Super Mario Galaxy 2: These ARE the levels you're loooking for.

My Age Recommendation: 6+ This game is about as mild as video games get aside from early educational games. What little violence there is is very cartoonish, and there is no blood. The game can be quite difficult in places, but there are multiple methods of assistance offered within the game. 

My Rating: 4.8/5: Superb.

Platforms: Wii, Wii U

Price: $19.99, Nintendo Selects edition.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a fantastic romp through seven worlds, all with unique levels and gameplay mechanics. It offers a limited co-op mode, in which a second player and use a cursor to pick up items and stun enemies, assisting the main player. It was released for the original Wii back in 2010, and does not require Wii MotionPlus. It can be found relatively cheaply in most stores and will work in a Wii U.  

The game is surprisingly linear compared to the first Galaxy game and other older entries in the series. The player is greeted with a fairly straightforward 2D overworld map that is very intuitive and easy to use. He is also given a small hub world to test out his platforming techniques. It will grow and change as he progresses in the game. In addition to co-op mode, there is a guide that will take the player through certain levels if the player is stuck. This mode can only be accessed if she so chooses. 

Unfortunately, if you are one for story-driven games then Super Mario Galaxy 2 is severely lacking in that department. The plot involves rescuing Princess Peach, who is admittedly not the brightest bulb in the box. She is barely seen, and portrayed as no more than a damsel in distress. The game offers positive messages about friendship and cooperation but it isn't really educational, although the player may pick up a little bit about how gravity works. Unfortunately, the only main female character besides Peach, is Rosalina, who serves as no more than a guide. There is a boss, Glamdozer who is definitely a female, but who knows what species she is? While the characters are admittedly funny, like the jolly Lubba, a fat purple star creature, or Captain Toad, a nervous mushroom who isn't popular with his brigade, they are oversimplified and stereotyped. The antagonists are over the top and thoroughly bad, even though we see that Bowser can be a good guy when he wants to in Super Paper Mario. 

The less-than-engaging plotline and linearity may turn players off at first, but the level design certainly will not. The game is outstanding in this department and is brimming with content and a large variety of environments to explore, although one must do so in a relatively set order compared to more open-world games like Super Mario 64. From gimmick-themed levels based around the use of certain power-ups, to vast, open lava worlds out in space, from a playful snowy environment to a spooky dark maze, there is something in here for everyone. Yoshi, the friendly dinosaur from Super Mario World, makes a triumphant return along with three new power-ups. There are entire levels and even bosses based around the use of Yoshi's unique ability to eat almost anything. The dash pepper makes him run super fast, the blimp fruit turns him into a blimp, and last but certainly not least, there's the bulb berry which illuminates hidden ground. 

Mario comes with his own set of new abilities, too. He can turn into a rock, use a spin drill to drill through dirt, and create platforms out of thin air with the cloud flower. There are levels based around these items as well. There are also recurring power-ups from the first Galaxy game. You can soar through the skies with Fluzzard, swim with penguins, roll snowballs, dodge enemies, swing on vines, climb honeycombs, and even go bowling with the rock mushroom in this delightful 3D platformer. Prankster comets are back with a wider variety of what to do. The Cosmic Mario races from the first game have been replaced by cosmic clone levels in which you are being followed by miniature versions of yourself that will deal damage if you touch them.  

And once Peach is rescued there is still more to do! Getting 70 stars to defeat Bowser is pretty easy, but going for all 120 is an arduous task. And after that you STILL aren't done! There are 120 green stars scattered throughout the levels for completionists to discover. And at the end of all that you reach Grandmaster Galaxy, the hardest task of them all. And even if you complete the game you wills till want to come back for more, because the levels are that dang good. And to top it all off, there's a sweet ending about friends, family and cake.