SUMMARY:
I honestly had a few doubts when I thought about Mario in outer space. Sure, the whole idea had the potential to be outstanding, but you never know if they are going to be able to pull it off. But, once I got my hands on the game all doubts flew out the window, and I was instantly immersed in what is easily the best game on the Wii to date.

The Story:

It is a peaceful day in Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario is invited by Peach to come to the castle and visit. Mario rushes off to see her, but Bowser swoops in and grabs Peach, leaving the place in shambles. Mario then finds himself on a strange island with a woman named Rosalina. She tells you what all has happened, and tells you what you must do to rescue Peach from Bowser. To do so, you must gather Power Stars from different galaxies to expand your vision of the Universe and travel to more distant galaxies.

Sure, we're once again out to rescue Princess Peach, but can you honestly say that this is an overused storyline? I really like the premise of using the stars as power to travel to different galaxies, and everything just fits in so seamlessly.

The Graphics:

This game is beautiful. It is easily to best looking game on the Wii, and it is the first to actually look next-gen (it still isn't 360 or PS3 level, but it is still great). Each galaxy has a distinguished look, and Nintendo made sure to make every one of them look fantastic. I don't know how they managed to vary each style so differently, but my hat is off to them.

The graphics in this game are not only gorgeous, but stylized and perfectly executed.

The Music:

I was surprised by the quality of the music in this game. It retains the upbeat Mario feel that you want to hear when you play a Mario game, but it is also quite varied. The orchestrated Intro really sets the stage for the great music that awaits you in-game.

The Gameplay:

The gameplay in this game is essentially the same from Super Mario 64, but with so many extras it feels much different, and yet nostalgic at the same time. Each galaxy that you play in feels huge, and each holds a unique challenge for you to overcome. Like I previously stated, each galaxy is completely stylized and offer up a new way to play the game.

For example, one galaxy is centered around bees. A special mushroom gives you the Bee Costume, and the power to fly for a short period of time. It also gives you the ability to climb walls of honeycomb, which is an essential part of beating that galaxy.

If that uniqueness isn't enough for you, than you will also really enjoy playing back through each level to get all of the stars. At first I didn't think I would want to get every star, but event he first galaxy's stars were so different from each other that it didn't even feel like you were playing in the same galaxy. This gives the game longevity, and extreme replay value.

This game is huge, and has a lot of different things to do.

The Multiplayer:

In an attempt to reach out to the casual gamers who would rather watch than play, Nintendo added a basic Co-Op mode in this game. Player two can make Mario jump, and can throw and collect star bits. And that's it.

I was pretty disappointed at the lack of features for the Co-Op Mode, but I am glad that they put something in for a second player. Since this is game is very single-player oriented, I can't really fault the game for trying something out.

Closing Comments:

This game is awesome, plain and simple. The game feels huge, plays spectacularly, and looks great. I could not find any big flaws with this game, and recommend it to anyone who has a Wii, and also anyone who does not. There is no reason why you should miss out on such a masterpiece.

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