Pictured: Super Mario Galaxy 2. Not Pictured: My lack of pants.

Taking place in an alternative timeline or story where Mario never met up with the Lumas from the first game, Mario is forced to once again go and defeat Bowser and Bowser Jr repeatedly in order to go save the Princess. Surely, Mario’s done it enough times to get the free prize on the loyalty card, right? Instead of the open world hub of the last game, though, this time Mario has a spaceship/planet that looks like him. So I guess you could call it a faceship. (Note: I think someone actually makes this joke in the game) From here, you can explore, mess about with the scenery, ride Yoshi… Oh, didn’t I mention Yoshi? Yeah, you can use Yoshi in this one. And it’s awesome. In fact, everything in this game is awesome.

Space Jaaaaaaammmmmmm....

Super Mario Galaxy 2 feels like they took everything that they established and made work in the first Galaxy game and then improved on it, or stretched out different possible scenarios and ideas to the point where even from what little I got to play of the game, it felt like one of the most magical, inventive games imaginable. Levels look and play beautifully. The music is incredible. The game is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It even has 2D sections in the style of the Super Mario Bros games. New items like Cloud Mario give more ways to combat levels and give the player new levels of creativity with how to approach a level. Yoshi is simply awesome, and the sections I played with him felt intuitive and perfectly designed, and his inclusion was something that was clearly intended early on, rather than a last second conclusion. Luigi’s unlockable from 20 stars, meaning you can approach and do some levels as Luigi early on if you want a different style to play, or a slightly bigger challenge. The whole game is harder to boot, with the whole game designed for those who completed Super Mario Galaxy in mind. Trying a level as Luigi felt just as fun as attempting it with Mario, and the extra level of challenge is a welcome plus for those who want the game even harder. The Boss levels like the rest of the game are expertly crafted, and the battle I tried felt perfectly designed and challenging, and felt even more rewarding when I defeated Bowser Jr.

Anything else I say about the game, especially considering what little I’ve played of it may end up coming off as the rantings of a lovestruck fool. Simply put, even from what little I played of Super Mario Galaxy 2, I am in love. It may have been love at first sight, love at first play, or anything. But all I know is that I want Super Mario Galaxy 2. I am already in love with the game, and the time I’ve spent without this game feels like my heart is breaking. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is like Nintendo wrote me a declaration of love telling me everything I ever wanted to hear, and meant it. Super Mario Galaxy could be the best Wii game ever made. It could potentially be one of the greatest games ever made. It could potentially end up being my favourite game ever.

Super Mario Galaxy 2. I Love You. Be Mine. <3

-Jokesound

I will start this article off with one word: Yoshi! Yes the famous pint-sized Dino is making his way to the Super Mario Galaxy universe, which I have to say is great, I mean who doesn’t like Yoshi? The cool thing here is he can use his tongue to swing across gaps, he also eats fruit which in turn gives him a variety of power ups, such as inflating like a balloon ‘Kirby style’ or a nice little speed boost to help you along your crazy 3D planet scaling.

Now we all know about the star pointer in the first game, well that’s also making a welcome return; but while riding your very hungry green Dino friend, the pointer turns  into a red dot which in allows you to control Yoshi’s tongue, this can be used to grab levers, swallow enemies in classic Yoshi fashion and of course swing over gaps as previously mentioned.

Another new addition to game play is Mario’s ability to dig. This means he can start shoveling away at the planet’s surface and eventually find new places to explore. There are also switches scattered around the levels which slow down time momentarily. It’s a shame you can’t equip Mario’s Dr Mario costume and change the colour to black like you could in Smash Brothers Melee, because I thing that would add to the Matrix effect the switches are inevitably going to have!

There will be some interesting level design thrown into Super Mario Galaxy 2. As with Galaxy 1 there will be some levels which will be forced perspective side scrolling, much like the 2D Mario we grew up with. But this time there will be levels where the gravity shifts from up to down, or rolling log type levels with 2D platforms cut into a cylinder which you have to jump on. The creators here have definitely been experimenting and it will be great to see what things they have come up with.

On a side note, rumour has it that Mario’s gaming rival, the speedy hedgehog known as Sonic will be playable in the game. If it’s false then blame Ngamer magazine for spreading the rumour.

Along with the new gameplay elements there are a lot of the same classic Super Mario Galaxy game play we all fell in love with when we first played the original title on the Wii. Many gamers out there believe that the first game was the best game to ever hit the Wii console, so will the second installment of this new mini franchise have the same impact as the first game? We will know, June 11 2010.

Garv