Variety misses the point with Super Mario Galaxy review
Although the long-awaited return of Nintendo’s iconic Italian plumber has been setting critical portals alight with rampant praise since Super Mario Galaxy was released on the Wii, it would appear that one notable review source is proving the unpopular exception to the rule.
Indeed, although review aggregator service Metacritic.com shows Super Mario Galaxy to be currently holding the highest points average of the year for next-gen software (97% across 30 collated reviews), Variety magazine clearly isn’t in tune with those reviewers labelling Mario’s sci-fi adventure as a serious contender for ‘Game of the Year’.
Variety’s review opens by way of praise for the development team behind Super Mario Galaxy, offering that the game is “proof positive” that Nintendo still boasts some of the best talent in the videogame industry. The praise quickly turns to criticism regarding the Wii itself however, with Variety claiming that Nintendo no longer has the best platform to work with.
Variety seems to forget that Nintendo hasn’t had the best platform to work on for a number of years, especially considering the all-too quick demise of the GameCube when positioned against the market strength of the PlayStation 2 and the Live power of the Xbox. However, with regard to the Wii, not many gamers would so quickly discount the platform considering its landmark innovation, demographic-busting software, astounding sales, and continuning consumer demand.
Yet, according to Variety:
“Galaxy makes poor use of the Wii’s motion-sensing controls and the graphics simply aren’t up to par with what players can now find on the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. While brisk sales are certain given the Wii’s popularity, the “Mario” franchise may now be vulnerable to a challenger on another console better suited to 3-D running and jumping.”
The typical ‘rescue Princess Peach’ story in Super Mario Galaxy is “silly stuff and all worth skipping,” says Variety, which totally overlooks the fact that Mario games are meant to attract younger gamers as well as those who’ve grown up knowing and loving Nintendo’s flagship character franchise.
While the review notes that Super Mario Galaxy’s best levels take advantage of the “fantastic physics,” which can see players performing “some amazing tricks” across the game worlds, it openly slams the Wii for being a bad platform for third-person action titles, which, amazingly, it references by saying this is “a problem first made clear in last year’s Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.”
Incidentally, to better illustrate Variety’s point, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess holds a 95% Metacritic average across 72 submitted reviews since its release in November 2006. It also boasts ‘Game of the Year 2006’ awards from 1UP, EGM, GameSpy, Game Informer, and Nintendo Power, along with ‘Best Wii Game of Year’ awards from the likes of GameSpot and IGN.
From a control perspective, Variety hammers on the Nunchuk and Wii-mote, labelling them as creating an “awkward arrangement,” while also saying the camera is difficult to direct and the game, on the whole, fails to make “good use of the console’s motion sensing abilities.”
In terms of aesthetics, Super Mario Galaxy showcases “clever art design,” applauds Variety before saying the fan argument that the game looks good “for the Wii” is growing tired in an arena where the PlayStation 3 offers “vastly superior [visual] quality” in a 3D platform title such as Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. In fact, Variety calls Galaxy’s graphics “old fashioned and lifeless.”
Again, Variety seems to have missed the point that Nintendo’s console is hosting videogames where gameplay is king, not muscled visuals. Also, its reduced processing power also keeps the hardware price down, which, when combined with innovative games has seen the Wii easily quash the PlayStation 3 and surpass the Xbox 360 in its opening year at retail.
It’s also worth noting that pretty graphics do not necessarily a good game make, with the overt power of the PlayStation 3 recently producing high-profile exclusive titles such as Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (89%), Folklore (74%), Lair (54%), Warhawk (84%) and Heavenly Sword (79%) – none of which have broken the 90% threshold on Metacritic’s review listings - a level where AAA titles are generally seen as starting from.
By comparison, Nintendo exclusives Super Mario Galaxy (97%), Twilight Princess (95%), Resident Evil IV: Wii Edition (91%), and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (90%) have all surpassed that marker on Metacritic.
Need to see for yourself just how ‘bad’ Super Mario Galaxy looks and plays? Check out this rather more positive video review courtesy of GameTrailers.com.
Personally, I think we should all write hate mail to the editor of Variety for this. And not necessarily mail with threats, but with every piece of information to sh*t on whatever idiot wrote that piece of crap - obviously a PS3 fan boy or girl - and tell them to just quit writing all together.
Well I feel proud, left a “nice” little comment for that idiot.
Hm,
I can understand your anger about this review… But why isn’t the Variety editor entitled to his own opinion about stuff? I mean, he says it has good graphics for a Wii game, and there you come along and say “but the Wii isn’t supposed to have good graphics”… This is not a good argument… In fact it is not an argument at all, it is your opinion. Based on this thesis, Tetris would have to get an 8 for its graphics, or even more.
I am not saying the Variety editor is right, but your accusations aren’t better either.
Last I recall, what I said was that Wii wasn’t all about graphics like PS3 and 360. I never said that there wasn’t good graphics on Wii, I simply stated that there was more to it than graphics.
End of discussion.
Just checked out the Gamestrailers video review - my first look at game. I’m sure the gameplay is superb but i feel Variety may be right in saying ‘graphics simply aren’t up to par’
Just watch out for Little Big Planet for the PS3 out next year.
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/25200.html
It does make Mario look extremely outdated as it has the superb sound & graphics icing as well as gameplay.
Uh.. but that’s a PS3 game. The point is you can’t penalise a game for not being able to pump out visuals that are simply not possible for the system it’s on.
If that is fair, then PSP games should also be critisized for not looking as good as ratchet and clank either.
Reviews need to consider what has been achieved given the limitations of the systema game is published for. Otherwise it’s like saying an apple is a bad apple for not being an orange.
way to argue with opinions….and i assume you will back up your arguement again with metacritic averages.
just some help with the long hard road ahead in the real world:
1. the masses are asses
2. opinions are like buttholes
3. just because you slap a brand on something doesnt make it good (if it werent marios stereotypical italian arse on this game it would NOT be getting these “reviews”)
He/she is obviously a PS3 fanboy, being completely unprofessional getting off the subject when writing the review, like saying “well this new perfume smells nice but you’re better off buying candy”. Though I do agree that this game wouldn’t be getting these reviews if it didn’t have “mario” slapped on the front it’s still an AWESOME game, completely original not fighting the 81st WWII over again, X-named super-soldier fights his way through the same contemporary/futuristic war or X-named medieval empire attacks a small village and a “hero” emerges. It’s still the same “save the princess” but taking it to the next level with the space theme.
Archy just a question, how do you know how good is Littlebigplanet’s gameplay when I’m 500% sure you’ve never played it?
Isn’t it a little childish to bash someone own person opinion? I forgot how we can prove with facts that games are good and someones opinion is wrong.
Talk about total fanboyism on Nintendic’s part. Someone doesn’t like your favorite game and you have to throw a temper tantrum and call them out. Real mature.
My bashing is only because obviously the person writing the article had never even picked up a Wii remote. And like the saying goes, “don’t knock it, until you try it.”
And what Nintendo fanboy plays 360 and PS3 games? I’m addicted to Elder Scrolls and Halo, and I love GTA and FF.
Since when is anyone mature nowadays? You want to see mature? Go to 4chan.org
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but this one is clearly uneducated in the game industry. While not everyone (like 15 people in the US I bet) will not like Mario, their critques of the game are clearly from someone who has 15 mins with each system.
The writer of the Variety article is mentally defective. Seriously stupid.
He’s basically complaining that Super Mario Galaxy is not as realistic a flight simulator or first person shooter as you could get on a PS3 or XBox360.
WTF? Moron.