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10 - Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
I
Time to reorient yourself
The Nintendo
Wii's flagship
experience
By C Iris aclerig
DnilyN Miusic Editor
There was a time before the
release of Nintendo's Wii that
the console
was known
simply as "Revolu- Super Mario
tion" A fitting title for Galaxy
the interactive control-
ler setup, early results Wii
returned a rather mun- Nintendo
dane response. The vari-
ous games created for
the contraption were muddled by confus-
ing, awkward controls, and the Wii was
looking less like a revolution and more like
another failed experiment by a recently
disappointing company.
But like nature, Nintendo found a way.
The system's greatest strength proved
to be Nintendo's in-house releases, be it
the ability to download old classics on its
Virtual Console or Nintendo's own inno-
vations. "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption"
was the first inclination that the system
had what it takes to pull its weight. With
focused attention on the controls, the
game remedied many of the issues with
prior games. So with the system finally
finding its stride and the company rein-
vigorating its name, it was time for Nin-
tendo to do what Nintendo does: release
the complement Super Mario game to its
new system.
The result, "Super Mario Galaxy,"
the famed franchise's latest addition, is
unquestionably the best game on the Wii
and one of the best games I've ever played.
It's all there: a gorgeous, functional envi-
A LONG TIME AGO, IN A 'GALAXY' FAR, a game of intergalactic "Pong."
FAR AWAY: "Super Mario Galaxy's" envi-
ronment is entirely different from the DANCING WITH THE STARS: Watching
one in previous Mario games. The game someone play "Super Mario Galaxy" is a
revolves around a floating space station bit like chaperoning a middle school dance
that appears from a distance to be a psy- and watching the kids' stilted moves. Con-
chedelic carousel hovering aimlessly in trolling Mario is simple: use the joystick real complaint to file against "Galaxy" is her - an innocuous, outmoded plot, but it
space. But the structure stands as the por- on the nunchuck to control his movements its playing length. Any moderate gamer once again feels reinvented.
tal to galaxies near and far. As Mario col- while attacking with a shake of your other can beat the game in one long night of
lects scattered stars, giving the station the hand. But using the Wiimote, the player play. Its replay value is remarkably high, THE NINTENDO REVOLUTION?: So is
power to launch him further into space, controls a star-shaped pointer that collects though, since more is revealed after the "Super Mario Galaxy"truly a revolution in
new galaxies are unlocked for exploration "star bits" used for picking off too-feisty game's completion and through further gaming? It was widely rumored tobe one,
and said star searching - remarkably sim- enemies. Mastering the game's controls' playing. but the game's lasting effect remains to
ilar to the castle/paintings system estab- lies in the fact that it uses the Wii's unique be seen. It employs aspects of interactive
lished in "Super Mario 64." system but does not wholly rely on it. But GET THAT PRINCESS SOME TAE BO environments and controls not yet intro-
the various arm movements are only half LESSONS: Seriously. The storyline of duced in other gaming, buthow thatmight
HE'S GOT THAT MAGNETIC PERSON- the fun. The rest lies in watching players "Galaxy" revolves around the conniving affect future games is unclear. What's
ALITY: Possibly the most interesting and tilt and turn their heads, trying to correct Bowser once again abducting helpless known, though, is that "Super Mario Gal-
innovative function of"Galaxy" is the way the disorienting camera angles as Mario Princess Peach - typical Mario fodder. axy" is undeniably an incredible game that
gravityfunctionsinit.Most3D platformers traverses around the small planets. And yet it would be wrong to have the will be difficult to top and stands as the
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walk upside down on small objects floating
in space (implying a horrible, plummet-
IS BIGGER ACTUALLY BETTER?: The only
game designed any other way. Mario has
his damsel and will stop at nothing to save
greatest Mario game in an epic franchise
of invention.
PASSMAN
From page 9
where he trains and his father's
pub in England, is more interested
in playing darts and putting away
pints than talking about how awe-
some he is. "24/7" does an excellent
job of developingthese "charac-
ters," and it's the reason why I
shelled out for the pay-per-view last
May and will doit again on Dec. 8.
And that's precisely what makes
"24/7" problematic. In case you
haven't figured it out yet, the show
is an elaborate infomercial: This
thing is made to sell a pay-per-view
special. There's a reason "24/7"
only exists in the weeks running
up to HBO's biggest pay-per-view
events, and it's because it's one of
the most extensive promotional
vehicles ever unleashed on televi-
sion.
Yet I don't really mind what
HBO is doing, and this is coming
from someone who once wrote a
column about how "The Office"
was being overrun with product
placement - somethingcreator
Greg Daniels has since ended. Per-
haps I'm forgiving HBO because
it isn't badgering viewers with ads
for the pay-per-view, but it's not
exactly hiding it either.
"24/7" maybe an elaborate tool
to sell me something I definitely
don't need, butit's also one of the
best half-hours of TV right now,
regardless of whatlabel you put
on it. And sure, maybe I've been
brainwashed into spending waytoo
much money on one fightcthat was a
dud and another thatvery well may
be, but if $55 is the price of admis-
sion for "24/7" and a potentially
good fight, I'll gladly oblige.
I just hope the "24/7" franchise
doesn't branch out to any more
pay-per-view events. My bankroll
can't handle "Shaquille O'Neal's
Celebrity Birthday Roast - Part
Deux."
- Passman is looking to
make a move to amateur boxing.
E-mail him at mpass@umich.
edu to show your support.
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