Mario and Donkey Kong rose to fame together in 1981. But since then, Mario has gone on to enjoy an illustrious solo career, while Donkey Kong has become something of a simian Sonny Bono.

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Two new games for Wii illustrate the disparity. Super Mario Galaxy got the benefit of Nintendo's top gameplay designers and is appropriately brilliant. But Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast is a confusing mess trying to cash in on its title character's fame.

Super Mario Galaxy

Mario has always represented Nintendo at its innovative best, and Super Mario Galaxy is no exception. Indeed, this is probably the best game Nintendo has put on the Wii yet — polished, addictive and jam-packed with surprising moments.

If you've ever played a Mario game before, you'll feel right at home with the control scheme as you go running and jumping about, scaling walls and stomping on evil mushrooms. What Galaxy brings to the table is that all the action now takes place on strings of tiny planetoids in deep space.

A small sampling shows the many, varied worlds packed into Super Mario Galaxy. Video: Nintendo

This accomplishes two things: For one, players no longer have to worry about manually adjusting the "camera" to see (an oft-heard complaint about Mario Sunshine for the GameCube). More importantly, it provides for a wide variety of new gameplay mechanisms involving gravity. You might have to play some planets upside down or figure out how to escape a planet's orbit, jumping far enough to reach its neighbor.

Wii motion controls integrate gently into the experience: You shake the controller to make Mario spin into enemies and stun them. But light shooter elements added to the game prove even more interesting. Pointing the Wiimote at the screen brings up a cursor you can use to collect "star bits" to fire at enemies. You can even have a second player pick up a controller and do this for you while you concentrate on moving Mario around.

But seasoned gamers will likely want to do it all themselves. That's Mario Galaxy's real strength: It's easy enough for anyone to enjoy clearing a few levels, but finishing the game requires some effort. And once you've saved the Princess, many challenges remain that will tax even experts.

I haven't even told you the best parts. Like surfing on a floating river, riding a manta ray. Or scrambling over giant 8-bit pixel art made of disappearing platforms and lava. Or the beautifully orchestrated score that accompanies everything. Galaxy is jam-packed with brilliant ideas at every turn.

— Chris Kohler

WIRED: A dizzying new spin on the classic mascot action game; too many brilliant gameplay ideas to list; fantastic music.

TIRED: More straightforward level design means not as many hidden secrets as in past games.

Price/maker: $50, Nintendo

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Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast

An Egyptian sphinx and a Mesoamerican ziggurat? I'm starting to suspect this may not be an entirely realistic game. Screenshot: Donkey Kong

Looking forward to the Wii iteration of the Mario Kart series? Yeah, join the crowd. In the meantime, Nintendo gives us Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast, a racing game starring Donkey Kong and his B-list brethren who race using, of all things, strap-on rocket bongos.

The percussive propulsion is a throwback to the title's origins as a GameCube game to be played with the bongo drum controller. On Wii, motion controls replace drums, making for very odd gameplay. You shake the controllers up and down like crazy to get up speed. You shake one controller or the other to move left or right, and other moves make you jump and use power-ups.

Unfortunately, the controls don't add much. The main disappointment is that you don't so much steer as change lanes. No matter how wild the twists and turns are, your character follows them perfectly. You never get the thrill of expertly negotiating a hairpin curve.

Controls aside, the game is a fairly standard kart-style race, with wild tracks set in locations like the jungle or a volcano. You can grab power-ups that let you slow down enemies or speed yourself up, and if you collect enough bananas, you get a power boost. Up to four human players can race at once.

If you love weird controls and racing games, you might want to check out Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast just because it's unlike anything you've played before. Otherwise, spare your arms and your wallet.

— Lore Sjöberg

WIRED: Apes. Apes are pretty cool.

TIRED: Anti-intuitive controls; uncompelling race tracks.

Price/maker: $50, Nintendo

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