Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Though players have long become accustomed to controlling Nintendo's iconic and portly plumber, Super Mario Galaxy marks somewhat of a departure from that tradition. You still control Mario's movements with the analogue stick on the left nunchuck, but the wiimote in your right hand actually allows you to exert an influence on the world itself. A little on-screen star indicates where the wiimote is pointing and by holding down the B-button, you can grab onto various items and structures. For instance, if you run the cursor through a patch of flowers, it will gently rustle in reaction to the presence of your invisible hand. While  you have Mario running and jumping about and doing his usual platforming, you can manipulate objects in the environment in order to help him out.

The game world seems to be comprised of a bunch of little planets floating in space, with Mario seeking out different ways to travel between them. One method of transportation is what appears to be a giant elastic plant. Mario climbs to the top and, using your wiimote, you grab onto the plant, stretch it into one direction and then release the button to have Mario slingshot to a different panet. It's an extremely intuitive experience and really creates the impression that you are reaching into Mario's little universe and making things a little easier for him. You can also stun and tip over the meandering Goombas by running your cursor across them, allowing Mario to finish them off with a good 'ole butt-stomp.

Mario's usual repertoire of moves remains intact, with a vigorous shake of the wiimote activating a furious spinning attack. It's effective for clobbering enemies and activating the various star lifts scattered across the levels. The levels themselves look excellent from a graphical standpoint, boasting some stylish lighting effects and crisp and colorful textures. As far as depictions of plumbers in outer space go, I'd say this is probably the best one I've seen. Super Mario Galaxy really does make up for a lot of the graphical shortcomings of other Wii games. In fact, its unusual and engaging control system provides provides one of the best glimpses of the system's potential we've seen so far.