There’s no escaping the fact that Super Mario Galaxy (wii), has won multiple awards at a variety of events (including best game), but superficially is there a chance it might just be another spin-off utilising the near saturated Super Mario market? 

The game starts with the somewhat familiar tragedy of Princess Peach once again being kidnapped by the villainous Bowser. Although not an original storyline, its simple and it works.  Mario is on top form and looking better than ever. The 2 game cube processors do a sterling job, the graphics are crisp and smooth, and the colours are vibrant, just what you would expect from the Mario series. The way Mario walks around planets is difficult to grasp at first. With a separate centre of gravity for each planet, Mario can circumnavigate the whole sphere, often sideways or upside down. This is of course the game’s main feature and is utilised well in the assortment of puzzles and tasks Mario must complete to collect power stars to power up a space observatory and find princess peach.

Travelling in Super Mario Galaxy is a pleasure all by itself. The older varieties of Super Mario all had an emphasis on constant movement; to complete the level quickly rather than collect all the pickups on the map. This is carried forward into Super Mario Galaxy, Mario’s running animation is a joy to watch and moving spherically around a small planet is a very disorienting but enjoyable experience. And yes, he does still go to sleep if you leave him for too long, a quaint addition from the ‘64. The transfer from planet to planet is handled beautifully with colossal arcing boosts through space and ‘pull stars’ that act like tractor beams. On an unrelated point, I love the complete lack of loading screens. Bliss.

The wii remote is a very successfully incorporated. It feels like a necessity to the game, not a mere add-on gimmick. It makes the game smoother and more varied, as you can pick up ‘star bits’ in the distance with the pointer instead of having to detour towards them, allowing you to better concentrate on getting to where you need to go.  I was very pleased to see the central hub-world is back and feels ‘homely’ and re-assuring, as it should do. The incorporation of one gives a real sense of progression and achievement to the game; you can immediately see new areas you open up. A nice little feature is that the music in the hub-world gets progressively more extravagant the further you progress in the game. It also increases its ‘pick up and play’ capability, as you always know where your starting from.

In one respect, the hub-world does cause a slight problem; this happy, lax environment sets you up for more of the same, and for the first few galaxies it delivers relaxed and enjoyable levels. It then throws a spanner in the works, with a selection of frustrating instant-death galaxies. Of course, this is a necessity to provide challenge, but the tranquil nature of the hub-world does nothing but emphasise these road bumps in the flow of the game. Once you have completed an awkward galaxy however, you are often rewarded with either a relaxed, enjoyable galaxy, or a one with a new way of Mario interaction (Suits include Bee-Mario, Fire-Mario, Boo-Mario).

The unsophisticated written dialogue and simplicity of goals/collectibles sometimes borders on immature rather than reminiscent, but the difficult insta-death galaxies soon lay low any preconceptions of an easy game. The little audio clips for different actions like going down a pipe, or ‘game over’ are taken directly from older Mario titles, this evokes recollections of the title’s gaming pedigree, Very few games can do this effectively. Yet, Super Mario Galaxy manages to do it perfectly.

Super Mario Galaxy has something that is lacking in a vast majority of games, the actual fun aspect of playing a game. Where as the last 2 years’ key titles for all platforms have been serious, straight simulations. Whether they be shooters, or driving sims, or RPGs. But Super Mario Galaxy is a game rich in detail and equally as rich in playability. A challenging game that does not hold back on the fun, and brings a smile to you face as you progress further. It’s difficult to pinpoint, but it’s designed to be enjoyable and simple without seeming easy or superficial. It is the essence of what a game is, and can quite deservedly be described simply as game of the year.