Platform: Wii

ESRB Rating: E

Mario is back for one of his greatest adventures yet, and the famous Italian is going where no other plumber has gone before, to the center of the Universe.

Super Mario Galaxy takes the classic gameplay of Mario, gives it the Wii treatment, and puts players in the middle of space to, once again, rescue Princess Peach from Bowser and his minions.

The game is very beautiful with the bright landscapes and colorful characters that Mario games have always been known for. The graphics really put the Wii’s power to the test and are some of the best to be seen on the console. With Mario running around and jumping to different galaxies and planets, the camera angle does an impressive job at keeping up with the plumber.

Each galaxy or level has its own distinct theme and many allow Mario to gain different abilities. For example, Honeyhive Galaxy is a level full of Bees and Mario can actually transform into Bee Mario to fly for a period of time. Ghostly Galaxy is filled with Boos and Mario can become Boo Mario to float past all the other Boos without being attacked. Other abilities include: Ice Mario, Fire Mario, Spring Mario and Rainbow Mario, in which he becomes invincible for brief periods.

The controls of Galaxy are put to perfect use with the Wii Remote. The game has it all: shaking, waggling, pointing and shooting. You use the Nunchuk attachment to control Mario and the Wii Remote to control his actions like jumping, spinning, swimming, etc. Super Mario Galaxy is the definition of what a Wii game is supposed to be.

There is also a two-player co-op mode where the second player can use another Wii remote to help collect star bits and shoot them at enemies. It’s not really much of a co-op mode, but if you’ve got a baby sibling who wants to play with you all the time (like I do) it can come in handy. Although Luigi does make an appearance in Galaxy, it would have been really cool if he were a playable character.

Super Mario Galaxy reminds me a lot like a mix between Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario 64 because of how each game took the classic game play of Mario to another level. While Super Mario 64 set the platform for 3D games, Super Mario Galaxy is the true successor and put tons of new ideas and innovation to really create a masterpiece. Once you’ve gotten to the end you’ll be begging for more and I bet you’ll go back to collect each and every single star in the Universe.

One of my favorite games of the year and definitely some of the most fun I’ve ever had with a Mario game, Super Mario Galaxy is a must own for any Wii owner and for those of you who don’t have a Wii, it’ll be on the top of your holiday season wish list.