A very pleasent game that is well made and fun to play.
The gameplay is pretty much what you have come to expect. The normal running, but stomping, wall jumping action. But this time there is a twist, you have a device on you back, the Flash Liquidising Ultra Dousing Device(F.L.U.D.D.) capable of spewing out large amounts of water.
The water come out in four forms. The first is a starnard hose-pipe type thing. By pressing R in various degrees the water comes out at certain speeds. The second is the Hover nozzle. This acts like a jet pack except that you don't raise off the ground any more than where you start, so it is more of a hover device than a jet pack (as the name implies). But you do raise a few inches as you squirt, but this cannot bu sustained so you can't hover around a level forever. The third form is a Jet. This blasts you forwards a breakneck speeds and you can break through objects. The final attachment is a Rocket, this blasts you into the air to reach dangerous heights.
These nozzles act like the caps in Mario 64 but the FLUDD plays a much more important role in the game than the caps ever did. On the whole the FLUDD works well, adding a new dimension to the gameplay. But there are certain sections where you can't use the FLUDD. These sections require Mario to travers a linear level made of building blocks and remind you just how GREAT Mario is in his purest form.
So, the sotry. Pretty simple. A nefarious character has gone to Delfino Island and sprated graffiti all over the place, this has scared off the "Shine's" who provide the island with it's great climate. When Mario arrives he is mistaken for the vandal and assigned the job of cleaning up the mess. It would seem a conspiracy is at work because the villain looks just like Mario's sillouhette. But who could be behind it all......................................... I wont spoil.
So the game basicall yplays out like Mario 64. You travel to different worlds through graffiti portals and must collect the shines, slowly bringing light back to the world. And the hub of your operations is "Delfino Island". Unfortunatley you are only allowed to explore the urban area of the island and it would have been cool to explore the rest. But as a hub it serves it's purpose. It provides you with any nozzles you might want before you enter the area and has it's fair share of secret Shines to find.
As well as the on foot actiona and the FLUDD one more gameplay mehanic comes into play - Yoshi!
yes, the green (well, in this game he is any colour BUT green, which is a shame) returns to help out. He starts out as an egg and you must provide him with his favourite food (displyed in a speech bubble above the egg) to him. Once he has his fruit he will pop out (fully grown) for you to ride. He has an asortment of tricks under his tongue to use. He can vomit out juice!!!
This vomit can hurt enemies but it can also be used to provide you with platforms to walk on. Depending on his colour the platforms he can create will act differently and some times this is needed to complete puzzles. He also has his trademark hi-jump to boot. Finally, you will need to keep him toped up with fruit or he will "die", the same goes for if he falls in water.
On the whole this is a very satisfying game defintiley has the same blood as Mario 64. The FLUDD works well and the return of Yoshi is always nice to see.
Gameplay
On the whole this plays well. The FLUDD is implemented well but the camera can be VERY annoying.
Graphics
These are very good. There is very little slow down even though the levels are very big. Great amount of detail and really makes you think you are in a tropical island.
Sound
The usual assortment of Mario-like tunes. Although they aren't as catchy as previous installments.
Value
A pretty long adventure if you want it to be. There are 120 shines to collect but you need only about 50 to complete the game.