It was just last Friday that I talked about the original Super Mario Galaxy's Co-Star mode, an addition I liked the idea of, but didn't fully appreciate until my daughter was old enough to begin to tackle the game. That mode is substantially expanded in Super Mario Galaxy 2, which—thanks to the review copy that arrived yesterday—my daughter and I got to experience for ourselves first-hand last night.
At any time during the game, even during the interactive storybook-style prologue sequence, just power up a second Wii Remote and the little orange Co-Star Luma will appear, trailing after Mario, along with a familiar star pointer marked "2P." Controlling the little guy is entirely a pointer-driven affair; aim the star pointer at what you want to affect and push A to grab on to it. If it can be reached, Co-Star Luma will zip over to that object, and here's where the fun begins.
It's very useful against enemies, with which Galaxy 2 is positively teeming. Nearly every one can be grabbed and held as long as you hold A down, including gigantic Bullet Bills or huge rolling Chomps. (You can destroy the latter—otherwise impossible without the use of Rainbow Mario's invincibility—by holding one while another rolls into it.) You can also grab those little spiky plants, which makes them shrink down to a much more passable size. Brand-new to Galaxy 2, though, is Co-Star Luma's own spin move; while you're holding A, shake your Wii Remote, and he'll do a spin attack against whatever he's holding. I used this tactic to great effect to pick off threats as my daughter carefully navigated some of Galaxy 2's ramped-up platforming challenges.
Co-Star Luma is also good for many support actions as well. As has been shown in various articles and trailers, helpful items such as coins, 1UPs, and underwater air bubbles are also grabbable. Just point and click, and Co-Star Luma will grab the item, fly over to Mario, and unmissably drop it onto his head. He can also grab and spin the checkpoint flags to activate them, and engage in several exclusive Star-Bit-gathering opportunities like spinning other Lumas (only Co-Star Luma will make them toss out Bits) and tiny orange butterflies that are only affected by his action. Of course, just as in Galaxy, player 2 can still grab floating Star Bits by passing his star pointer over them, and can fire them at enemies, coin spots, or whatever with the B trigger.
It occurs to me even as I recount these experiences that beyond just helping your kid out, you might find Co-Star Luma mode fun to play with a couple Galaxy pros, as well. Galaxy 2 saves your clear time for every star in the game—something I was thrilled to see as it was something I wished the original game had. An efficient Co-Star helper could help you shave precious seconds off this time.
Of course, on the flip side, a mischievous "helper" still has opportunities to mess you up, particularly through grabbing and holding obstacles and throwing off your timing. I don't think it was intentional—just an overeager co-op player happily clicking away on everything that moved... or was it?—but this happened to me when I was in control of Mario last night several times with things like Bullet Bills I expected to be sailing in one direction suddenly stopping—leaving me to smack right into them.
One thing's for sure. There's a whole lot of fun to be had here, whether you're conquering the galaxies on your own, or with family and friends.
At any time during the game, even during the interactive storybook-style prologue sequence, just power up a second Wii Remote and the little orange Co-Star Luma will appear, trailing after Mario, along with a familiar star pointer marked "2P." Controlling the little guy is entirely a pointer-driven affair; aim the star pointer at what you want to affect and push A to grab on to it. If it can be reached, Co-Star Luma will zip over to that object, and here's where the fun begins.
It's very useful against enemies, with which Galaxy 2 is positively teeming. Nearly every one can be grabbed and held as long as you hold A down, including gigantic Bullet Bills or huge rolling Chomps. (You can destroy the latter—otherwise impossible without the use of Rainbow Mario's invincibility—by holding one while another rolls into it.) You can also grab those little spiky plants, which makes them shrink down to a much more passable size. Brand-new to Galaxy 2, though, is Co-Star Luma's own spin move; while you're holding A, shake your Wii Remote, and he'll do a spin attack against whatever he's holding. I used this tactic to great effect to pick off threats as my daughter carefully navigated some of Galaxy 2's ramped-up platforming challenges.
Co-Star Luma is also good for many support actions as well. As has been shown in various articles and trailers, helpful items such as coins, 1UPs, and underwater air bubbles are also grabbable. Just point and click, and Co-Star Luma will grab the item, fly over to Mario, and unmissably drop it onto his head. He can also grab and spin the checkpoint flags to activate them, and engage in several exclusive Star-Bit-gathering opportunities like spinning other Lumas (only Co-Star Luma will make them toss out Bits) and tiny orange butterflies that are only affected by his action. Of course, just as in Galaxy, player 2 can still grab floating Star Bits by passing his star pointer over them, and can fire them at enemies, coin spots, or whatever with the B trigger.
It occurs to me even as I recount these experiences that beyond just helping your kid out, you might find Co-Star Luma mode fun to play with a couple Galaxy pros, as well. Galaxy 2 saves your clear time for every star in the game—something I was thrilled to see as it was something I wished the original game had. An efficient Co-Star helper could help you shave precious seconds off this time.
Of course, on the flip side, a mischievous "helper" still has opportunities to mess you up, particularly through grabbing and holding obstacles and throwing off your timing. I don't think it was intentional—just an overeager co-op player happily clicking away on everything that moved... or was it?—but this happened to me when I was in control of Mario last night several times with things like Bullet Bills I expected to be sailing in one direction suddenly stopping—leaving me to smack right into them.
One thing's for sure. There's a whole lot of fun to be had here, whether you're conquering the galaxies on your own, or with family and friends.