620 Angry Birds.

I don’t know if it’s all the stuff that’s been going on, or I just had enough, but I quit playing Animal Crossing the other day.  I didn’t erase the file or anything, and I even went so far as to put all my special flowers into storage, but I doubt I’ll go back to it again.  I feel like I’ve gotten everything out of that game I possibly can.  To the point that if they release a new version without upgrading the gameplay significantly I probably won’t play it.  There needs to be more to do.  Not just busywork either, and the animals need more than 6 conversations they are capable of having.  Which is not to say I didn’t enjoy building the perfect town.  I just got sick of being punished when I didn’t spend an hour on upkeep every day.

I was hoping that since Mario Galaxy 2 was just released Nintendo would finally mark Mario Galaxy down so I could play it.   It’s been 3 fucking years already, you’d think it was about time, but no.  I was at the store and they had the pair side by side, both $50.  Son of a bitch…  I could try to express my rage with profanity, but no amount of cursing would really convey the subtle emotions I felt.  I just really wanted a cheerful game to play and Mario games fit that bill.  In an uncharacteristic move I got Galaxy 2 having never played one.  If I’m going to have to throw down $50 I may as well get this year’s model, you know?  I know I could have just walked away and won some sort of moral victory, but I’d rather lose and be happy than win and be miserable, in the end.  Besides, you don’t play Mario games for their spectacular narrative structure.  I doubt I’m missing out on anything much having never played Mario Galaxy.

It turns out that Galaxy 2 is a fantastic game.  The kind that makes you remember why you, as a Nintendo fan, tolerate their constant stubborn bullshit.  Which is good because it burnt up two commissions worth of money.  >:|

Coming in to the franchise cold, as it were, I’m probably more amazed by the magical physics of things than someone who played Galaxy would be.   I really like jumping around small planets to see if I can land where I started.  It’s like playing spaceman inside your 5 year old self’s concept of space travel.  I’ve heard a lot of people talk about how insanely challenging it becomes later on, but I haven’t experienced any of that yet.  I think it may be another situation like with New Super Mario Brother 2 where I blew through it like it was nothing while everyone bitched about how difficult it was.  Which would be fine with me.  I’d just as soon enjoy all of the game rather than play it halfway, get sick of it being no fun anymore, and shelve it.

I also got to play as Luigi already, and I didn’t have to unlock any bullshit keys, or stars, or anything.  He’s just part of normal play as far as I can tell.  If you have to meet special criteria I did it without knowing, which is the best way to meet special criteria.

He’s slippery compared to Mario.  Doesn’t stick his landings.  Not so much as to change play significantly, but I noticed it.  I’d rather he was an option for every level, but I’ll take what I can get.  Maybe you have to unlock something to make that happen.

Anyway, the long and short of it is that Mario Galaxy 2 is probably Nintendo’s game of the year.