The story picks up where the first game left off (assuming you got 25 or more ship parts in Pikmin), and Olimar is able to return to the Planet Hocotate. Once he gets to Hocotate Freight – a space shipping company that Olimar works for – he finds out that the company has stumbled upon financial troubles while he was gone, and has a debt of 10,000 Pokos. To get the debt to that amount of Pokos, the owner had to sell various items, including the S.S Dolphin (Olimar’s ship). In order to allow the company to live on, Olimar and a new employee named Louie have to go back to the planet seen in the first game, and get a collection of items that are worth enough money to pay off the debt.

The game’s not exactly the norm for the Real Time Stratergy genre; it packs more charm than any RTS game I can care to think of – the Pikmin humming the main theme is going to make you grin, no exceptions – and is also a lot more accessible. Each Pikmin has their different uses, and are all just as important as one another.

The red Pikmin are no longer the strongest, but can still walk through fire, and – after obtaining a special suit upgrade- so can you. They’re also used to destroy holes which shoot out fire, allowing the other Pikmin types to pass through. The yellow Pikmin can now break down electrical barriers, and they’ll be thrown higher than any other Pikmin type. The blue Pikmin can walk through water, and will try to save other Pikmin if they are drowning.

Aside from the three colours that you encountered in the first game, there are two new additions. There are purple Pikmin and white Pikmin. The purples are by far the strongest and heaviest types of Pikmin in the game. In fact, when carrying an item, one purple Pikmin account for 10 Pikmin. The only downside is that they are the slowest Pikmin in the game. The white Pikmin are invulnerable to toxic gases, and can dig up buried items in the game.

The core gameplay that you adored (or hated, for that matter) in Pikmin is certainly present in Pikmin 2, but there are a lot of changes added – all of which are implemented well and blend seamlessly with the original core gameplay mechanics.

Just like in the original Pikmin, Olimar and Louie will be able to explore huge areas with the Pikmin. These areas contain the obstacles and enemies (and some new enemies, for that matter) that you saw in the previous game. You’ll need to break down walls, make bridges to cross into other areas, and some of the Pikmin types will see obstacles that only they can destroy. The areas are all elaborately designed and well thought out, each with a fitting piece of music playing in the background.

The addition of Louie has a huge impact on the Pikmin gameplay, and allows for even more multitasking than was possible in the first Pikmin game. You press the minus button on the Wii remote to switch between the two characters, which is incredibly helpful if the two are in different places.

Even with the addition of a second character to control, what is undoutedly the biggest change featured in Pikmin 2 is the removal of the time limits. In Pikmin, Olimar had a 30 day time limit in which he had to regain his missing ship parts. Each day was 15 minutes and the time limit, while giving you enough time to do the job, left some players with an unneeded sense of urgency. The games story eliminates any need for a time limit, so you have as much time to roam around the areas as you want. Yes, the days are still 15 minutes long, but the amount of in game days you have spent is irrelevant.

As you’ll have gathered, Olimar and Louie have to collect different objects from the planet, which will go towards paying off the Hocotate Freight’s debt. These objects can be anything; from fruit to just random junk – like bottle caps and batteries. The objects even include some old Nintendo products, such as the Game & Watch and a control stick.

Another big addition is the underground caves featured in the game. In the actual levels, there are several holes in the ground that Olimar, Louie and the active Pikmin can jump into. Each one will tell you what types of Pikmin are required for the different obstacles. These underground sections of the game consist of a number of different ground levels, each of which contains at least one object. The only problem with these areas is that they can get a bit boring. You can’t leave the areas unless you see a hole which can be bashed by the Pikmin until water shoots out, which will then boost you to ground level. So, if you got bored of the underground and wanted to go back up to the surface, you’ll just have to keep digging.

A very nice addition to the game was the ‘Piklopedia’ and ‘Treasure Hoard’. They’re both in-game lists of all the enemies and treasures that you’ve encountered so far, and all give descriptions on what they are. While it’s not completely necessary for the games completion, it’s a very welcome addition.

For the New Play Control! version, Nintendo decided to give the game a bit of a graphical update, and the result is great. The environments all look fantastic, even by Wii standards, while the character models look average.

Overall: 9.2

+ The core mechanics blend seamlessly with the new additions

+ The graphics are great, even by Wii standards

+ The Wii’s control method is a perfect match for the game

- The character models could do with some work

- The underground caves can get slightly tedious

Pikmin 2 is a more than worthy successor to the original Pikmin, building upon the core mechanics in every aspect while adding some fantastic additions. While Pikmin 2 isn’t exactly the game that RTS purists have been waiting for, what was already a charming and unique game has been vastly improved by the Wii controls. A truly essential purchase.

Also, I got the original Metroid Prime for £7, so you’ll probably see a review of that before too long.

Twilight Princess sees you play the role of Link, an adolescent farm boy living in Ordon. Link was assigned the task of delivering a present to the royal family courtesy of the mayor. But, he and his friends get kidnapped, and have been taken to separate places. You get taken to Hyrule Castle, where you meet Midna and learn that the land of Hyrule has been taken over by Zant; the self-proclaimed ‘king of twilight’. Zant wishes to engulf the whole world in Twilight, and has nearly accomplished that. That only describes the first few hours of the game. The games ‘prologue’ sets the scene for a darker, far more epic Zelda game. The games plot twists won’t be spoiled in this review, but are executed brilliantly.

I consider Twilight Princess to be the spiritual successor to Ocarina of Time. From the introduction video alone, anyone who has ever played Ocarina of Time will pick up a scent of déjà vu. Link majestically rides Epona through Hyrule field, the camera swinging around them to give you a perfect view of Hyrule Field; yet barely scratching the surface of how much you have to explore.

It stays true to the tried and tested Zelda formula which Ocarina helped to create, whilst adding huge improvements and refinements, and adding some new gameplay elements; the most important being Wolf Link.

