If you've ever stayed up late watching some bad eighties movie, you always know there's a "cool guy" as part of the story. He's the one with the poofy hair, the tight denim, and the slick convertible. He always gets the girl, beats up the bully, and is just too cool for school. And, in 2006, he's sort of cringe-inducing. Stay with me here.

At last week's Nintendo Wii event in New York City, Nintendo gave us the details on pricing, availability, and, most importantly, launch games. There would be Zelda, there'd even be Excite Truck. But no Mario? I mean, not even a mention of Mario? Was Mario, the video game character that led many of us into covering the video game industry, destined to be one of those cringe-inducing has-beens, a relic of a time that's long since past? Was this "cool kid" becoming, dare I say it, uncool?

Even though this feeling was amplified by Nintendo not even mentioning Mario but once during the event, all that worry went away after some time with Super Mario Galaxy. This is the game that will move Nintendo's marketshare upwards in a way Super Mario Sunshine could never do.

This is the very first time I got to play Super Mario Galaxy, but it didn't take me any time to get used to the controls. You take the Wii remote with your primary hand and the nunchacku attachment with your other hand. The remote is used to control a small star around the screen which can interact with game objects. For example, if you see a bush on the cliff you're on, use the remote to shake a few coins from it (just like in real life!). Meanwhile, the nunchacku has the analog stick on top of it, and that's what you use to move Mario around the game.

We started the demo on a planet reminiscent of a level right out of Super Mario 64, complete with lush grass on top of the usual beige cliffs of the Mushroom Kingdom. I controlled Mario up a dirt path with the analog stick, and the feeling was just like in 64 and Sunshine. While you're running around using the analog, it's nice and easy to use the remote to interact with enemies or the environment. Just watch where you flail that thing!

The real game starts when you find a star marker on whatever planet you're on. At that point you shake your remote and Mario is rocketed off the planet onto another one. Now when I say planet, it is a bit of a misnomer. A lot of the planets we've been to are fairly small, but they all have their own personality, so to speak.

For example, one is called the crystal mines, and that planet's surface is translucent. Underneath is a small maze complete with goombas and different paths to take. There's only one entrance and you have to navigate through the mines to get to the next star marker, thus taking you to the next planet.

Another planet has a black hole at its core. Of course, this planet has a bunch of holes through which Mario can fall, and to make matters worse the star marker to get to the next planet is blocked by a cage. I guess this is the end of the game... unless... but of course! These Bullet Bills roaming the landscape seem to be extra angry at us, but if I can just lead them to the cage, BOOF. That kind of puzzle element isn't rare to the planets, and that makes Galaxy a deeper game than at first glance.

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