19th January 2008, 6:45 PM
Also, I completely rescind my earlier statement about the graphics being dissatisfying. They work completely for what they set out to do, without much necessity for improvement.
Another thing I noticed is that instead of being able to break sequence and collect stars that aren't "designated" (at least, according to what mission you choose on the splash screen), things are made to be more organized. At times, you can't even get to the other parts of the planets where the other stars reside. Rather than wandering around and exploring a large playing field, they're broken up into smaller ones and don't overlap as much. It seems more goal-oriented than "hmm, I'll ramble around this level for a while and see if there's any way to get a star". It feels like an interesting hybrid of older two-dimensional platforms and the types of 3D platforms that were spawned by Mario 64. I'm not sure which model of gameplay I prefer, if any, but Mario Galaxy works incredibly well either way. Easily the game of the year in my book (though I'm pretty sure the only other new game I played was Metroid Prime 3)
Another thing I noticed is that instead of being able to break sequence and collect stars that aren't "designated" (at least, according to what mission you choose on the splash screen), things are made to be more organized. At times, you can't even get to the other parts of the planets where the other stars reside. Rather than wandering around and exploring a large playing field, they're broken up into smaller ones and don't overlap as much. It seems more goal-oriented than "hmm, I'll ramble around this level for a while and see if there's any way to get a star". It feels like an interesting hybrid of older two-dimensional platforms and the types of 3D platforms that were spawned by Mario 64. I'm not sure which model of gameplay I prefer, if any, but Mario Galaxy works incredibly well either way. Easily the game of the year in my book (though I'm pretty sure the only other new game I played was Metroid Prime 3)