Space. The final frontier. Where no one can hear you scream, and where everyone's favorite mustached avenger must return to once again save the princess on the back of a dinosaur-dragon and get a piece of that cake! Finally.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 hit the shelves a couple weeks ago and being the die-hard, lifelong Mario addict that I am, I haven't stopped playing it since.
Currently, this stellar sequel holds the top spot on both GameStop and Amazon's video game bestseller lists, if that's any indication of how totally awesome it is.
For those who enjoyed the first interstellar plumbing adventure, the gameplay is pretty much the same. For those who haven't, it may take some time to get used to the game's mind-bending, logic-defying physics, but the planetary exploration is well worth it.
It's more of a throw-back than its predecessor. It opens with a classic side-scrolling level, and the world map has evolved to something more familiar, think Super Mario 3 for Nintendo Entertainment System.
And, did I mention, Yoshi is back!
The storyline is simple. Once again, Peach has been kidnapped just as Mario was on his way to get some cake, or at least that's what she says to maintain royal decency.
Bowser, who is totally gigantic for some reason, comes and sweeps the princess away, then escapes into the vastness of space. Therefore, Mario takes control of a spaceship run by star people, it transforms into the shape of his head, and all the fun begins.
Thankfully, there isn't much emphasis on storytelling after that. No more Rosalina and her obnoxious trips to the library. I couldn't care less.
There are plenty of new powers at Mario's disposal, and all of them are well worthy of the franchise. The rock power that allows you to bowl over your enemies as well as anything else is one of my new personal favorites.
The levels are a bit more challenging this time around and are jam-packed with hidden stars and hungry lumas. Each galaxy contains a hidden comet coin, which once gathered opens the door to even more power stars and general wackiness.
The second-player's role has been amped up a bit. Instead of just catching Star Bits, you can now grab distant coins and 1-up mushrooms and gain the power to destroy weaker enemies.
There's a cool Star Bit banking feature to the game that allows you to store your collected Bits in a shared account with other save files on your system. After you've saved 1,000 Bits, the banker toad gets a cute pair of glasses that "make him look good at math."
Mike Bernstein, 22, said he's played most Mario games since the original Super Mario Bros. He admits he never played the first Galaxy, but said he loves playing the sequel.
"It's a shitload of fun: just how you control everything and the crazy perspective," he said. "It gives the game a new feel. They basically reinvented the platform."
