Without lack of ostentation, Mario comes flying back onto your screen with more of Koji Kondo’s grand music, presaging all the neat gravity-defying adventures you’re about to embark on, and it’s immediately clear the Super Mario Galaxy 2 knows exactly what it needs to be and is confident that it’s achieved its goal. Whether it can match the innovation of the original game is dubious, but it certainly tries immensely hard to stretch any inchoate ideas as far as it can. Of course, if you were a fan of the original, you’ll need no extra motivation to give it its due, and, frankly, it needs none – this is a game that completely matches the immense expectations placed on it.<\/p>\n
You’re still bouncing your way through smallish levels, trying to reach the star at the end. You’ll still collect those stars to unlock more levels. You’ll see familiar abilities and, in fact, familiar levels with new twists. Yet, despite how everything’s still the same, SMG2 injects as much originality into its design and presentation as the original game did, with its own goofy (though occasionally childish) charm layered over everything. And if SMG was a game for everyone, SMG2 is somehow that and more.<\/p>\n
Though potentially frustrating for experienced gamers, the game’s approach to accessibility is particularly notable. Things kick off at an even more torpid pace to the already relaxed original, and the game implements a handful of new (occasionally somewhat patronising) features intended to help struggling players along. Essentially, the entire first world shouldn’t trouble even casual gamers in the slightest. And if its lazy initial difficulty wasn’t enough, included in the packaging is an instructional DVD that contains video tips for some of the game’s more basic features, as well as a handful of special hints for advanced players. <\/p>\n
Impatient players can rest easy, though. Every level in the game touts a hidden medallion that requires some advanced skill to acquire. And before long, these will unlock far more challenging variants of levels that have already been passed, great for keep advanced players entertained among the gentler starting levels.<\/p>\n
Parallel to its gentle difficulty curve, the game is quick to introduce its new elements: the cloud powerup that grants Mario the ability to create temporary floating platforms, allowing him to reach high platforms and traverse long ravines; a rock-shaped mushroom that turns Mario into a boulder against which few barriers can offer resistance; and my favourite of the lot, the new drill that adds an extra dimension to Mario Galaxy’s already immensely clever gravity puzzles by allowing Mario to bore through planets.<\/p>\n
After gently easing the player into the game, things start getting particularly interesting, with clever designs and moments that have you gaping in wonder at what the game is asking you to do. In fact, most of the last three quarters of the game is filled with unabated glee; essentially, the simplest, most pure fun available in gaming. If this game can’t remind you why you ever played video games in the first place, nothing will. And then, when you’ve seen the credits scroll and returned Princess Peach to her throne once again, you’ll be happy to realise that, like the original, you’ve probably not even seen half of the game yet.<\/p>\n
Dedicated players will see the game through to its second end and retrieve all 120 stars. Unlike the original, though, once you’ve reached this milestone, you’re not asked to replay it all with Luigi again. In fact, you can play much of the first batch of stars as either Mario or Luigi, switching between them when prompted to in specific levels, or even at will once the ability is unlocked later in the game. Instead, at the end of the game, 120 additional secret stars are revealed in existing levels, each requiring some special trick or skill to reach. This is the true advanced player’s game, and it’s usually even harder than anything from the original. And if you play it through to the true end, you’re treated to a challenge on par with anything Super Mario Brothers 3 could ever have thrown at you. And then when you pass it, it gets harder again. Good luck.<\/p>\n
In short, SMG2 really has something for every type of gamer. Whether everyone will have the patience to reach it is disputable, but it should elicit enough enjoyment from anyone, for the duration that it’s played, to justify its cost. It literally is just the first one but better.<\/p>\n
Discuss Super Mario Galaxy 2<\/a> in the forums<\/p>\n\n\t\t