Box Reviews: Super Mario Galaxy

Remember the days of Super Mario 64? The excitement you got from the first time playing as Mario in 3d? I sure don't, seeing as I was just being born around that time. If I would have gotten hold of that cartridge, I probably would of thrown it against the wall. Remember that in your mind, you knew Super Mario Sunshine wasn't the sequel, even though you loved it. Well now, the true sequel has shown up everywhere under the title Super Mario Galaxy!

The first time loading this game, I was so excited. I've read every preview there was to read. But now onto the meat of the review. This game is a lot like Super Mario 64. No water sprayer. But instead of punching or kicking, you get the spin attack. You give the Wiimote a small shake and Mario spins like a ballerina. But the ballerina packs a punch because this is most of what you'll be doing most of the game. You can't solve a puzzle without some sort of spin attack thingy. This isn't a bad thing, as I love it.

Speaking of the Wiimote, you will be ponting at the screen for most of the game. You can collect tiny objects called star bits by just pointing at them, no matter how far away you are. This is the game's currency, which is used to buy items, levels, and secrets. You can also shoot them at enimies, as long as you have them. If you choose to have a second player, they are basically just a star that can shoot and stop enimies. It's pointless.

So this isn't all just small planetoids in a row, as most areas are HUGE! Beach Bowl Galaxy being my prime example. There isn't any launch stars, just you and the bowl. The running upside, downside, leftside, rightside effect is nauseating a first, but soon you'll be doing it like a pro.

The hub area in this game is called the observatory. It's a hub. That's it. It isn't as much fun as roaming around the castle or the playground of Isle Delfino. But it is the only place you can use the star. This is a power up that lets you fly. Kind of like the wing cap in Super Mario 64.
Some of the power ups are really cool, but others are not. The highly acclaimed bee suit is one of the better power ups, as it enables you to fly. Even if I finished all of the stars in the galaxy, I would still go there to bee a bee (pun intended). The slinky suit (that's what I call it) is really hard to control, and thankfully only one of the galaxies have it. That's really my only big gameplay complaint.

Story goes as follows. Mario goes to meet Peach. Bowser kidnaps Pea and her castle and takes them into outer space. What!? A story. Maybe Nintendo will make better stories from now on. Don't count on it.

The variety of galaxies in the game really surprised me. It's not all space. Wow some galaxies such as Space Junk and Battle Rock Galaxies are, some like Beach Bowl Galaxy and Loop De Loop galaxy are the farthest thing from it. It just goes to show how much Nintendo loves us :p. With 120 stars and over 40 galaxies to chose from, you'll never be asking yourself what to do.

As for graphics, these are the best graphics on Wii period. This picture describes better than words how awesome this game really is.

The soundtrack in this game is really better than any other Wii game to date, even better than Brawl's soundtrack (I'll get to that one sometime). Just listen to this song.
http://www.imeem.com/people/VNUUWY/music/R1DoGqFi/super_mario_galaxy_main_thememp3/

Graphics: 10/10 You won't find graphics like these anywhere else on Wii, except maybe Brawl, which has a completely different art style.
Gameplay: 10/10 This is the true sequel to Super Mario 64, not that stupid watered down version of a sequel (pun intended)Sound: 9/10 Best original soundtrack you will find on Wii period.
Multi player: 3/10 Great for your mom, bad for your best friend.
Charm: 10/10 With cute graphics and umm... Mario! Yeah!
Replay Value: 5/10 There is a little something for you once you get all 120 stars that will make you want to replay it. Once
Overall: 9/10 Best title on Wii. But just don't break this one out at parties.

Box Reviews: Mario Kart Wii

Wroom! A racer acquired a star! He whizzes past you. You're thankful he didn't touch you. You are in 11th place. You hit an item box and what do you get. A bullet bill! You use it, and race ahead of the pack and into 5th place. What is this? A dream? No, it's Mario Kart Wii!

Now when Reggie said at E3 that this isn't your father's Mario Kart, he was wrong. Even though it has 12 player online, and motorcycles, underneath this is the same Mario Kart we all grew up with. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you've gotten tired of the same old Mario Kart, nothing here will change your mind.

