And now part 2 of the Friday Double Update for all you...... :| where is everybody? Screw this forum :|
The camera could have been a worry, but it's robust and effortlessly follows these moves and your topsy-turvy running over and around the planets, changing the perspective during movement only rarely. As Mario launches from stars - which feels pleasingly fast - it follows his glide easily while giving you an overview of your imminent destination.
You'll find yourself spinning through crystals to release collectables and simply sprinting onwards, using the pointer to suck up the goodies, or firing stars at enemies in advance so Mario can dash through and send them flying. It gives a feeling of control over events onscreen that allows you to almost prefigure Mario's movement through the level, and it's a much more powerful collecting tool and influence on your play than it might seem.
There will be six main themes to the 40 galaxies, each with multiple planets and environments and a total of 120 stars between them, and the design team have confirmed the usual range of themes, from a ghost house and snowy plains to a lava planet. The locales are instantly familiar, from Mario grasping a shell in the inevitable underwater planet to running around the ring of doughnut worlds, but Nintendo has many more uniquely **** areas up its sleeve that it will not be revealing before the game launches.
Perhaps the biggest lesson learned, however, is what makes the Mario series unique. They have something that almost no other game, never mind platform game, can muster: nostalgia. Even the most unfamiliar moments have elements that are designed to make the Nintendo fan in all of us rejoice.
What's surprising is how familiar it is, and yet how utterly fresh it still feels. Every previous game in the series seems to have been considered as a possible source for new material. It views and uses one of the most venerable histories in gaming as only a truly confident title can, and is something you want to prod and poke and simply play with. No one yet knows if Galaxy can maintain the momentum and range of its early showings, and avoid the repetition that marred Sunshine. No one yet knows if it will be able to thrive on the unavoidable comparisons to one of gaming's landmark titles. They're unfair, in a sense, because nothing can ever match up to that moment when you set your eyes on Mario 64; nothing ever could compare to that change in dimension. But Super Mario Galaxy has something of its own. It's the sense of a universe of possibilities with everything you can imagine, and more that you can't. It's a sheer joy. It's the sense of something you thought may have been lost to videogames returning. The feeling of wonder might, just might, be coming back.
EDGE
After the videos and screens of late I can confidentely put the repition argument to bed. They're avoiding it.
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