Super Mario Galaxy Review

Like many gamers these days, I grew up playing Mario games. Super Mario Bros. holds a special place in my heart as one of the very first games I finished. Super Mario Bros. 2 holds a similarly special place for being the first game I thought was made by people who were high at the time. (This is a position I still hold, but I also think the game is good on its own.) Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World were, and still are the epitome of 2D platforming. Super Mario 64 took the winning formula into the third dimension, and was a huge success. Super Mario Sunshine was a decent game, but certainly not as good as its predecessors.

When I first heard about Super Mario Galaxy, I didn't think one thing or another about it. I figured I'd buy it because it's a Mario game, but I didn't think it would change the world or anything. Just before its release, I started reading reviews that said it completely redefined the platforming genre, much like Mario 64 did 11 years ago. To sum up, I disagree.

The game is entertaining, certainly. All the platforming elements are present, and they're just as good as they always have been. The variety of gameplay that I've seen so far is impressive, and I'm only 1/4 (maybe less) through the game. The integration of motion controlling is more than a gimmick, and in several sections, actually makes sense to use. (This stands in contrast to most Wii games where I'm often left thinking that a simple button, or button combination would be easier.)

As good as the game is, it's not perfect as many reviews would have you believe. There is one major problem, and it is perception. Since much of the game is spent running around on, and jumping between objects in space, "up" isn't always "up". There were plenty of times that I pressed up and Mario ran down. If you're dealing with an oblong object in space, viewing it from a stationary camera, and Mario is on the opposite side of the object, "up" to Mario is completely different than what you think "up" is.

Which way should Mario go if you press "up"?

The traditional attack for Mario, the jump, exacerbates the problem because now you're not only dealing with "up" not necessarily being "up", you also have to deal with depth. This can be a problem because each platform in space has its own gravitational field, and if you're running along the side of platform A that's nearest to platform B, if you jump, you may find yourself landing on platform B. Problems like this are why no company but Nintendo could pull off a game like this.

How high does Mario jump here if you were to jump?

Therein lies the dilemma. The game itself can be very fun, and can be played in 10 minute spans, which certainly is a concern if you're married and have a full-time job. However, if you took Mario out of the equation, would this game be getting the review scores that it's getting? No. The game is a solid 8 out of 10, but the control and camera issues are significant enough to keep me from giving it a 10. I will hedge that score with the statement that I'm only less than 1/4 of the way through the game, and perhaps those issues are adequately addressed later. However, in my mind, a game deserving a review score of 10 out of 10 doesn't have control issues like that, even in the early levels. Consider Super Mario Galaxy a Buy if you're a big fan of Mario, or think you can get past the control issues. Otherwise, it's a Rental.