At first, Galaxy seemed distinctly unlike previous Mario outings; even Sunshine had some areas that resembled sidescrolling with a third dimension, but Galaxy puts everything into a gravity twisting multidimensional planetoid. However, as I played on and got more used to Galaxy's mechanics, it started to feel much more familiar. The spirit of Mario, its breadth of available challenge, its demand of attentiveness and precise reaction, is all here. Though the gameplay is totally different, the feel of it is the same.

Here's how it works: the central hub world is Rosalina's Observatory (Peach's Castle). It contains several domes (floors), which must be unlocked by defeating Bowser and his bratty kid in a series of encounters. Each dome allows access to a number of galaxies (paintings), with a number of missions for stars, more galaxies becoming unlocked with more stars. At 60 stars you can face Bowser in a final battle, and there are 120 stars in the game. And after finishing the game with all 120, you unlock Super Luigi Galaxy, where you can start all over again!

Getting 60 stars is simple enough, and while final Bowser is admirably challenging for a Mario end boss, most players should be able to accomplish it. But as with its predecessors, getting all 120 is rather trying, with a whole slew of them being quite difficult, and a handful of those, damn near impossible.

Gathering stars is rewarding not only for the sake of accomplishment, but for simply getting to experience the great depth of content Galaxy offers. There are 15 full-fledged galaxies with about six stars each, and another 25 bonus galaxies with one apiece; and though some borrow themes from others (for instance, two bee forests, and two penguin beaches), they are all designed to be incredibly unique. There is an astonishing amount of level design in Galaxy, and it's all top notch.

As far as the narrative goes, don't let Rosalina's "past [...] shrouded in mystery" fool you. This is (thankfully) just as meaningless as the story of Sunshine or Mario 64. There is some unimportant backstory to go along with it, and about fifteen seconds of spotty voice acting, but the only thing really worth noting in Galaxy's "story" is that Bowser is fucking evil! The last few years of games have painted Bowser as sort of a bumbling oaf, but in Galaxy he really means business.

And the soundtrack? Just as awesome as I had hoped. Remixes of old themes, great new compositions, and a dash of orchestrated magic thrown in make Galaxy sound incredible.

I hate to complain, but I must call out Galaxy's disorienting controls. I'm not talking about the learning curve, which exists, but is fine alongside the development of the game. The problem is that in select scenarios, e.g. with small planetoids and in claustrophobic water chambers, orientation and camera movement are totally bogus. The vast majority of the game is fine, and in fact I am endlessly impressed by how well it is pulled off; the game's demands upon a control and camera system are immense. But there are points where even the best they could possibly do isn't good enough.

Anyway, that shouldn't stop you from playing this game. It's just ... wow. The gameplay is brilliant, and there is so much of it, executed so well. Absolutely fantastic.

Progress: 120 stars

I was sort-of right. There are camera controls, in the C button and the remote's D-pad, but they're almost never useful. It's much better now with a more responsive remote than at the demo - but in general, the game's spherical playfield and outright denial of sensible gravity will fuck with your head, and in fact, the heart of the game (at least so far) is in getting used to this.

Even stumbling around a bit, the early stars are a cinch, and I really feel like I'm becoming accustomed with the game's mechanics. The instruction manual reveals a ton of things to come - there's way more than just Bee Mario and Boo Mario - and given the 'epic' nature of the game's intro and the sheer complexity of its orbital castle hub world, I can't stop thinking about what star mission I'm going to go on next.

The optional two-player dynamic is a great idea for the Wii. The game is totally possible with one player, and in this way, it is precisely what Mario enthusiasts have been waiting for. With a second player able to point things out and stun enemies (and perform even more helpful actions), the game enters a theoretical EZ-mode where any two fools can jump around and have fun.

The game's presentation is fantastic, but, you already know this. What you don't yet know is the sheer joy of seeing Mario blast through space Superman-style. I'll admit... I teared up a little.

Progress: 3 stars

To elaborate on the online multiplayer:

There are three online game types, 4-6 missions of each type, and two sides in each mission. You can choose whatever side you want, or that you don't care; whatever mission you want, or that you don't care, even which game type, or that you don't care. And you can play any configuration with friends, or with Anyone - so, the net effect is that really Anyone can go to the first multiplayer screen and select Anyone / Any Type, and you can find someone waiting to play in short order.

