E3 Preview: Super Mario Galaxy / page 2 / nsidr

The E3 demo was a very small glimpse of what looks to be an enormous game. It starts with Mario floating helplessly in a blue bubble, awaiting the assistance of a show-goer to pop him free. This was a good chance to get familiarized with the sensitivity of the pointer, as you can direct the little star around the screen to your heart's content before the demo actually begins. It seemed that standing too close to the machine was a recipe for disaster, as the star would behave very erratically. This seemed to be a general trend at E3, so, assuming it wasn't just the nature of the hectic show floor, make sure you've got plenty of space between yourself and your TV when you finally manage to snag a Wii of your own later this year.

Once you pop the bubble, Mario will crash down onto the first planet. This one isn't really spherical in the least -- it's a grassy area with a mountain that requires some slight platforming to scale. Little Toads pepper the area, shouting out hints in word bubbles as you pass them by. You can use your two new positional abilities to make some interesting things happen in this first area -- pointing at a series of hanging bells will make a path of musical notes appear (that can be collected for a 1up), and spinning through patches of grass or in the middle of circles of rocks will produce varying amounts of coins.

At the peak of this particular planet is the first of many "star launchers", as I'll term them. They look like two orange star outlines, one nested within the other, floating parallel to the ground. If you jump into the middle and jerk the controller to make Mario spin, the launcher will propel you through space at incredible speeds, finally plopping you down on another planet.

It really is a fantastic effect, watching Mario soar through space at ludicrous speeds. It's not all just for show, though. As you fly, you may notice tiny little stars in rings and various other shapes in your path. You can actually collect these by pointing at them with your star pointer and hitting B. There was a counter in the demo that tracked how many of these little stars you picked up out of 100. I don't think it was actually possible to get them all, though, as your path eventually branches, and you're unable to get all of the stars on the other paths. One of the booth attendants tried to tell me that you get a 1up for getting them all, but I find the weakness of that reward hard to believe.

The first split path in what proved to be a very linear demo occurs when you choose to follow one of two white rabbits. Each leads you in an different direction, and to a different set of planets. One direction featured a series of floating blue bubbles, similar to the one Mario started out in at the beginning of the demo. If you point at a bubble with the remote and hit B, it will attempt to grab Mario with a "tractor beam" of sorts, and pull him towards itself. There's a string of these bubbles in a row, and you have to point and click on them in sequence to pull Mario from one to another. This is where the second split is, as you can use the bubbles to pull Mario in two distinct directions.

There are some other interesting planets on your way to the boss battles that are worth mentioning. One, dubbed the "Crystal Maze" by an appropriately placed sign, has Mario running after a rabbit through a maze beneath the transparent crystalline surface of a planet. Another planet is totally hollow, and there's a black hole directly underneath its crust, waiting to swallow up anyone who stumbles into a gap in the surface. There's a sandy planet with a palm tree where you can lay down hundreds of footprints while spinning into coconuts, which act as homing projectiles if there are any enemies nearby. There are mechanical planets, full of electrical borders and power-ups beneath cages that you have to destroy with a well-aimed Bullet Bill. The path to the spider boss even has you rocketing from object to object via web-based launchers that you affix yourself to and then pull back with the Remote pointer like a slingshot. Launching a poor Toad stuck to one of these things into deep space is one of the most satisfying parts of the demo.

So where's the game headed from here? The demo offered a tantalizing glimpse of a lot of ideas, but it's anyone's guess how this will all actually gel into a finished game. Will there be an almost Wind-Waker-esque sea of planets to explore? Will the entire game be one enormous galaxy that you can traverse, or will it be divided into stages like every previous Mario title? Will you be able to travel freely around the galaxy, or will it be exclusively one-way travel like in the demo? The demo opens with the line, "Welcome to Star World" -- could this be a direct connection to the Star World from Super Mario World?

Questions aside, there are definitely some interesting things they could do with what we've seen so far. Right now, all gravity is constant; it would be interesting if in the full game, certain planets had stronger or lighter gravity than others. A particularly high-gravity planet could be a series of narrow pathways over a black hole that you have to navigate without the ability to jump. A low-gravity planet could see Mario freely leaping dozens of feet into the air. I'd personally love to see a low-gravity spherical planet totally covered with the mushroom trees that populate many of the levels in New Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo DS. There's also a lot of possibility for the Wii-exclusive control options. We've only seen basic interaction with the pointer so far -- I'd imagine that it will be useful in many more circumstances in the final game.

I'm really looking forward to seeing where this game goes. Interviews with its creators have indicated that there may be less of a platforming emphasis this time around, with more attention placed on merely exploring with Mario throughout the galaxy. This could easily be either a good or bad thing, depending upon how far the game strays from the Mario roots. I trust the team behind it, though -- Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat was one of the most refreshing platformers I've played in years. If Mario Galaxy can capture even a fraction of that spirit, it'll do just fine.

The E3 demo split into three paths, each ending in a battle with a different boss for a star.<br /> <br /> <div class="subheader">Octopus King</div><br /> This royal opponent sports an old-timey moustache and attacks from a pit of lava. He'll throw coconuts at Mario in a vain attempt to dispatch him, but the coconuts are easily returned by meeting them with a spin attack. Three successful volleys is all it takes to put this guy in his place.<br /> <br /> This fight deserves special commendation, as it's one of the prettiest parts of the demo. The ground you run around on is awash with fancy refractive effects.<br /> <br /> <div class="subheader">Giant Machine</div><br /> Looking like something straight out of Pikmin, this enormous robot towers over Mario on its own cybernetic globe. You'll need to actually run vertically up its legs, which have their own personal gravity, and make your way to the top of its head to effectively attack it.<br /> <br /> Bullet Bills are your main mode of assault, and you'll have to lead them to the weak point at the very top to strike for massive damage.<br /> <br /> <div class="subheader">Giant Spider</div><br /> Does everything <i>have</i> to be so giant? You're the instigator for this fight, as you have to launch yourself at the spider's webbed cocoon to break it free. As it attempts to melt you with green acid, your battle plan consists of using the sticky launchers to knock it on its back, and systematically launching Mario at it's weak areas.<br /> <br /> Gravity apparently pulls <i>outwards</i> during this fight, as you can run around the entire inside of the stony ring surrounding the critter.