Super Mario

Game Description: Every hundred years a comet passes over the Mushroom Kingdom and rains down stars and stardust, and as Princess Peach and the citizens of the kingdom are celebrating the centennial event, Bowser and his legions attack by launching asteroids at the Mushroom Kingdom and crystalizing the Toads! Knowing that Bowser is after Princess Peach, Mario runs to save her. Things go awry as Bowser summons a massive spaceship, abducts Peach's entire castle and hits Mario with a massive magical attack. The next thing he knows, he finds himself on a mysterious moon high above the Mushroom Kingdom! Navigate Mario through a bevy of exciting new worlds and the depths of space, with all new enemies, power-ups and attack skills, as he collects the Stars needed to save Princess Peach!

Super Mario Galaxy makes a veteran Mario fan like me feel like I’m playing a Mario game for the first time. It’s like the seminal Super Mario 64 in that way. I’m glad that after 20 years, Nintendo can still make something old feel new again.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Mild Cartoon Violence

The arrival of Super Mario Galaxy marks the continuation of one of gaming's most beloved franchises. It also happens to mark the extension of Nintendo's remarkable streak of critical supremacy. According to the review aggregator site Game Rankings, the top-rated game for each of the last three console generations appeared exclusively on a Nintendo machine. So what does this mean?

Since purchase, my Wii has seen very little action. Extremely little. The layer of dust on it is ridiculous. When a few import titles made their way to the Virtual Console, I was intrigued.  My first purchases from Nintendo's offerings, I downloaded Sin & Punishment and Super Mario Bros: the Lost Levels.

What makes Super Paper Mario so significant is the way that it embodies self-critique in its very structure—it doesn't merely contain elements of critique, it is a critique. So what, if anything, does this mean for videogames?

Game Description: The newest chapter of the Paper Mario story isn’t just out of this world…it’s out of this dimension! What at first glance appears to be a 2-D sidescroller ripped straight from the stylized pages of the Paper Mario universe soon turns into a hilarious dimension-shifting platformer possible only on Wii! 2-D...AND 3-D! Run through vibrant 2-D worlds, stomping on enemies and breaking blocks....then, with the press of a button, flip into 3-D! In the 3rd dimension, you'll find hidden paths, battle foes, and uncover secrets as you explore the previously invisible depth of the 2-D landscapes!

I think it really says something about the maturity and freestanding quality of the medium that there can be a game that derives so much entertainment purely from self-reflexivity. That videogames provide such fertile ground for multi-dimensional satire (no pun intended) is as sure a sign as any of the creative health of the art form.