This being a game on the Wii, Twilight Princess has some motion controls implemented into it. You simply shake the Wii remote to swing your sword, and shaking the nunchuck to perform a spin attack. Sure, ‘waggle’ controls are nothing unique in a Wii game anymore. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Wii game without waggle. But, the controls work well. Unlike a lot of Wii games, they aren’t overdone. The motion controls are simple, un-complicated, and will eventually feel like second nature to pull off when you play, if not within the first few minutes. Combat has been changed a bit from the previous Zelda games.

Old weapons also make an appearance; such as the bow and arrow, the slingshot, the hookshot, and others. As you’d imagine, those which I’ve mentioned use pointer controls; which work very well. You can adjust the sensitivity of the pointer, but the default sensitivity works perfectly, resulting in surprisingly precise shots. It’s much easier to defeat an enemy using the bow and arrow with the pointer. This does seem like an odd thing to use at close range though; the game features a lock-on system like in the previous Zelda games.

Midna is a new face who follows in the footsteps of Navi from Ocarina of Time; offering you helpful hints where they’re needed. As I have said earlier, Link will turn into a wolf in this game, and it’s while playing as a wolf that Midna becomes much more useful than Navi was. She will be able to help you reach high areas which you can’t get to on your own, give you an extra ability in combat, and will allow you to teleport to certain areas. Midna will also be able to take things with her; an example being a missing part of a bridge.

The wolf has the added advantages of senses and digging. You bring up these senses with the side button on the D-Pad, and it brings up a filtered view of what you see on the screen, where you can see things, and sometimes people which you cannot see without senses. This helps gain information, and also gives an indication of places where you can dig. Areas which you can dig into are flashing when your senses are turned on, and are slightly rougher and darker in the normal view. You can dig up different items; like hearts and rupees. Also, you’ll often be able to dig your way underground to get into a certain area.

Playing as a wolf is fun, but, at least for the first half of the game, can seem like a bit of a chore sometimes. You see, in the first half of the game, you’ll normally follow a set pattern; get to a new area, turn into a wolf, rid the area of twilight, turn back into a human, and go to a dungeon. Rinse and repeat, and that pretty much sums up what the first half has to offer.

The process of ridding the area of twilight did often get tedious. You’d talk to the Light Spirit in the area, and would be given the Vessel of Light. You’d have to fill up the vessel of light by collecting all of the tears of light in the area. Thankfully, this process is scrapped halfway through the game; and you’ll gain the ability to transform into a wolf and back into a human as often as you’d like to.

The combat as a wolf is different from the combat as a human, giving you an advantage when facing certain enemies. When locked on, you can lunge with the A button which is preferable for enemies which are further away, you shake the Wii remote for a close range and aggressive attack, and you can do the back-flips and side-steps that you can do as a human. It seems pretty similar so far, but there’s more. With the help of Midna, you can hold the B trigger to summon an energy field. Releasing B when enemies are inside it will make Wolf Link lunge at each of the enemies, often killing average enemies instantly. For some enemies, you could perform a lunge attack, and it would then give you the option of repeatedly biting the enemy by mashing the A button.

A huge chunk of the main quest in the game is the dungeons. These dungeons are larger than in any other Zelda game, and feature some interesting, albeit easy, puzzles. Each dungeon is normally split into two halves. The first half is exploring what you can with the items you already have. What splits the two halves up is defeating a boss in the middle; usually to be rewarded with a new item. The second half of the dungeon consists of you exploring the areas that could only be seen with your new weapon, and eventually fighting a boss that you can only defeat with your new weapon. It’s a set up which has never gotten tedious in any of the other Zelda games; and this game is no exception. The bosses are all very well designed, each with their own set of attacks and also their own weaknesses. Some of them can get a bit easy, but they’re all fun to fight against. The dungeons are all very well designed.

How much you can explore is one of those things which can separate a great adventure game from a true adventure classic. The different Zelda’s have all had enormous areas, crammed with secrets that only those gamers with the eye for exploration will find. Nintendo proudly claim that Twilight Princess is the ‘biggest Zelda adventure of all time’.

And this is no mean feat. But Nintendo have somehow managed to pull it off; creating a world which can be explored to a ridiculous extent. Hyrule Field is a great example. It can take a huge amount of your time to simply walk around its perimeter without stopping; it’s that vast a land. On your first time through, you can sink forty to fifty hours into the game; and this is only when you do what the story presents right in front of you.

Another improved feature from Ocarina of Time is the horseback mechanic. Link can ride on his horse; Epona, summoning her using a whistle. Unlike in Ocarina of Time, you can use your sword while riding your horse, as well as the bow and arrow. Even when you gain the power to warp, you’ll still enjoy occasionally using the horse; if anything because shooting an arrow at someone while Epona is moving is incredibly satisfying.

Twilight Princess was designed for the Gamecube, and then ported to the Wii as a launch title. That being said, the graphics are still fantastic. They’re easily the best graphics I have seen on the Gamecube, with a lot of detail put into the character models and a good use of bloom effects. Because these are Gamecube graphics, they aren’t exactly pushing the Wii hardware. That being said, these graphics are better than those featured in most, if not all third party Wii games.

The music in Zelda games are a testament to how great Nintendo’s composers are. Like in the other games, Twilight Princess has a phenomenal soundtrack; ranging from adventurous and epic to calm and relaxing. Because the game was made for the Gamecube originally, the music is not orchestrated, but MIDI instead. It’s still one of my favourite Zelda soundtracks ever.

I could easily write a lot more detailing every nook and cranny; every boss battle, every character and every location to be seen in the game. There’s so much to see in this game, many of it you will want to see on your own. Twilight Princess is a great evolution for the series, vastly improving on what Ocarina did. Although it won’t be nearly as influential as Ocarina of Time, it’s still one of the best, most charming games you’ll ever play, and provides a long lasting experience. Buy it now or regret it.

