Nintendo Summit 2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2

The other big title at the Nintendo Media Summit yesterday was everyone's favorite plumber, out once again to save the galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2. With eight stations setup at the event, it was easy to get some hands-on time with the game and check out all the new items and friends that Mario has in the new title. The game has all the fantastic stages, puzzles, physics, and fun of the first with plenty of new twists to the title. The best part is that the game will launch stateside on May 23rd, so more Mario is even closer than some may have thought.

Perhaps the biggest news for the game is that it'll feature everyone's favorite green dinosaur, Yoshi. That's right, on various planets in the game Mario can crack open green-speckled eggs to find his pal waiting for him to ride his back (just like any good friend should). Yoshi can do his normal jumps, stomps, and eating of baddies, plus the new game features a few fruits that Yoshi can eat to give him some interesting abilities. My favorite was the Dash Pepper that is spicy enough that when eaten, Yoshi begins to run at breakneck speeds allowing you to literally climb walls. There's another fruit that allows Yoshi to slowly rise with hot air, and flowers allowing Yoshi to jump-spin with grace. Yoshi can even gobble up Bullet Bills and then shoot them back as Mario's own directional cannon.

Despite being a sequel to Mario Galaxy, the developers made sure that while the core gameplay of bounding between planets and flying through the sky with the aid of stars is the same, each level is still varied and unique. They've even added in some new items to help Mario such as the drill he can now use to tunnel through planets effortless from one side to the other, allowing for even tricker platforming. Add to that the multiple star goals in each Galaxy and you have plenty of new worlds to conquer and explore.

While the storyline wasn't revealed to us in our demo, I was told that the story will revolve around something different than Rosalina and her observatory from the last game. Hopefully this means will get another interesting backstory to the universe that players can unravel as they collect stars and explore worlds. Once again the game will feature the same cooperative play as the original, in which a second player can help in as an axillary role to Mario in the game by collecting star bits and aiding in jumps.

Overall, it was great to play the variety of levels available to us at the event and the game looks ever bit as addictive and beautiful as the original. Plus, with the addition of Yoshi, this game will definitely have a strong fan pull. Below are some screenshots of the game and make sure to pick it up on May 23rd for the pricetag of $49.99.