Super Mario Galaxy 2 Review

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Can a direct sequel to one of the best platformers of all time have the same impact as the original? Super Mario Galaxy was so different, so unique, so exquisitely made that it's without a doubt the best game on the Wii. So good, in fact, that the 9/10 I gave it back in November 2007 seems more than a little harsh. What can I say? I must have been suffering from game fatigue. The point is, with the first game Nintendo managed to make Mario feel new, while at the same time retained what makes Mario, Mario. Even though this is a direct sequel, Nintendo has once again made Mario's planetoid adventures feel remarkably fresh and, somehow, even more entertaining than those in the original.

The plot is the same as it always is. This time Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser and taken into space. Mario sets off on board a space ship designed to look like his own face, on a mission to defeat Bowser and save the princess once again. It's essentially just a way to justify Mario being in space, having to move from level to level, finding stars that unlock new levels, and defeating bosses that unlock new worlds.

As in the original Mario Galaxy, Mario must find stars on each of the game's galaxies - levels with their own theme and unique gravitational field. Each galaxy contains a number of planetoids, generally round mini planets, some barely big enough for Mario to stand on, others so big that one side is completely different to the other. Stars can be collected by simply making it to their location, for beating boss characters, finishing timed runs, solving puzzles and a whole lot more.

If these levels were just about inch perfect precision platforming we'd have a great game. Indeed, some of the levels are exactly that, even throwing in some old-school 2D fun, but a lot of what makes Galaxy 2 so great is the use of power suits - pick-ups that give Mario temporary new abilities. Previous favourites return - such as the hovering bee suit, the fire suit, the devilishly difficult to control spring suit - and are joined by brilliant newcomers, including a wonderful drill suit. This allows Mario to tunnel through soft planets, emerging on the other side.

As with all the suits, the drill is used with stunning creativity, in both puzzles and combat, and you're never using the same power-up for long before flying off somewhere else where you'll be doing something equally inventive. This is all aside from the fact that Yoshi, Mario's dinosaur friend with a long tongue, can be ridden in numerous levels and comes complete with his own set of abilities and power-ups.

As well as being able to eat enemies with his tongue, he can hover to cover more distance in the air, fire off eaten projectiles such as missiles, and transform into numerous clever alternative forms. I won't spoil them for you, but these levels are some of the most ingenious ever to grace a Mario title and suggest Yoshi is due his own fully 3D title at some point in the future.

Despite Mario's friendly appearance, there'll be moments where you'll want to rip his head off, or more likely that of his slippery brother Luigi, who can be controlled during certain levels and then followed to find hidden stars. Galaxy 2 is a hard game, made for the hardcore, but crucially, those frustrating moments are always down to you and not the game. This is Nintendo game design at its very best.