Overall: 9.7

+ The game’s a behemoth

+ The wolf is a great new feature

+ A fantastic evolution of Ocarina of Time

- Gathering all of the ‘Tears of Light’ can get tedious

- Some of the puzzles are a bit easy

- …

Mario Kart Wii, like the other games in the series, doesn’t have any kind of story. There’s still no explanation for why they take karting; something that’s supposed to be a fun past-time, so seriously. Even your beloved hero: Mario will use every dirty trick in the book to win the race. Call me old fashioned, but that’s just the way I like my Mario Kart games. But, if anyone can come up with any sort of hypothesis for why they take karting so seriously, I’d be glad to hear it!

The Mario Kart series consists of your favourite Mario, and even Donkey Kong characters (as well as some characters which have nothing to do with Mario himself) coming together for some fast-paced and hectic kart racing. They’ll be prepared to use anything they can get their hands on to win the race, mainly items. You can get items by driving through the item boxes, but you’ll have to watch out for the fake item boxes. The phrases “It’s the taking part that counts” and “Slow and steady wins the race” have never and, thankfully, still don’t apply to Mario Kart games. With a total of 25 characters; Mario Kart Wii features one of the best rosters of characters in any Mario Kart game! The characters are split into three different height classes; small, medium and big. The different classes get the access to different bikes and karts.

The items are all unique and have different effects. There’s the classic items like the mushroom; which gives you a boost, the star; which makes you faster and invincible. There are also some new items like the mega mushroom from New Super Mario Bros; which makes you much larger and able to squash enemies, and the POW block; which shakes everyone around except for the person who activates it. Oh, and there’s one more new item; the thunder cloud. When you get this item, and then the cloud will appear above you. It’ll give you a few seconds to pass it on to another player by bumping into them, but if it’s above you when the time runs out, you’ll shrink! It makes you slightly faster so you have more of a chance to pass it on, but the majority of the times you get it; you’ll be shrunk by it.

Mario Kart Wii is the game that introduces the Wii Wheel, essentially another plastic shell for your Wii remote to slot into. The Wii Wheel itself looks nice and simple, with a hole in the back to put your wrist strap through and a blue circle at the back saying Wii inside of it. When actually playing the game, I find it’s not the best way to play the game. It’s fun at first, but the novelty of ‘getting behind the wheel’ wears thin after about five minutes. The game sometimes doesn’t register what direction you’re trying to go in, and feels awkward at time. So, the Wii Wheel goes into my pile of unloved Wii accessories. Thankfully, you don’t have to play with the Wii Wheel; as Nintendo have given you some other options. You can play with the Gamecube controller, the Classic controller, and, my personal favourite; the Wii remote and nunchuck combination.

The changes in Mario Kart are usually small, but effective changes. These changes, while not being too drastic, still keep the chaotic and classic Mario Kart feel intact, but enhance it to keep things fresh. Don’t worry; Mario Kart Wii is no exception. The game new features 12 players as opposed to 8 players in the previous game. This being on the Wii, the motion controls have been added, which I’ve already explained. The biggest addition to the series is being able to ride bikes. This stands next to the two players to one kart mechanic in Double Dash as one of the most controversial changes in Mario Kart history. Its announcement was the cause for concern of some veterans, but you can rest assured that it doesn’t turn the Mario Kart you once loved into something that’s gone horribly wrong. In fact, the bikes are very good. I would go so far as to say they are better than the karts, and are a great addition to the series!

So, other than design, what’s the difference? Well, the bikes can do wheelies, giving you a slight, but noticeable speed increase. To make things fairer for people on karts, the wheelies have much more restricted movement, and you’ll stop for a second or two after being hit while doing a wheelie. Some of the bikes can also turn tighter corners, but the bikes can only generate blue sparks while drifting; whereas the karts generate orange sparks, giving them an advantage in drifting. But, because of wheelies and the ability to turn tighter corners, bikes seem to be the vehicle of choice when it comes to the Time Trial mode.

Also new is the trick system. Most of the tracks have had more ramps added to them. Once you’re off the ramp and in the air, you’ll have to shake the Wii Wheel/Wii remote/D-Pad in an up, sideways or down direction to do a trick. Not only do these look very flashy, but they also give you a short-lived boost, so you’ll have to do this as often as possible.

Mario Kart Wii gives you a lot of tracks to choose from; each of them incredibly well-done and elaborately designed. And whether you’re driving around the autumn leaves in Maple Treeway, or speeding down a waterfall in Koopa Cape, no two tracks look similar. Most of the tracks have been designed to feature shortcuts; meaning you should go around the track slowly to try and find them. There are a total of 32 tracks; with 16 brand new tracks and 16 that were featured in previous Mario Kart games. A lot of the older tracks have had some ramps added to them to make use of the trick system. Nintendo certainly don’t seem to be showing any signs of running out of creativity when it comes to level design.

The tracks feature some very nice looking environments. While they’re not incredibly detailed, they have some nice looking textures for a Wii game, and use the bloom effects well in most cases. However, for a few tracks, Nintendo added a tad too much bloom. The character models aren’t too good, though. Most of them are poorly done with choppy edges; and a few of them being on par with the DS versions character models. In short; the graphics are a mixed bag, with some great environments but the designers must have left the character models until the last few minutes or so. This is made more disappointing by the fact that it’s a first-party Nintendo game. Nintendo have made superior graphics while working with the Gamecube.

Snaking is something which has been pointed out as a major flaw in Mario Kart DS. It consisted of shaking the D-Pad left and right to achieve a quick boost. People normally do this so fast that it can be done several times in a matter of seconds, and the movements resembled that of a snake slithering along the track. It wasn’t a technique new to the DS version; in fact it was featured in previous Mario Kart games. But the problem was highlighted with Mario Kart DS’s online mode, as it was full of snakers. It made playing online a competition based solely on snaking, and ruined the online play for several people. Now you’ll just have to hold the drift button and wait for the orange sparks (blue on the bikes) to appear. You can waggle the control stick to make the sparks appear faster, but they don’t appear nearly as fast as they could in previous games. Two words: good riddance.

