Ground Control To Major Mario -- Super Mario Galaxy Mini-Review

Super Mario Galaxy is a wonderful experience, and as I ran, jumped, floated, crawled, climbed, swam, surfed, rolled, soared, and flung myself through its 30+ locales, I found myself wondering if this is, in fact, my favorite Mario game to date. Great gameplay, a refreshing yet nostalgic soundtrack, the best graphics on the Wii, and excellent level design make it at least the best game on the system.

It is not without its flaws, though. The camera can be restrictive in terms of total viewing area, and although usually quite smart, sometimes obscures the player's view by positioning itself behind parts of the environment. Another nit-picky gripe is that the levels sometimes blow by so quickly that players might be left wanting to explore more, and also that the small masses of land can feel like narrow, linear corridors through which players are guided on their way to the goal.

To keep this mini-review short and sweet, I'll leave you with this: Super Mario Galaxy is the best game on the Wii, and one of the best Mario games ever. Buy it.