It seems that the magic of Shigeru Miyamoto's Mario never gets old, no matter what age the player or what platform. True, some players were a little irked when a Mario game didn't arrive in time for the GameCube launch, and the adventure we eventually got for the platform, Super Mario Sunshine, came up a little short in comparison to previous efforts, but, for the most part, the Mario platformers have been nothing short of awesome. When Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64 arrived alongside the system, players were wowed by the 3-D marvels the system and game brought. When Super Mario World surfaced for the SNES, many thought that 16-bit gaming had finally arrived, the way that the programmers had intended to begin with. And when Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 came out for the NES, we might as well have just declared national holidays.

Now Mario's getting ready to do it all over again. Although it's not really a launch title for the forthcoming Nintendo Wii system, it will nonetheless be a pivotal title for the system. Super Mario Galaxy looks to return that "good ol'" feeling of Mario that was kind of missing from Sunshine, putting you in control of the plumber yet again as he chases an alien across the galaxy that has kidnapped Princess Peach. Boy, she's getting pretty popular with Bowser's antics, aren't they? Anyone can just come along and snatch Princess Peach nowadays. There's probably a line at the unemployment office with potential kidnappers.

Anyway, Mario Galaxy hurls the heroic plumber through many areas in outer space, zipping from planet to planet with the help of star portals and collecting gems and coins along the way. The game has an appearance similar to that of Mario 64, complete with bending and twisting worlds that are almost as far as the eye can see. The graphics are very colorful throughout, boasting great details along the lines of some of the best GameCube games we've seen out there. Animation looks to be pretty stellar as well, complete with Mario's trademark moves and plenty of enemies with sparkle all their own. The Bullet Bobs alone look to have some razzle dazzle, complete with smoke trails and vivid movement.

The levels also seem to know no limits in terms of places to go either. Thanks to the portals scattered on the planets, Mario can take off with the greatest of ease, flying in the darkened galaxy and ending up on another side of it, exploring yet another planet with twisting roads and little traps here and there. We actually ended up on this one small planet with its own black hole right in the center of it, and Mario carefully had to navigate his way on the surface and then through a maze all while avoiding its power of suckage. It just goes to show that Miyamoto and company haven't run out of good ideas yet in terms of level design.

The game also has some memorable boss encounters. As you traverse through the earlier parts of the galaxy, you'll run across one of two things- a bothersome spider sitting in the middle of a complex web, or a volcanic boss that animates incredibly well. The spider shoots out things at Mario, but he can use these alien heads to basically launch himself at the spider, forcing it to spin over and reveal its "soft spots" on its bottom side. Mario then has to act quickly and eliminate these spots before the spider turns back over. Meanwhile, the lava boss shoots out rocks, some boiling hot and some normal, and Mario basically has to spin attack the normal rocks, shooting them right back at the boss. Both of these experiences have great gameplay touches and look to be just the beginning for Mario's platforming endeavors.

As for the gameplay itself, it seems to offer something a bit old, along with some new touches to take advantage of the Wii-mote. Like the previous platforming antics of Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy allows you to control the plumber with the help of the "nunchuck" attachment to the Wii-mote, using the analog stick to move him about, either at a slow sprint or a running speed to eventually get to a part of the level really quickly. You can also use the buttons on the Wii-mote to help Mario perform jumping and attacking maneuvers, although the best actually comes into play with motion from the Wii-mote. See, Mario can perform spin attacks by running the Wii-mote cursor (a little star that appears on the screen) over him rapidly. This allows him to not only perform these attacks to knock out nearby enemies, but also allows him to activate the star portals so he can fly through the air with the greatest of ease.

The Wii-mote also comes in handy for pushing Mario along further in his quest. Using it on a flexible alien head will allow Mario to jettison from one part of the level to another, while you can also use it to grab onto glowing orbs, transporting the hero to new heights that he normally could not reach on his own. The Wii cursor can also activate nearby items, like hitting bells to knock down music notes or picking up gems that are floating along Mario, just outside his reach. Clicking over these gems allow a quick and easy collection.

The galaxy theme is something completely new to this branch of the Mario series, but it looks to be a comfortable fit, as the execution of the gameplay and presentation do make it look like a brand new game, while still invigorating the style of Mario that we've gotten used to in previous chapters. It's also a nice change of pace from just battling Bowser all the time, although you never can tell. He might just pop up at the last second to harass his longtime foe yet again.

Super Mario Galaxy looks great, plays well thus far, and should have lots of challenges and levels to scavenge through as you work towards rescuing Princess Peach. It should be another fine notch in the ol' plumber hat for Mario, and we can't wait to see how the final game shapes up once its releases sometime his winter or next spring. Look for more screens and further details very soon as he work our way towards the game's eventual review.