The game has a few different modes to choose from. There’s the Grand Prix mode, which is basically the tournament mode, and is used to gain unlockables; such as karts, bikes and characters. Its difficulty levels are 50cc, 100cc and 150cc (easy, normal and hard respectively). And, presumably in an attempt to help you adjust to different vehicles, 50cc is karts only, 100cc is bikes only, and 150cc is both. Another part is the extra Mirror mode. Mirror mode is just 150cc, but horizontally flipped. Not only will you have to face the challenges of 150cc again, but you’ll have to re-adjust to the tracks. If there’s one thing wrong with the Grand Prix, other than the lack of 2-4 player modes, is the wonky difficulty curve. The progression between 50cc and 100cc is smooth, but spikes once you get to 150cc. Long story short; the Grand Prix offers a bit too much challenge for some, but will keep you playing for quite a bit.

The multiplayer mode is what the series is famous for, and, like in Mario Kart DS, you can play offline and online. Offline is your standard split screen affair, as you would expect. Online play in Mario Kart Wii runs smoothly, and it’s rare that you’ll notice any lag; amazing considering the console’s poor reputation for online and the fact that it features 12 players online. When you start off playing Mario Kart Wii online, you’ll have 5,000 points. When you win you’ll gain points, and when you lose you’ll lose points. The amount of points you can lose for a loss seems odd, I’ve lost as many as 100 points on some occasions, which is completely ridiculous!

Connecting with friends still requires the friend code system, which is a slight annoyance. However, I’ve learned to accept that the system is not perfect; a fact that even Mr. Iwata has acknowledged before. When your friends are online, you can send them pre-written messages. The messages include the basic phrases that you would say before playing a Mario Kart game, and you can try to agree on what mode you want to play. While it’s a cool feature, I would have preferred to be able to use a USB keyboard, or at least type my own message.

New to the series is online battle mode. The battle mode in the game is decent, but it won’t replace simple kart racing, for a few reasons. The stages are very large, being designed for twelve players. So, if you’re playing a 2 or 4 player battle, you’ll rarely bump into each other. Battle mode has been changed to be purely tem-based. I don’t have a problem with team-based battle mode, but there should definitely have been a free-for-all option added to it. In balloon battle, you won’t die when you lose all of your balloons. All that happens is your team loses one point.

Another new feature is the Time Trial mode. The time trial mode is a great addition, and a reason to come back to the game. You’ll obviously have to go through stages slowly, and observe them to see if you can find shortcuts to exploit in order to achieve a faster time. The game comes with ghost data from Nintendo staff. There are two for each stage, normal ghost data, and expert ghost data when you’ve beat the normal ghost data. You’re rewarded with unlockables for completing certain time trials. That’s not all. You can download a friend’s ghost data, race against your own fastest ghost data, and even upload your ghost data to Nintendo’s servers and compare them with the best of the best. I find that watching the replays of the top ranking ghost data in the leaderboards are a good way of finding shortcuts for different stages.

Previous Mario Kart iterations have had the concept of different items to mix things up a bit, while still holding closely to their chests the ‘skill factor’. This meant, while the items still helped, the key element to karting success was practise and skill. Now that the Wii version has arrived, Nintendo felt it necessary to even the playing field a bit more, which brings up my first, biggest problem with Mario Kart Wii. At times, the game can feel more based on who can get the better items as opposed to actual skill. Certain items are overly powerful, like the mega mushroom. Also, if you get hit by an item, there’s no short period of invulnerability. This gives you little time to get back on your feet, and leaves you open for a barrage of green and red shells just after you’ve been hit.

The problem is highlighted in 150cc. Even if you’re in first place, this type of thing can put you down to sixth or seventh place, and this can cause some extremely frustrating defeats. Unfortunately, instances like those are not rare in the game. On occasion, the cheap and rubber banding A.I can be so frustrating that it can overshadow the fun. It doesn’t get that bad often, but if it happens at all, something must have gone wrong somewhere along the line. A shame, because Mario Kart Wii could have achieved a far, far higher score had 150cc been less relentless and unfair.

In short; the frantic karting gameplay was tripped up by the unparalleled levels of frustration felt during the 150cc and Mirror Modes. However, no matter how many times I threw my Wii remote and nunchuck to the ground in frustration, I’d always be quick to pick it back up and start playing again; for a number of reasons. When you’re not in the unforgiving 150cc and Mirror modes, the gameplay is very fun; at times nearing Super Mario Galaxy as the most fun I have had on the Wii.

In good old Nintendo fashion, Mario Kart Wii features some great, catchy music, some of which give a musical hint or two to different Mario games (eg. Rainbow Road features a hint to Super Mario Galaxy). The music’s theme is more techno pop. Although it’s great, it only uses MIDI instruments.

A feature that has been anticipated is the Mario Kart Channel. It’s a new channel you can install to your Wii Menu where you can access the leaderboards and rankings, see what different competitions are going on and see if any of your friends are online without actually inserting the disc. It seems pointless for me, because there’s an option on the game menu where you can access all this information anyway. A bonus to actually downloading the channel is that you get a message sent to your Wii Message Board from Nintendo alerting you about a new competition. The competitions are all very different, and occur on a monthly basis. They normally consist of a task you have to do, and you can upload your fastest time to Nintendo’s leaderboards. It’s a great new feature, and is bound to add some longevity to the game. However, I would have enjoyed being able to replay the challenges from previous competitions, or at least had some challenges included in the game.