Now the biggest addition to the Mario Kart franchise in a while has been motorcycles. These control pretty much like karts, only they have more sensitive steering and wheelies. Now how these work is that you pop the Wii Wheel up and you're on one wheel. This gives you a speed boost at the cost of steering. Also if you get hit during a wheelie, you are basically going to stop.

Speaking of the Wii Wheel, it is basically just a plastic shell to stick your Wii Remote into. It works pretty nicely, kinda like the Wii Zapper, which was also just a plastic shell. But this is way better, as any driving game so far is compatible with it, as long as the control is forgivable, as for the zapper, only four games are compatible. RE Umbrella chronicles, Link's Crossbow Training, MoH: Heroes 2, and Ghost Squad. The Wheel works great, but for veterans, you might want to stick to the classic or Gamecube controller.

The way the Grand Prix works is also a little different. In 50cc, you can only use your karts. As for 100cc, you can only use bikes. 150cc, you can use both. Once you complete a whole Grand Prix class, you can do that class with both karts and bikes. Why they made the decision to do this, I have no idea. But it works out a little better than you might expect. This game comes with 32 tracks, 16 of them being brand-spanking new. There are some real gems in there, like Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road, but some are ones that are not so good. Examples are being Coconut Mall and Wario's Gold Mine, which slow you down at every turn, and just aren't fun to play. Classic courses are back, with tracks like Bowser's Castle from N64, and Ghost Valley 2 from SNES.

Items like the banana peel and turtle shells are back, but they also incorperated new items into the mix. The thundercloud gives you a short speed boost, but if you don't pass it along, you'll get shrunken like you got hit with the lightning bolt. The Mega Mushroom is back from New Super Mario Bros. It makes you giant, impervious to all in your path, except for star people. The POW block is from the original Mario Bros. arcade game. It spins out everyone on the track in front of you. Now let me give you some advice. When you see a POW block, spam the stunt button like crazy. You'll still drop your items and spin out, but you won't lose any momentum.

Speaking of stunts, that's the second addition to Mario Kart Wii. Coming off a jump, you can waggle the Wheel or remote, and you'll do a stunt. Landing the stunt earns you yet another speed boost.

Mini Turbos were also reworked. It used to be that you drift and waggle the analog stick back and forth until orange flames come out. Now, if you drift long enough, only then will the flames come out. You can let go at blue and get a boost, but if you're riding a kart, you can drift longer for orange flames. That gets you a bigger speed boost. Bikes don't have this feature of orange flames, because of the aforementioned wheelies.

Battle mode is the same as always. No. Wait a minute. No it's not. Balloon Battle now consists of how many balloons you can personally take out. Losing your three balloons has no effect what so ever, except for the drop-off.

Multi player is where Mario Kart has always shined, and this is no different. Graphics really take a hit when playing for player split screen, but the gameplay is still marvelous as always. Online play is like no other in Mario Kart Wii. You can race or battle with up to 11 other people, and unlike Mario Kart DS, on any track. With things like the Mario Kart Channel, available from the Wii or the actual game itself. It tracks your records in time trials, and you can actually race the record holders ghost.

The graphics in this game are stunning. Nothing like Brawl or Super Mario Galaxy, but the best so far out of the series. It's' cartoony, just like it's supposed to be. That's all I can say.Wow. This is long. I should end it before I get started on something like Super Mario Galaxy. Oops. Too late.

Graphics: 7/10 Not as great as SMG or SSBB, and take a huge dive in 4 player split screen, but still a joy to look at.Gameplay: 9/10 It's Mario Kart. Same old Mario Kart.
Sound: 8/10 Not a memorable soundtrack, but not a bad one either.Multi player: 10/10 Mario Kart was always a party game. Online play is also a huge success. Bring this out during parties.
Replay Value: 9/10 With online play and a great versus mode, this game will be in your disc tray for months to come.
Charm: 10/10 There's something about Mario that makes him almost teddy bear like. Cute and cuddly.
Overall: 8/10 (not an average) With engaging gameplay, superb online play, and the Wii Wheel, this Mario Kart is sure to appeal to everyone of all ages.