August 10th, 2007 by AlmightyMax
Welcome to the Galaxy!
The release of the N64 in 1996 not only brought us one of the best gaming platforms of all time, it also gave us what would become the gold standard for 3D games. Super Mario 64, one of the best launch titles of all time, put the Big N’s mascot in one of the first 3D worlds ever in a video game. Needless to say, this act changed gaming forever. Nintendo has since tried to replicate the success of Mario 64 many times, but have never fully succeeded- until, perhaps, now.
The third 3D Mario game will take the form of Super Mario Galaxy, a literally out-of-this-world adventure scheduled for release November 12th. Players will find themselves not in the Mushroom Kingdom they know and love, but instead in a whole new universe filled with planetoids, asteroids, Power Stars and new enemies. Mario’s new skills will be sorely needed if you expect to collect all 120 Power Stars and rescue Peach once again.
Space Travel
For the majority of the game, Mario will travel around small planetoids scattered throughout the worlds. Each of these locations is incredibly varied; for instance, at one point you will find yourself on a grassy land mass reminiscent of past Mario games. Walking around it to the foreboding underside you will then blast off to a peanut-shaped area where you must collect Star Shards before continuing to the next area.
Not all of the levels are made of these small asteroids/planetoids, however. You will often find yourself in large, open areas not unlike the locales in Super Mario 64. One of the most notable of these worlds is the Honeybee Kingdom, a land filled with bees and flowers, and the home to one of the new powerups, the Bee Shroom. Other ‘open worlds’ include an underwater level inhabited by giant fish, and a Boo-infested haunted house.
Mario’s main methods of travel from planet to planet are 'Star Cannons', which send him flying with the shake of the Wiimote. Upon blasting off, Mario will enter a short on-rails portion where you can collect Star Shards to gain extra lives. Alternatively, you can encase Mario in a bubble and send him floating through space until you find a landmass which he can land on.
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