Mario Kart Wii joins every game in the Wii series as one of the games to allow you to play as your Mii character. Their height class is determined by the height you registered for it in the Mii Channel. This is a decent addition to the roster, but I would much rather play as a different character. This is mainly because the Mii has one of the most annoying and completely random voices I have ever heard.

Mario Kart Wii, while coming close, fails to deliver the definitive Mario Kart experience that it had the potential to deliver. One thing I found upon reflection is that every aspect (bar the online) comes so close to amazing, but is let down by unnecessary touches and additions. There’s a reason Nintendo calls this game a bridge title: it offers a lot to both casual and hardcore fans, even more so than any other game in the series. It’s really easy for new players to ‘pick it up and play’ every now and again, but there’s still a lot to offer for the hardcore fans; for example, the time trial leaderboards and all the unlockables. Is Mario Kart Wii the definitive version of Mario Kart? No, but it comes very close and despite its flaws, it’s one of the best games in the series.

Overall: 9.0

+ The classic Mario Kart gameplay remains intact, with some cool new features

+ Amazing track design

+ The environments are very pretty…

- … But the character models are poor

- Rubber banding A.I makes the 150cc and Mirror modes a huge pain

- The battle mode isn’t doing too well here

Mario games have been known to all have the same story, and Super Mario Galaxy is no exception to the rule. And, like other games, there’s a small twist in order to take you to other places. Princess Peach invites Mario to the Star Festival in the Mushroom Kingdom. While on his way, Bowser and his airships are back to wreak  havoc upon the Star Festival. One of Bowser’s flying saucers rip the castle from the ground, and take it into outer space. Mario tries to get into the castle and save her, but he gets blasted away before he can do anything. He lands on a small planet, where he meets Princess Rosalina. Rosalina has a space ship which she can use to travel to the Centre of the Universe where Bowser and Peach are, but a minimum of 60 Power Stars are required for it to work, and these Power Stars were scattered across the universe by Bowser. So, Rosalina grants Mario the ability to travel through planets by using Sling Stars, and he’s off to get 60 Power Stars and save Princess Peach!

Mario games are known to continually innovate in the genre it helped to define with the original Super Mario Bros, and Galaxy doesn’t seem to be a slacker in this department. The game’s biggest focus is the gravity effects on the planets. As Mario is running, your view of the planets takes several different twists, and can even turn upside down. It could be said that the camera is as focused on the planets themselves as it is on our favourite porky plumber. If you get high enough in the air when near another planet, the gravitational pull from that planet will pull you down towards it. Despite what you may think, this takes a very short time to get used to and eventually, seeing Mario twist and turn will seem like second nature to you while playing the game.

Rosalina’s observatory acts as a hub world to get to all of the different galaxies in the area. In the observatory are several different areas. These areas consist of several different galaxies each. There is no set path for you to follow. If you have enough stars, you can go to any galaxy you want in any order you want, which gives you a lot more freedom then you’re given in other games. There are some galaxies which contain Grand Stars, known as the Grand Star Galaxies. Each Grand Star will add more light to the observatory, and will give you access to another area. The observatory is absolutely huge, and very well designed. There’s also a library which you can visit, where Rosalina’s back story is seen. As the game progresses, you see more and more of Rosalina’s back story. Luckily for some people, it isn’t forced, but it’s still an interesting bonus to the game.

Rosalina’s observatory is often orbited by special comets. These will add certain types of levels to galaxies which they are orbiting. Some let you race Cosmic Mario (a sillouhette of Mario), while others require you to go through a level without being hit once! They undeniably add more challenge to people who want to collect all 120 Power Stars.

Galaxy features all the abilities that you have come to expect from 3D Mario games. Mario’s incredibly high jumps are back, he can do a backwards flip and the long jump also makes an appearance. The most important ability in the game is the spin attack. This is pulled off very easily; all you have to do is shake the remote. The spin attack has many uses. You can attack or stun most normal enemies with it, before delivering the final blow; which is done by running up to the stunned enemy, or stomping on it. You can also shoot back most projectiles that are launched at you by enemies, smash open crates to reveal items and Star Bits, and achieve a slightly higher jump than you would get normally. But, it’s main purpose is to move from planet to planet. You’ll have to use sling stars to do this. You simply walk towards it, and, when it pulls you towards it, you shake the Wii remote, and it shoots Mario off to another planet at a great speed.

Moments like these leave you in awe looking at the graphics of Super Mario Galaxy. Whether you’re looking at the water effects and reflections, the lighting effects, or looking at a distant planet that you have yet to explore, the graphics are absolutely astounding. While it doesn’t have an ultra realistic look, Mario doesn’t feel like the type of game that needs one. It’s a game which is supposed to have cartoony graphics. Despite this fact, there’s still a lot of rich detail in the game. HD or not, what is shown in Super Mario Galaxy can stand up to a lot of games on the Xbox 360. That’s not an easy feat by any means, especially considering the limited graphical technology Nintendo EAD had to work with. This just goes to show that, when handled properly, Wii graphics can look phenomenal.

The power-ups are back, and back with a vengance! The classic Fire Mario is here, as well as new, and undeniably much more interesting power ups. The Bee Mario will turn Mario into a bee, and you can fly for a limited amount of time and climb on honeycombs when you have it. The Boo Mario (by far my favourite power-up) turns Mario into a boo, and you can float, and go through walls with the flick of the Wii Remote. They make the more themed levels even more fun to play, and have some very interesting uses. Some of the power-ups, like Flying Mario, are not used nearly as much as I would have hoped, though.

The Wii’s motion controls have a lot of different uses. There’s the pull star paths; where you point at a blue star and press A to pull Mario towards it, and you do that until you’re at your destination,  ride atop a stingray by tilting the Wii remote in different directions, and ride atop a giant ball with a Power Star in it by holding the Wii remote like a joystick, and tilting it forward to move faster.

