mario galaxy reviews = action plan to purchase

Maybe it's a case of Mario's overuse in other titles that has kind of killed the image of Mario in general. If there hadn't been any Mario games between Mario64 and now, this game would probably be a REALLY big deal.

 

Lucky for me i read a glowing review on Shacknews and i got a tip from this board that this was the "Mario" game on the Wii.

So my plan is to get a friend to buy it and check it out on his wii, then if it´s awesome, wait for the Wii to drop in price before buying it

At least this game put the Wii on the map for me before it´s getting replaced...

 

Whoa, this game currently has 98% on Game Rankings. I don't think any game reached there last generation.

 

New video card or Wii
New video card or Wii

I can't decide!!!!!!

 

I played it a my friends house yesterday. I managed to collect the first three stars in the short time I spent playing the game, and in this short time I found the game to be very enjoyable. Obviously I have not played enough of the game to form a critical opinion, but if it had to summarize my feelings into a score I would give it a 9/10.

To tell you the truth, I am surprised to see the game receiving such high scores. I enjoyed what I played, but in no way was I blown away by anything. The fact that it has a higher average score than LoZ: Ocarina of Time indicates that it may be overrated to a certain to degree. Games like LoZ: OOT and other groundbreaking games (Super Mario 64, Half-Life, etc) were mind blowing when they were released, establishing conventions and mechanics that other games in the genre would build from. In that sense, the critical reception of Mario Galaxy reminds me a lot of another game that was released recently; Bioshock.

When I first played the Bioshock demo I was blown away, it looked and played awesome. After the demo came the reviews, IGN was first with a 9.7 and then a slew of other sites / magazines followed with similar scores. With this came the massive hype, sites like NeoGAF had large threads dedicated to basically hyping the game as the best thing since sliced bread. It held a 97 something score for a while before being knocked down to its current standing. After renting it I would definitely say that it was subject to some serious over hyping. Thats not to say Bioshock is not an enjoyable game, just that I do not believe it deserved all of the hype it had when it was released.

Anyway, I need to play more Mario Galaxy before I continue with the the notion that it may be slightly overrated.

 

Overrated for me is a odd title to give anything. A lot of the times its thrown on great games that don't really establish something new. Must a title establish something new for it to deserve a 100? I don't think so personally, instead that award should be given to both genre defining and genre refining titles of very high quality.

I have not played Super Mario Galaxy, but I'm thinking this holiday season might be my plunge into console gaming again, so we'll see once the new year hits.

 

Overrated to me simply means the game was subjected to inflated scores. I argued Bioshock because a lot of people claimed it was guaranteed GOTY, and it received nearly flawless reviews at first.

That is a great point, and technically you're right. Its just that when I look at GameRankings Top 10 (or think of a top games list) rated games (with the exception of a few) the list is populated with games that established genres or brought something new to the table. Super Mario 64 established 3D platforming, Halo brought the FPS to the console and LoZ: OOT established 3D action/adventure games. If it was simply enough that a game should be highly polished and well produced to receive a 98% average critical score, then why doesn't Halo 3 or Metroid Prime 3 rank as highly. The scores Mario Galaxy is receiving indicate it is revolutionary, not just a highly polished game.

As I mentioned earlier, I am practically in the same boat with no way to play what looks to be an amazing game. I should also clarify that my problems with Mario Galaxy are not related to the game, but the way in which reviewers tend to "overrate", or in other words make a superb game sound as if its revolutionary.

 

If you haven't played enough of the game to form a critical opinion then exactly what basis do you have to claim that its probably overated?..

 

The levels for the first three stars are relatively simple and straightforward. Still, they're very good levels, but not very difficult. It gets much more interesting as you go.

PLEASE, no discussions about reviewing in this thread!

 

In a game of 120 stars and loads of variety, 3 stars isn't enough for a review.

People are way too quick to overrate and underrate anything. Just play, have fun, and then review it in your mind. That's what professional journalists do.

Well, no, they rush through a game in order to finish it in time for the deadline. Explaining some bad scores for Assassin's Creed.

 

the first few stars are REAL simple and not nearly as creative as the next 3 even just cause they're meant as a tutorial.) I just did the megaleg battle and then I went to the space junk galaxy. megaleg was probably the best boss battle in a platforming game I've ever played. that's odd but it's just really good. kind of frustrating though to keep track of the missles. the space junk galaxy was weird but fun. I can see the next lego star wars kind of imitating the part at the end of the galaxy with the 5 silver stars.

 

I have decided to get this for a friend for Christmas... then borrow their Wii during the drought!

 

I'm now about 70 stars in.

There are times where the level design does feel a little copy-n-paste (for example, Gold Leaf Galaxy is like an altered mirror version of Honeycomb Galaxy; one too many spherical puzzles) but even those levels are different from each other and offer plenty of fun factor.

Nintendo has a real winner here.

 

Edge gave it 10/10. That doesn't happen every day...

 

so true. Edge is tough when they give out scores. so SMG is highest rated game this year?

 

Currently, according to www.gamerankings.com, it is the highest rated game *ever*.

Edit: Strike that, it's now slightly below Zelda at rank #2. Could move back up anytime, though

 

Mario sells 500,000 copies in its first week in the USA according to IGN and Nintendo:

http://wii.ign.com/articles/837/837034p1.html

 

It isn't very often when a game sinks it's teeth in like SMG has. I can honestly say it is a really amazing experience to play.

The controls are sharp and work well.
The graphics are really and truly excellent, the best I've seen on the Wii to date.
The gameplay is intuitve and works and the level or surrealism has reached new hights.

I have finally realized why I buy Nintendo consoles....to play Nintendo games.

 

Great freaking game!!!! nostaligia. Today i had about 30 mins to play a game before work. I tossed in COD4 loaded to the title menu then turned it off and went to my kids room to play mario galaxy got a couple of stars and went on with my life came back home and got a few more stars. this game is refreshing, HALO3 makes my BP rise ,COD4 is cool but i prefer RB6 tactical style.

This game has great pick up and play. i just wish it would start up faster.

I first thought that the comet runs would be too repetative (playing the same levels) but then i started playing them and im actually playing every comet run that comes along.

 

Just got my 37th star on the Secret Undersea Cavern. Wow if the end of that level isnt a doozy. The level design in this game is spectacular. Oh and beating the rock ghost guy with 1 life (via the comet) felt very rewarding. The game is full of moments like that actually.