddenly run at super speed.

You'll need all the help you can get too with even bigger and meaner bosses and some super hard secret levels. With a healthy mix of new tricks and old this is perfect fun for all the family and one of the best games on the Wii so far.

Review
Finally. The wait is over. Mario Galaxy 2 bursts onto the Wii. And what can I say that hasn't been covered by almost every other games magazine? It's amazing? It's excellent? Nostalgic? It's fun? At times challenging? Or the simple fact that after it arrived on my doorstep on Wednesday I've very rarely put it down?

Gameplay: The gameplay is much the same as the first game. You travel to a wide variety of planets in the search for stars jumping on a wide variety of enemies. Controls are perfect and don't deviate from the first game. A simple waggle of the wii-mote spins mario. You can jump with A, Triple Jumps and Wall Kicks make a return too.

Each Galaxy is filled with a theme. Be it a normal grassy planet to a block puzzle planet to even Ghost Planets and Huge Worlds. Each Galaxy has one or two stars and most usually have a secret star and a comet star. Unfortunately however some of the levels are that good it seems too short to only have one or two stars in the level. The difficulty in the game seems to have spiked too. While the first few galaxies are easier. Once you get to area 5 the game seems to shoot up in difficulty making a nice challenge. And that's not even touching on some of the comets and green stars. Never do you feel like you are playing the same type of Galaxy twice as each one brings something new and fun to it.

Another new feature is Yoshi. Mario's dino pal makes a comeback in a wide variety of ways. His tongue allows you to eat certain enemies and transform them into star bits and sometimes even shoot Bullet Bills back at enemies. You can even use Yoshi's tongue to grapple to new areas too!

As always in Mario there are numerous powerups. And this Mario isn't different. The Bee Suit makes a return alongside some other powerups such as the Cloud Suit which allows you to drop clouds to use as platforms. Also comes the Spinner which allows you to drill through planets to the other side. There are also powerups for Yoshi such as a Blimp Fruit and a Dash fruit.

Bosses are frequent once again. Most galaxies tend to have one which is nice. From a Huge Dragon that tries to gobble you up to Giant Mechas to even over sized bugs. Of course Bowser and Bowser Jnr make a return too.


Graphics: The Graphics on Mario are as you would expect them to be. Perfect and cute. While it doesn't match the same powerhouse levels that Mass Effect 2 or Red Dead Redemption do on the PS3 it's still amazing for the Wii's limitations. This seems to be the main argument that this is a bad game from PS360 fans but lets face it. It doesn't need to have great graphics to be a great game.

Story: Wafer-thin. Normally this is where I'd bash the hell out of game if the story is lacking. But it's Mario. They've used the same 'Save the Princess and traverse the world/galaxy' enough times it doesn't really need anything adding. Having a Faceship that travels the world is a nice touch too.

Sound: Best bit. Not surprisingly Mario Galaxy 2 boasts an AMAZING soundtrack. New tunes fit every galaxy aswell as blasts from the past. The Nostalgia was working overtime when I heard the 'Rainbow Ride' tune not to mention the 'Ghost House' tune in one of the Ghost galaxies.

Length: So far I think I'm nearing hour 30 or so. While I am nearing 80 stars I still have plenty more stars to get. Not to mention the Comets and the Green Stars to bring me up to 240

Other Notes: The game was packaged with a DVD to teach the young ones how to play. While it doesn't affect the older generation it does help the young uns to learn how to play the game and understand the mechanics without throwing them into it. Definitely a nice little addition if you are wanting your child to play the game.