Star Bits are an important part of the game, and can even be exchanged for power-ups from Lumas. You collect them by simply pointing at them with the Wii remote, and for every fifty you collect, you gain a power star. They can also be used to stun enemies, by pointing at the enemy and pressing the B button.

Rosalina lives on the observatory with little star-like creatures called Lumas. These are very useful along Mario’s adventure. Their purpose is to transform into something at the end of their lives; some will grow into planets, others into comets, and some even transform into galaxies for you. Their services aren’t normally free. In fact, you’ll have to feed them some of your Star Bits as an insentive.

Nintendo always seem to shine with their level designs. Super Mario Galaxy is up there as one of the prime examples of Nintendo’s fantastic and original level designs. I originally thought that there wouldn’t be that much variation in the level design, and that Mario would only explore a series of small planetoids. Nintendo seem to have put my fears to rest, as there are many different types of levels in the game. There are the classic fire and lava levels, ice and water levels, as well as new types of planetoid levels. The variety of levels in the game make them all an absolute joy to play, but also fun to explore once your looking for the remaining stars.

With Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo have found the perfect balance of old and new in almost every aspect. While there are new levels, and concepts which have previously been unexplored; there are still some levels which retain the classic 2D side-scrolling elements and gameplay. The gameplay of Galaxy will never become repetitive, no matter how obsessively you play it, because of the variation featured in the game.

Then, we have an incredibly well-praised part of the game; the music. The music is now mostly orchestrated; which, on paper, wouldn’t seem to work. In the game, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Because the game is set mostly in space, most of the songs have a theme of exploration and adventure; so the music generally has that very theme. For the more obviously themed levels (like ice and fire levels), there are also some very good tunes for them with exactly the theme that the level design conveys. Simply put; the music fits the levels perfectly. There are also remixes of tunes from the older Mario games, which is a very nice bonus.

While everything I have said so far has been positive, that’s not to say the game is perfect; it does have flaws. While the camera angle does do a good job of trying to keep everything in, it sometimes does a better job of getting a good view at a nearby tree than Mario. Also, the different effects of the gravitational pulls, while very cool to watch, can be a little bit confusing.

Galaxy now has a co-operative multiplayer mode called ‘Co-star mode’. Instead of controlling two characters like you normally do in co-op games, one of the players takes charge of Mario, and another can help that player by grabbing a second Wii remote. The second player can keep some enemies or moving obstacles still by pressing A while putting the pointer over it, which will help Mario to get past them. As well as this, they can shoot some of Mario’s star bits. Obviously, having the second Wii remote is definitely the ‘short end of the straw’. That’s not to say that the co-op is terrible, but I think the second player could have been given a bit more to do.

All of these elements combine perfectly to make an absolutely astounding platformer; a rare breed indeed. The difficulty level is adequate. Some levels are very easy, and some levels are very hard, some even ‘Mega Man’ hard. While some would say platformers are dead, it certainly seems to be the genre where Nintendo shatter expectations and innovate more than any other genre. This is the best game on the Wii, arguably the best game this generation, and one of the best games of all time.

Overall: 9.7

+ Fantastic gameplay

+ The best graphics on the Wii

+ Great power-ups

- The camera angles can be wonky on occassions

- Flying Mario isn’t used very often

- The co-op could have been better.

You play as Leon S. Kennedy, the protagonist seen in Resident Evil 2. The game takes place in a European country, around 5 years after the T-Virus outbreak in Racoon City. Leon is a secret service agent, who is assigned to find the President’s daughter; Ashley Graham. Ashley has been kidnapped by a mysterious cult known as Los Illuminados. While on the way, he encounters some less than welcoming villagers, the Ganados. They are infected with Las Plagas, a mind-controlling parasites which causes people to pledge allegiance to the Los Illuminados cult.

With RE4, Capcom took the genre into a new direction. This new direction turns the game into more of a Survival Horror themed shooter, rather than a full on Survival Horror game. Don’t feel put off by this, the game still meets a lot of the criteria of a standard Resident Evil game. The game still has huge boss fights, only these bosses are bigger than ever before. The games atmosphere is also something that I will praise. The atmosphere is as perfect as you can get in a Horror themed game. The games eerie environments, the distant echoes of enemies. Those elements combine to keep raising the tension steadily until you are faced with enemies, and will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The music is also spine-chilling. The music matches the mood that the environments illustrate perfectly, which makes it not only one of the best horror video game soundtracks, but one of the best horror soundtracks in general.

The shooting is done well in the game. Although I have been playing through the Wii version recently, I have also owned the Gamecube and PlayStation 2 versions of the game. The gameplay takes place at an over-the-shoulder view, and zooms in whilst you are aiming, a helpful part of the shooting gameplay element. Where you are aiming is shown by a red laser when using the traditional gamepad. The control stick does it’s job at aiming well, at least when it’s not compared with the pointer controls. In a game with fast paced and frantic action such as RE4, and when hordes of enemies come running at you (this happens very often), the control stick can feel a bit too slow for my liking. With the pointer controls, it’s much easier to pull of headshots. It instantly feels very natural and intuitive, and, before you know it, you’ll think of the pointer as the definitive way to play the game.

The enemies are not zombies in this game, as stated when you examine the corpse of the first Ganado you encounter. It states, and I quote “He’s not a zombie”. The enemies are, in fact, very different. The new enemies are much smarter and quicker, they can dodge certain attacks, hold weapons, and even communicate. If one enemy catches sight  If that wasn’t enough, there’s more. The enemy AI is head and shoulders above the AI in RE4′s predecessers. Once you’ve pulled off an all-important headshot, don’t be satisfied until the enemy falls to the ground. A Blade Plaga will sometimes burst out, which is one of the forms of Las Plagas. It has a blade which swings around to inflict damage on others.

