"Super Mario Galaxy" is the only real Mario game that has been released since 2002, when "Super Mario Sunshine" came out. Even though six years have passed, Nintendo still shoves "Sunshine" down our throats as if we're a bunch of 3-year-olds who keep refusing our broccoli.
I have good news, though. "Super Mario Galaxy" is out and there is no annoying talking squirt gun! But is that good enough to make up for its predecessor's mistakes?
In "SMG," you play as none other than Mario, the little Italian man in red, as he travels through space, collecting stars (at least stars make sense this time, though) to power a floating space observatory. The observatory allows the star people to shoot you to the center of the universe to save "the one who is special to you."
That's right. Mario follows Princess Peach into space! Now that is either incredible devotion or incredible stupidity.
As always, you collect stars, unlock new worlds and eventually fight Bowser to save Peach, who then goes back to Earth, and thanks Mario in no way. You would think that he would have caught on to this by now. I actually feel sorry for the fool.
"Galaxy" has you go into different galaxies to find the stars! Seriously, they're running out of ideas. Once you've done something in space, there really isn't anywhere else to go, so I hope and pray that this is the end of Mario's loveless endeavors.
Anyway, back to gameplay. Because you're shifting planets so often, you can expect big problems with the camera. When you do change planets, the camera change is so drastic that you are forced to quickly shift the control stick to the correct locale, and if you can't meet the speed requirement (which even a heroin addict couldn't do), you take a quick, exasperating fall to the void.
The controls are no better than the camera. It's frustrating when you try to attack, irritating when you move and almost impossible to jump without coming into harm's way.
The areas where gravity shifts are incredibly infuriating because you have to be in the right place at the right time, which is almost impossible because of the shoddy camera, crappy controls and the places where these shifts happen.
In one such instance, you have to be on a certain side of a platform as it goes through three gravity change areas. This wouldn't be a problem if there weren't instant death pits around you as you do it.
While "SMG" isn't terrible, it isn't great, either. It's fun, easy to pick up and play and has a sense of humor that makes anyone chuckle. But it also has a shoddy camera and a badly built control scheme.
"Super Mario Galaxy" gets a 2 out of 5 because it is a fun game that had potential, but bad design choices, horrible controls and bad camera angles make it frustrating to play.