Its amazing how much controversy, or perhaps speculation is a better word, that a new game can bring. This is especially true for a game that many view as one of the pillars of Nintendo games. Having said that, I am of course referring to Super MArio Sunshine for the Nintendo Gamecube.
Having played through and beaten all the Mario Games, albeit years ago, I was particularly excited about the next Generation MArio game. I am pleased to say that the gam does in fact pass my criteria for a good game.
Graphics always tend to take the forefront of gaming these days, and perhaps unfairly so. Mario is a mixed bag graphically. At times the scenery is stunning and the environments are huge. It closely resembles the N64 version of Mario, which is both comforting and disturbing. However when it is all said and done, Mario Sunshine's graphics are a nice enough blend to add and not detract from one's overall enjoyment of the game.
As far as sounds go, its kind of a misnomer to mention the game having Dolby support, when there really isn't enough sound in the game to require or even recommend it. As a matter of fact, on a few occassions already while playing, the sound has completely cut out of the game for short intervals before coming back on. But one doesn't play Mario games for the sounds anyways.
Gameplay is what people expect from Mario games, and this game certainly has plenty to go around. Much like its predecessor, this game features the analog control in the 3D environment. While the game features many of the manuevers from the Mario 64 game, there is one major difference. That being the water cannon. The water cannon to me adds enough to the game to make it fun and seemingly innovative. Having been a skeptic of Mario with a cannon, I am pleased to announce that the water cannon helps make this game.
As expected, there is no real multiplayer feature to this game, nor should there be.
As I have said previously, there is a lot that makes this game fun, enough for me to recommend its purchase to any gamer. However, having said that I feel I would be remiss in not mentioning this game's downside. As has been previously mentioned, the camera for this game can be a tad difficult at times. Having said that, once you learn how to manipulate it, its smooth sailing throughout the game. The enemies of this game, are also a problem for me. Nothing about them brings forth the nostalgia of some of the bad guys from Mario 64. Many times they seem to be really of only one or two varieties and that is it.
Still, having said all of that, what this game is, is simply the best Platform game on the market right now, period. Mario simply has something that games like Rayman, Crash Bandicoot and even Jak and Daxter can't touch. The gameplay for Mario will always set the standard for others to follow and I am pleased to say it won't let you down in this game.
Graphics -8 Pretty enough
Sound -5 Are you surprised?
Gameplay -10 Par for Mario
Multiplater -NA
Story/Challenge -7 Thin/Frustrating
Overall 90%
Create an Account
Member Login