You will, quite early in the game, locate the president’s daughter. While you’re with her, you’ll have to make sure she’s safe, even while you are shooting enemies. Enemies will attempt to grab Ashley and try to take her out of the area and in a disclosed area. You’ll have to be more aware of where Ashley is, as a result. You can tell her to stand still in her current position, but this is not reccomended unless a puzzle calls for it, or if she can hide. The level when you need to get past hordes of enemies, while protecting Ashely, while both co-operating to solve puzzles is a very entertaining level, and one of my favourites in the whole game. However, protecting Ashley can prove to be a bit of a chore in some levels of the game. There is one level which calls for you to play as Ashley, while you are seperated from Leon. The level drags out for a tad longer than I would want.

RE4 has a full inventory system, which is extremely well implemented. Getting to the inventory screen will pause gameplay and allow you to grab some of your items, switch weapons, and heal yourself. This ensures that you will very rarely run out of ammo, which I am happy about. Running out of ammo is a huge annoyance when you’re playing a game as action-packed as RE4 is. Another thing worth mentioning is the new travelling merchant. The merchant will sell you items and weapon upgrades, but will also buy treasures which you have found during the course of the game, and items. The merchant is a very handy guy to have in the game, and will always be famous for the immortal lines: “Got some rare things on sale, stranger!”

The graphics in the game are arguably the best graphics that the last generation (GC, PS2 and Xbox) could offer. The graphics were stunning, and still are, albeit, the textures are starting to show their age a little bit. Still, RE4 acts as a showcase of how impressive last-gen graphics can actually be, with some amazing lighting and particle effects. What’s more impressive is that it’s better looking than most games on the Wii at the moment. Obviously, true 16:9 widescreen help in the graphics department. The enemy animations are also very impressive. The enemies will react to the area of the body which you attack. For example, if you hit an enemy in the leg, the enemy will crouch and cradle his leg for a few seconds. It’s at this time when running up to them and serving up some Mr Kennedy whooping (also known as the ‘Roundhouse Kick’) is highly recommended.

The cutscenes featured in the game also keep you on the edge of your seat. They require the controller to be placed firmly in your hand, as some cutscenes will require you to press a random combination of buttons, or shake the Wii remote. As you would expect, the cutscenes highlight the games graphics.

Overall: 9.7

+ Visually stunning, and outstanding level design

+ Fast-paced and thrilling gameplay

+ The enemy AI is smart

- Protecting Ashley can sometimes be a chore

- The Ashley level

- Hmm…

In Pikmin, you control Captain Olimar, an astronaut from the planet Hocotate. While taking a vacation in outer space, his spaceship; the S.S Dolphin, is struck by an asteroid. The S.S Dolphin plummets down to a strange planet, distant planet. All 30 of the S.S Dolphin’s parts have been scattered across 4 different areas in the game. The only problem is that the oxygen contained in the planet is highly poisonous, and Olimar’s life-support system can only last for 30 days. Olimar cannot do this alone. Fortunately for him, small creatures called Pikmin inhabit the area, and are willing to help Olimar find the missing parts of the S.S Dolphin.

There are three different types of Pikmin, all of which have certain strengths, and are very handy to have. There are red, yellow and blue Pikmin. The red Pikmin are stronger than the yellow and the blue Pikmin are, and can go through fire without being damaged. The yellow Pikmin can carry bomb rocks, which are very useful when battling monsters and breaking down walls. The blue Pikmin can survive while in water. Unfortunately, you will have to stand on the sidelines while the Pikmin are fighting, as Olimar can be damaged by enemies.

When Olimar stumbles upon new types of Pikmin, they appear in things called ‘Onions’. To make new Pikmin, a pre-existing Pikmin will have to get pellets or defeated enemies, and put it into the onion. The onion will then shoot out a Pikmin seed, which will plant itself conveniently into the ground.

The different strengths of the Pikmin require you to think things through before you go to do certain tasks. The tasks will include defeating an enemy and breaking down walls or building bridges to clear a path for Olimar and the Pikmin. The Pikmin can be split up by colour, and they will remain separated unless you call them with your whistle. This is a very useful feature in the game, which will allow the Pikmin to carry out several different tasks at once very easily. Each in-game day lasts for around 15 minutes, which is plenty of time to plant more Pikmin, while going with another group of Pikmin to retain a ship part. New to the Wii version of the game is the ability to replay in-game days. So, if you have a huge Pikmin ‘wipeout’, in which all of your Pikmin are killed, you can go back to the start of the day before the Pikmin wipeout. While it’s rare that you will have to do this, it’s a useful addition to the game.

Pikmin, over time, will evolve. The different stages are shown on the Pikmin’s heads. The Pikmin will, at first, have leaves on their heads. Then buds, and then flowers. After each stage, the Pikmin will gain strength and speed. Pikmin can gain a flower on their heads by allowing them to drink nectar.

The level design in Pikmin is great. The areas that Olimar can explore with his Pikmin (except where he crashed his ship) are huge, and a joy to explore! There are parts of the map and obstacles perfectly suited for specific types of Pikmin. This highlights the well thought-out strengths and weaknesses of certain types of Pikmin.

There’s also a Challenge Mode featured in the game, which will be unlocked early in gameplay, assuming you manage to get a decent amount of ship parts. The challenge mode feels like it was just tacked on to the game to make up for how short the game is. In the challenge mode, you can go through the different stages to see how many you can collect before the day is over. It just feels like a lazy attempt to increase the games replayability, and a failed attempt. What makes this more of an annoyance is that it could have improved the replayability, had the mode provided you with different challenges.

As a result of being a port of a Gamecube game, the graphics don’t look that great when compared with some of the other games on the console. A 16:9 widescreen format is added to the game, which is always fun. But, for a Gamecube game, the graphics are good. Not great, but good.

While there are not many songs in the games soundtrack, the music is great. It’s mostly soothing and relaxing, but the music doesn’t quite fit the environments. This is a very minor problem, but I feel it’s something worth mentioning.

