First of all, some brief news. I added a Twitter feed to the website, which you should see somewhere near the bottom of the right column. Yay. Also, I have recently been using Last.FM to listen to/record my tastes in music... I'll see about adding a widget or feed or something to the site. Anyway, they are both pretty neat technologies that you should check out.

But, on to the main point of this post. Recently, I have been playing a lot of Super Mario Galaxy, the latest reanimation of Nintendo's cash-cow Super Mario 64. Super Mario Galaxy, for the Wii, puts a new spin on the admittedly old star-collecting, princess-rescuing antics found in the other games by including a rather unique physics and gravity system. You travel from the main area to different galaxies, most of which are made up of small planets/platforms/shapes of different sizes. Mario can walk around these on all sides, and won't fall off unless there is a black hole nearby. If another object is near enough, you can jump from where you are, be caught in the other object's gravity field, and land on that. Other times, to travel longer distances, you must make use of several different kinds of transport stars, which shoot you across the galaxy.

The graphics, while pleasing, colorful, and better than the other games before this, are still Wii graphics. Don't expect anything too advanced here. But, in a game with such a unique and vibrant art style, this isn't really an issue. The sound is good, but never something that really caught my attention. The controls are intuitive and pretty good, but there is often a noticeable lag when trying to spin by shaking the Wii remote. The story is, well, a Mario story. Bowser has captured Princess Peach, again, and you must rescue her/defeat him. However, the stakes are a bit larger this time, as he has created his own galaxy, and is abusing the powers of the grand stars which are supposed to be fueling the... whatever. You know what? Just collect the freaking stars and save the princess.

The game more than makes up for its story and control issues with its variety and gameplay. There are so many different galaxies, each with unique environments, challenges, and enemies. The game is easy to pick up and play, while still having some galaxies and challenges that manage to be really hard. After the first few galaxies, you start unlocking more and more, meaning that you are rarely forced to complete a certain one or get a certain star. There are many varied challenges, ranging from underwater treasure hunts to complex gravity puzzles to races. And it is all really fun! Bosses are entertaining, and a decent challenge, although they soon begin to all follow the basic pattern of bouncing projectiles back and forth.

For a game from a series that has been remade so often, Super Mario Galaxy is surprisingly unique and addicting, although it suffers from a few flaws. However, for anyone that remotely enjoyed Super Mario 64, or *shudder* Super Mario Sunshine, this is a must-have.