Mario's power-ups have always been a defining feature of Nintendo's timeless plumber-starring platformer. From the flower that first gave him the ability to spit fire balls in the NES original, to the penguin suit that helped get him through the Mushroom Kingdom all over again in last year's New Super Mario Bros Wii, these ability-granting goodies are synonymous with the series itself. So, it's of little surprise the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy 2 is busting out some new skills that'll allow players to crush Koopas, collect coins, and kick shell in inventive new ways. At a recent hands-on press event for the Wii sequel, Nintendo was all about showing off some of Mario's new galaxy-spanning toys, and I, of course, was more than happy to grab a Wii remote and take them for a spin.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 will look very familiar to anyone who obsessively dedicated too many hours to tracking down every last star in its 2007 predecessor. This follow-up to the planet-hopping hit plays very similarly and borrows the same core concept of spinning the portly plumber from one gravity-defying sphere to the next. But again, cool new power-ups have always made the familiar feel fresh again in Mario's world. And SMG2 is no different, as it adds a bevy of new abilities to Mario's plumber's tool belt.
The first power-up I got my Wii remote-clutching hands on was the drill. Looking similar to, yet far less menacing than, the buzzing bit that hangs off a Big Daddy's arm in BioShock, this item's ability is pretty self explanatory—it, ya know, drills things. But don't let its seemingly mundane existence fool you; the execution and results are awesome, all but guaranteeing its image will someday be emblazoned on t-shirts like the ubiquitous "1-Up" mushroom. When armed with the drill, Mario can burrow through planets with ease, as the player spins the Wii remote just as they would to planet-hop. The drill goes first, Mario hangs on to the back, and a helpful shadow displays its trajectory through solid surfaces. While it's certainly cool to just go planet diving with this industrial power-up, it comes in more handy when being used strategically. On one dusty sphere level, for example, a valuable extra life-granting fungi was just sitting there, taunting me behind a metal cage. The mushroom was inaccessible on all sides, save for the tunnel I could burrow right beneath it. This was probably the simplest example of its usefulness, but it offered me a satisfying peek at its potential, and hooked me on further experimenting with it.
Turns out I didn't have long to play or practice with it though, as a boss battle—requiring its use—forced me to master it toot sweet. Running along the outer edge of a planet shaped like a wagon wheel, Mario (and me) were tasked with dodging the attacks of a giant robot's equally enormous appendages that just happened to be hammering down on the limited real estate of that same outer planet edge. It quickly became obvious the only way to best this Bowser-recruited baddie was to dig through the surface and hit its glass-protected face with the drill. The strategy came in deciding when to dig; diving in the dirt too soon or too late left Mario fruitlessly banging into the bot's metal feet. Even worse, it could flip its face around and reveal its own drill which sent yellow, Bullet Bill-like projectiles swimming through the ground toward you. The solution was to hit its glass face—when it was showing itself—dead-on three times. When I finally pulled off this modestly challenging, but insanely fun feat I wanted to jump right back in and do it all over again.
With more power-ups to test though, I'd have to wait to get back behind Mario's buzzy new buddy. Next on my intergalactic platforming adventure was the Blimp Berry, a fruit that grants temporary flight to whomever gobbles it up. But Mario can't eat this one; nope, this one must be snacked on by none other than Yoshi—yep, the series' favorite supporting prehistoric player is back. The cute little dino's still up to his old tricks, such as using his tongue to swallow up baddies and tether it to objects, but its when he ingests the Blimp Berry he really takes off—literally. The level I got to try Yoshi on was centered around a towering tree that needed to be scaled. The only way up was on Yoshi's back, when he was inflated by the Blimp Berry. Rising like a deflating balloon, Yoshi and Mario slowly ascended the tree, pausing only to stop on some branches and refuel. You see, the power-up's use is very limited and a small clock near Mario indicates how much air you have left. While the drill was a much more aggressive item, great for plowing through bad guys, this new flighty fruit possesses tremendous potential for inspired platforming and puzzling.
With Yoshi's appetite apparently not satiated, I had him snack on another new power-up, the Dash Pepper. When swallowed, this powerful little item gives Yoshi a turbo-like boost, complete with smoke and flame effects firing from his backside. I got to experience this in a level made up of steep inclines that couldn't be scaled without an extra bit of jalapeno power. Yoshi can be steered slightly once the pepper's been ingested, but aside from that he's pretty much on his own and doing his best Roadrunner impression. Like the Blimp Berry, it's a neat time-limited power-up that'll no doubt inject some inventiveness into the franchise's already rich platforming pedigree.
My time with Mario's new toys was short, but they served to get me anticipating Super Mario Galaxy 2's May release. While I only gave these new goodies the equivalent of a test run, I look forward to how the developers will ultimately incorporate them into the Galaxy formula. For many fans, just the return of Yoshi and his new power-granting snacks will be enough to bring them back to Mario's star-blanketed world. But I bet it'll be the infectious gameplay spawned from the drill-based stages that will keep them in orbit.