My final problem with the game is the Pikmin AI. The AI is not bad by any means, but it’s not great either. They can definitely get the jobs that are required done, but they often struggle. The Pikmin, when carrying items and ship parts, go straight to the area where the different onions and the ship is. They are completely oblivious to any nearby enemies, and refuse to go on alternative routes, which are provided. This can make getting to the ship incredibly frustrating at times.

Another example of not so perfect AI is when a lot of yellow Pikmin were on a high up level where a ship part was located. When there were enough Pikmin to carry the item, they completely ignored a perfectly laid out path which eventually led to the ship, and went into the path that the blue Pikmin would normally take, straight through the water. Because the yellow Pikmin don’t have gills, they drowned.

Overall: 9.0

+ Beautifully crafted level design

+ Contolling the Pikmin is easier than ever with Wii controls

+ The music is beautiful

- The Pikmin’s AI isn’t too impressive, to say the least.

- The Challenge Mode feels tacked on.

- The game is a bit short

Pikmin Trivia! (You can ignore this, it’s not part of the review)

• The S.S Dolphin is a reference to the Gamecubes original codename; Project Dolphin
• The creatures names are a reference to his old dog “Pikku”
• Most of the Super Mario 128 elements were incorporated here (Damn, I wish they would have released the game)
• Miyamoto was inspired to make Pikmin by observing different creatures in his garden (o.O)

The game starts very shortly after the events of Wind Waker, where Link, Tetra and Tetra’s crew of pirates are sailing along the seas where they come across the mysterious and infamous Ghost Ship, surrounded by fog. Tetra has heard of the incredible amount of riches that await on the Ghost Ship, so goes to board the ship. Silly girl. Doesn’t she know overwhelming amounts of fog is bad? Anyway, Link tries to save her, but gets washed away to Outset Island. It is here where he meets Ciela, the games equivalent to Navi from Ocarina of Time. Ciela just happens to be amnesiac, just to cause some more inconvenience. Ciela then takes you to see Oshus, an elderly man who Ciela believes to be it’s grandfather. So, Oshus and Ciela decide to help you, and on the island you are introduced to Lineback, and the Phantom Hourglass, which is the gimmick that holds a place in the title this time around. I find it strange that the Phantom Hourglass is featured in the title of the game, where it is used in just a few instances in the game (every time you enter the Ocean Temple, to be exact). Link is now off on a quest to save Tetra, in short. And hey, you may just be able to help Ciela get her memory back.

The game has now reverted back to the same type of camera angle that was featured in the original Legend of Zelda game on the NES. It is now controlled with the stylus. It is very easy to be skeptical of the idea, but you can rest assured that it works, though. Most problems that you could consider about controlling the game completely with the stylus have been dealt with, and suprisingly well. To walk, you tap and hold down with the stylus on to where you want to go. If possible, Link will automatically jump off of an edge if he approaches one. To slash, you simply do a slicing movement with the stylus and Link will follow suit. To do a spin attack, draw a circle with the stylus. This new control scheme is something Nintendo simply have to be congratulated for, as squeezing all the possible actions for Link onto just the touch screen must not have been an easy task at all. That being said, I prefer the more traditional controls of Wind Waker in this case, but that’s just down to personal preference.

Sailing the seas is now much more a part of the game than it was in Wind Waker. You can now plot your path on the map using the touch screen, which will allow you to be more aware of local enemies and cyclones. Enemies in the sea are simply defeated by tapping them a couple of times to shoot at them with your cannon. Encounters at sea are certainly very easy, but I find sailing the seas much better than in Wind Waker. There is more of a focus on exploring the seas to find certain things, such as hidden treasure, hidden islands and even fishing in this game. While there are a lot of additions on the side in this Zelda, for whatever reason, I just don’t feel as compelled to do these things as I am in other Zelda games.

The Phantom Hourglass is only ever used in the Ocean Temple, a temple in which the 4 sea charts lie. In order to be able to even go anywhere in the seas, you will need to collect the charts. The Ocean Temple sucks the life out of you, quite literally. There are highlighted areas where you can stay for a few minutes. In them, you’re health will not be taken away, and the guards of the temple won’t be able to see you and will soon go back to where they were before you were spotted. Even one hit from these guards will have you killed, which encourages you to be much more cautious of your enemies. With the Phantom Hourglass, however, the life will not be sucked out of you, but you have a time limit. The time limit is displayed in the top left of the screen, and, until the time ticks to 00:00, you won’t have any health sucked out of you. In the highlighted areas, just like with your health, your time limit will stay the same.

The dungeons are not quite as good in this Zelda game as in the other games, and the puzzles are easy. The only difficulty to be found in the puzzles is if the touch screen, for whatever reason, doesn’t recognize what you’re drawing on the touch screen. Believe me, it happens more often than you would expect. The dungeons do make some clever uses of the items, however. One example is you using the hookshot as a tight-rope.

As I have said before, the games art style remains as it was in Wind Waker. What was astonishing on the Gamecube is still good when squeezed on to the DS. Obviously, because of the games camera angle and the DS’s much lower graphical capabilities, what is done with the graphics is much more limited and pixelated. That being said, it’s probably one of the prettier looking games on the system.

+ Sailing is now much more fun

+ The touch screen controls work near flawlessly

+ One of the prettiest games on the DS

- The game is short by Zelda standards

- The side quests aren’t as compelling as in other Zelda games

- The game sometimes has problems recognizing what you’re trying to draw

Overall: 9.0

A very good attempt by Nintendo to squeeze the Zelda world on to the tiny DS, but it has it’s fair share of faults which, although somewhat minor, do affect the experience provided. The music is also great, but there’s nothing too memorable in there like there is in most Zelda games. It is a great game, but, by Zelda standards, it’s only decent.