“Definitely a Sequel” 2010-08-06
By Harmon Li (AUSTIN, TX, US)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is pretty fun, but that is only because it’s basically a lesser, inferior repackaged version of the first one. The developers really didn’t do much creatively to create anything new at all, in fact, I believe they got incredibly lazy on this one. They even had one level that they already called a “Throwback” level! (Are you kidding me??!) They literally just took a level off the 1st Mario Galaxy and slapped it into this game midway through.
Visually, the game is great, but again, nothing new that one hasn’t seen from the first one.
Control-wise, this is one of the two weakest points in the game. Because the developers tried so hard making the actual gameplay 3rd dimensional, the perspectives on this game are terrible, causing many unnecessary deaths by falling, etc. AND on top of that, the camera angles at times don’t change well enough to accommodate the play.
As for the second weakest point in this game? Yoshi. Yes, that supposedly cute green dinosaur guy. He was the bane of this game. Yoshi is completely annoying when trying to control him in certain set tasks, and the things the creators tried making you do with him were just plain ridiculous (ie. eating hot peppers, etc) It’s one thing to try and make a game difficult, but another to make it difficult by having a dinosaur that is a pain to control. It sucked the fun right out of the game.
Also, in some of the tasks Mario is asked to complete, it is near impossible for a 1 person player to achieve without the aid of the 2nd player. It’d be incredibly frustrating for someone that intended to buy and play the game on their own, when some stages and tasks need both players on hand.
So in conclusion, if this is your first experience playing either Super Mario Galaxies, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, but I expected much, much more from a game featuring Nintendo’s mascot and flagship character.
I would much rather recommend interested purchasers to buy the first Super Mario Galaxy over this one, as it was definitely more creative, imaginative and fun. Plus you don’t want to wish horrible death upon a certain stupid green dinosaur as much in the first one.
“Super mario galaxy 2″ 2010-08-06
By
When I got it, it looked like a lot of fun. I had been waiting for it to come out for MONTHS! When I got it, I beat the first world in about 45 min. The rest went by pretty fast, too. It was sort of a wast of 50 bucks.
“Platforming on ecstasy” 2010-08-05
By D. J. Nardi (Washington, DC)
[Note: I just got this game today haven't finished it yet - I have about 25 stars - but since I didn't see any other reviews on Lunch I thought I'd post one asap.]
The designers of Super Mario Galaxy 2 must have voted against Obama in 2008 because it’s “more of the same” rather than “change.” Nonetheless, for gamers, that’s a good thing. While the game seems like it’s essentially an expansion pack of the first, what an expansion. The levels are all new and have great settings. You also get to play as Yoshi and Luigi on some levels.
Gameplay
Same, but better game controls. There are some cool new challenges, including a test of how many enemies you can jump on consecutively. There’s also the boulder and drill, which are fun to use. Some levels are almost entirely in 2-D, really giving a classic Mario feel to them.
The enemies are a LOT better in this game. Super Mario Galaxy 2 resurrects some Mario franchise favorites, including the Hammer Bros. (!) and Lakitu. The bosses are also a lot better – no more silly moles. They look pretty serious this time around.
Graphics
Of course an improvement from the first game (not that there was much to complain about the first time around). Graphically, the game looks almost like a CG animated movie.
Challenge
The game starts out easy – easier than the first in my opinion – but ramps up the challenge level later on. The first few levels are fairly easy, whereas some of the third or fourth stars in a galaxy are really tough. My sense so far is that it has enough to satisfy everyone.
Music
The music in this game was fully orchestrated, and you can tell the difference. Even the overture, though largely the same as the first game, sounds much more crisp. You can find it online for sale as a CD, or possibly download it as a mp3 files.
Miscellaneous
There are a couple of other things I should note:
This game does not have a central “observatory” as in the first game. Rather, you fly Starship Mario on a map. This saves you a LOT of time, so you don’t have to keep searching for the room just to begin a level.
Also, each level has Bowser flags that you can switch to Mario flags, thus marking your continue spots (in the first game, there was no indication of where you would continue if you died).
As in the first game, I was disappointed Super Mario Galaxy 2 did not have any additional rewards for collecting power stars. I’ve always thought it would be awesome if with every 30 or so power stars you unlocked a new character (imagine getting Link or Samus for unlocking all of the stars!). As it stands, players don’t have much incentive to try to get all 120 stars after beating Bowser.
Overall
Overall, if you liked the first game, you’ll love the sequel. If you didn’t like Super Mario Galaxy, or got too frustrated, don’t be surprised if you hate this one! I’m loving it so far. It seems like everything that was wrong or annoying with the first one is now fixed. Enjoy!
Shopping
Word to the wise: if you want to save some money, this game is available for around $35-40 on eBay or Amazon. I got my copy for $32.
“Super Mario Galaxy 2″ 2010-08-04
By YAJAIRA ANASAGASTI (MIAMI, FLORIDA, US)
Super Mario Galaxy by Nintendo is a great game, with many worlds, which involve challenges to progress and achieve the objectives. Highly recommended.
“Best Game Ever” 2010-08-04
By
I saw this game last summer on amazon and I was thrilled. I could not wait for the day it came out. I am a huge Mario fan. On May 23 the day it came out I got it (I was really lucky the game store was just about to close). Let me just say this, this is one of the best games i ever played. The graphics are Amazing. The Adventure is awesome. And the Galaxys are out of this world (the throwback galaxy of world 6 has a little suprise for super mario 64 fans. I don’t want to spoil. Here are my ratings:
Graphics: 10
Gameplay: 10
Fun: 10
This is a must have or great gift for any mario fan.
