Super Mario Galaxy

It's been a long time coming, but Nintendo finally delivers a worthy sequel to Super Mario 64. From the moment you jump onto your first planetoid, Super Mario Galaxy is pure magic.

The first Mario game set in the vastness of space, Galaxy feels different from its predecessors, and at the same time immensely familiar. You'll find the same Goomba-stomping platforming gameplay, but with an added twist. Each discrete "planet" you come across has its own field of gravity, which makes for some exciting platforming challenges. These planets can range in size from barely bigger than Mario himself, to taking up almost the entire level. Either way, there is a great deal of fun to be had. Just running around, jumping into the air, and orbiting the planet a few times before coming to rest gave me a feeling of newness, of doing something I hadn't done in a game before. It feels like I'm playing a Mario game for the first time.

The Wii is not known as a graphical powerhouse, and with good reason. However, Mario Galaxy does the system credit. The game is bright and cheery, and you would be hard pressed to find fault with the visuals. The clean, uncluttered look lets me concentrate on Mario and his antics. The music in the game is fantastic, mixing orchestrated pieces with more traditional synthesized sounds. The remixes of classic Mario themes (I'm looking at you, Mario Bros. 3) really serve to get the nostalgia pumping. I would often find myself humming along to the tunes in the game while playing, and would sometimes find myself doing the exact same thing as I went about my day. It's catchy stuff.

The challenge ranges from very easy to quite difficult. It is set up so even novice players should be able to defeat Bowser and complete the game, but there are plenty of levels made with seasoned veterans in mind. I found myself sorely challenged during some of the later stages, but I knew that when I failed, it was my own fault and not the game's.

Combining practically perfect platforming gameplay with serviceable visuals and outstanding music, Super Mario Galaxy belongs in every gamer's collection.