As for the different types -

• Co-Op is an interesting experience, and assuredly, best with actual friends. Two forces fight together, and each force gets different units, e.g. one might have anti-air and the other might get bazookas. Strategically, the mission demands that each regiment pick their targets and work together. So when you're playing with Ned Newbie - or even with a moderately skilled player that moves at a different pace than yourself - the missions become extremely difficult, slash, impossible. The '1' and '2' buttons can be used for suggesting orders to your compatriot, but these are mostly useless.
• Assault puts one player in the seat of defense, and the other becomes the aggressor. There are five strategic points between the assault front and the defender's HQ; the defender is tasked with keeping these alive, the aggressor, with destroying them. Finally the aggressor must capture the defender's HQ. If the aggressor cannot achieve all this within the time limit, the defender wins. This is a fun gametype, especially as the close respawn points make the match enjoyable even for a player who is being stomped.
• Skirmish is just what it sounds like. Each player is given some units, and kills (or alternate objectives, like destroying key targets or capturing facilities) earn points. After time runs out, the one with the most points wins. This is all-out war, and there are scenarios available for whatever your fighting fancy may be.

I wouldn't say the online multiplayer is a deal-maker, nor a deal-breaker; it's a well-polished and fun addition to the game.

Progress: 100%

The final two missions were actually pretty easy once I had the right game plan. There are some missions that throw things at you so quickly, it's a struggle to keep up, but these were of the sort where - when I took my time and made surgical attacks and counterattacks with the proper unit types - victory came with ease. This is one of the greatest satisfactions in Battalion Wars, and is evoked powerfully in the final battle, with troops from several nations all marching against Kaiser Vlad's "armed and fully operational battlestation!"

In the original Battalion Wars, earning high grades on missions unlocked bonus missions. In BWii, getting all 'A' grades in a campaign unlocks background info on units, and getting all 'S' grades unlocks concept art galleries; but there are no bonus missions in the campaign. There are bonus missions in each of the online modes, unlocked just by playing a number of matches of the corresponding type.

Visually BWii is really impressive, with the same sort of rounded, cartoonish graphical style as the first, but with more 2007-style detail and glow effects. The sound effects are really good, and it even makes gratuitous use of the remote's built-in speaker, with controller tones indicating reload times and command feedback. The story is pretty lame, but has some cool pre-rendered cutscenes.

All told, with the new units, rebalanced game mechanics (friendly fire no longer harms your own troops - a factor that resulted in my defeat many times in the original), Wii controls, and online multiplayer (which I'll glog more about when I can actually play it), BWii represents exactly what the sequel to Battalion Wars was supposed to be. It doesn't break the mold of its predecessor, but it does fulfill the incremental upgrade requirements very well.

Progress: 100%

The first 60% or so flies by fast - the first missions are more tutorial than anything, and there are even some new game mechanics that make it easier: capturing facilities, like Barracks and a Factory, can replenish lost units as a battle proceeds. These missions get a bit complicated (multiple phases), but aren't terribly difficult.

Then, at about the 75% mark, BWii becomes its predecessor. Facilities are no longer present, and the missions become huge, and tough as nails. I enjoy it, and it's no worse than the first BW, but I feel like they could have done something more interesting.

The controls work out really well for the most part. Naval units are just like land units, but on water. Submarine diving is a snap, with a downward nunchuck shake submerging the sub, and an upward shake surfacing it. The naval units integrate with the rest of the game really well (which, incidentally, feels very well-balanced for the amount of unit types there are now). My only complaint about the controls is that air units, steered by tilting the remote, are a borderline impossibility to pilot.

I managed to find someone to play online earlier, in a Skirmish battle. The map I played put me and my opponent each in command of a small naval blockade, with the winner being the one with the most points (from destroying the other guy's stuff) at the end of a time limit, and units respawning throughout. I got creamed, and I didn't feel like the map was very fun, but the other ones sound much better. What impressed me the most was the network performace - if there was any latency, I wasn't able to notice it at all.

Progress: 90%

My biggest concern: I've only completed the prologue mission and the first campaign (six missions altogether), and the game tells me I'm 30% done. My second-biggest concern: BWii has its own friend codes, unique from your Wii's friend list/codes. At the same time, I am very pleased with how it plays - aim with the pointer to choose targets, and use the D-pad on the remote to select from your battalion (like the C-stick from the original). There are some gesture controls too, for stuff like doing barrel rolls, that I'm still getting used to but are working out okay so far.

The level design is already really impressive. In the fourth mission of the first campaign, I pushed my forces into a jungle to capture a drop point, then took control of a Recon vehicle to do some swift sabotage, hurling off ramps that would make Excite Truck blush. And then I took defensive positions around my recovered base and thwarted an air-dropped onslaught! In the next mission, I had Frigates and a Battleship and it was just awesome.

