Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Masterpiece"

Although this game was released in 2010, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is better than its predecessor in many ways. First, it has more variety with character interactions. You can ride on Yoshi on several levels with Mario or Luigi. He can also finally swim in the water without drowning. Sometimes Yoshi is required to ride on because he licks objects with his tongue to make him jump higher on platforms. I know a lot of people go crazy for Yoshi, so they probably give this game a 10 out of 10 sometimes.

Also, you can even play as Luigi a lot sooner than you could in Super Mario Galaxy 1. Remember back then you could only play as him after you beat it with Mario. This time things have changed a little. In world two and other worlds, he's available to play as in certain levels. For example, if you go to a haunted mansion, and you see him standing, you have the option to play as him instead of Mario for this level. Once you defeat Bowser in world six, you can go to Spaceship Mario and play as Mario or Luigi anytime you want. That would be technically the first half of the game when you can start switching characters. In the second half of the game, you have to collect green stars for every level. Yes, it gets tough sometimes especially when they are high up in the air. You might be better off playing as Luigi because he can jump a tad higher than his brother. Like Galaxy 1, this game also has around 242 stars to collect.

This also has more of strategy for collecting items than the first game. You also have to collect comet medals for every level to be able to unlock some other levels. Some of them are easy to find, but several others are mysteriously hidden. You also have to accumulate enough star bits to be able to explore some new levels.

Third, this game is also more challenging than its predecessor. For example, the Lakitu boss requires you to aim spiked turtles at him. At first I had a little bit of trouble beating him, but then I got the hang of it. Overall, the bosses were more challenging to defeat especially the back to back boss fights. In the special world, you have to defeat all five bosses in five minutes. The most time consuming boss was Boldergeist (the rock throwing boss that has black Boos).

The main thing I was disappointed was you can only have up to three files. In Galaxy 1 you can have up to six files. It doesn't affect the game play, but it shortens replay value a little bit. Also this game could have a two player battle mode and even online play. That would really perfect the game up. Because of this minor flaw, I will not give this game a score a perfect 10 like Gamespot and IGN gave it. This game still has a two player mode, but the second player plays as a Luma to help guide the first player. There's still no battle mode which is disappointing for me a little.

Presentation - 10 Although this game doesn't have much of a story, it still has a strong presentation for the fans out there.

Graphics - 9 The water effects are realistic, but the overall graphics haven't improved much from 2007.

Sound - 10 They really remixed some songs from its predecessor, and still has some old school Mario themed music.

Game play - 9.5 The controls are still excellent with minor camera angle flaws.

Lasting approval - 8.5 With collecting 242 stars, and only has three files, the replay value has shortened a bit with sharing files. It could have some online play and a two player battle mode.

Overall 9.4 Gamespot score 9.5