Comfortingly, the voice acting is just as comedically bad as it was before. The first campaign shows off a duo who are awful at faking an Asian accent, and when they get angry, it's hilarious.

I really want to try out the online play, once anyone else has this game. There are three modes: a flat-out skirmish, a co-operative objective mission, and a counter-operative objective mission, where one player defends and the other tries to capture. Apparently more missions (maps?) in each category are unlocked simply by playing them online, so it sounds like there is considerable variety here. And yes, you can play with anyone, not just your friends.

Progress: 30%

According to the game's data record, my last accomplishment was in January of '02, when I beat Event Match 51 with no falls. Back when SSBM came out I played the hell out of it - I got everything unlocked, including the totally impossible Diskun trophy. I wasn't one of those die-hards who plays the game competitively and keeps track of move counters and priorities and crap, but I was very competent; now, realizing I haven't played in forever, I'm coming back like an elderly Sylvester Stallone.

I told myself I wouldn't start "training," and I still don't intend to, if for no other reason than because Brawl is still four months away. But now that I've got a taste of Smashing again I'm really tempted. It was a perfect game then, and my memories of it are beginning to return.

Progress: 290 trophies, everything

The demo had a ten-minute time limit, which included 7-ish minutes of opening cutscene material (which is awesome). My timer ran out just as the space-princess started explaining that I need to gather something and be a hero or whatever crap. But of the time I actually played, I can sum it up in one word: impossible.

Maybe I'm missing something, since there was no instruction manual and I was in a semi-panic to do as much as I could with the time limit. But controlling Mario as he ran across a small floating globe was one of the most difficult things I've ever tried to do. The controls are the most disorienting I've ever seen; if there's a manual camera control, that might have helped, because one minute it was overhead and the next it was following Mario as he juked and jived along the perimeter of this tiny little planetoid, changing direction relative to the planet's center and rotating and revolving and Jesus Christ! I've never been so confused.

Of course, I still cling to fanboy hope, and trust that the game's real and/or final control scheme will be more playable.

Using the Wii Remote kind of sucks. It's nice that the option is there, I guess, but it has all the problems you would expect - doing a Smash attack is inconvenient, not having a Jump button is irritating, and Dashing is a pain. That said, it will probably work out as a good option for the family of four who has never heard of Smash Bros before, and has somehow fallen upon a copy of the game.

So I wish I had had a real controller, and I wish there was less control latency (this can probably be attributed to the early game build, or might also have something to do with there being a dozen other Wiimotes within 15 feet, causing an assload of Bluetooth collisions). Another thing I wish is that I wasn't so damn excited for this game; the website's daily updates form an unstoppable hype train, but really, underneath the extra characters and new modes, it's still the same Smash that you've already played. That's a good thing, though.

P.S. Ike is a tank.

Finally, after being interrupted by an avalanche of schoolwork and a real Zelda game, I can put Ōkami to rest.

People have accused Ōkami of being too slow or too long, and there's some validity to these, but the truth is slightly more complicated. The big-picture direction of Ōkami is pretty unique - in some ways, it's more like a sandbox game than a traditional adventure game. There are significant in-game goals and subgoals that drive the player toward them, but a very big part of the game (I don't hesitate to say a majority of it) is in "optional" content.

This seems like an intentional choice on the part of the game's director to give the player a godlike feeling: you've got to take care of the little things, too. Feed the animals, banish evil from cursed ground, solve people's personal problems. Doing these minor tasks earns you Praise, which is spent incrementally in upgrading your character, that is, earning a higher max HP, more ink wells, extra "Astral Pouches" (think bottled fairies, though I never used one throughout the entire game), and a bigger wallet. You might theoretically get through the game without earning extra Praise, but it would be pretty difficult; plus, the opportunities to earn it are all over the goddamn place, you can barely take a step without tripping over some.

So while Ōkami's world is full of fine detail, at the same time I feel like the big picture is fuzzy. There's a fake ending at the game's halfway point, and the dramatic buildup in general is fairly muddled. There's the game's mix of comedy in dramatic scenes, which is one thing (which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't), but it's just difficult to see the forest for the trees.

Anyway, while the directorial issues can mess with the immersiveness of the game (as can the technical issues I've already mentioned), and while combat and dungeon play isn't nearly as good as an actual Zelda, there is a lot of fun to be had in Ōkami. It's very unique, as I said, and much of its appeal comes just from that; though it resembles Wind Waker in a striking number of ways, there is enough in Ōkami that's all its own for it to be a really interesting play-through.

Ōkami is a pretty charming game, even on top of its awesome aesthetics. If you've got the time for it (I took a bit over 30 hours), I'd really recommend giving it a shot.

Progress: Complete