Well, what can we say about this that hasn’t been said a million times already? It’s going to be great. We know that, you know that, so how can we write a preview when everyone has already made their mind up on what will undoubtedly be the game of the first half of 2010.

Well, that’s a good place to start. The game will be out in Q2 of this year, which is remarkably early given that typically a new Mario game would be the spearhead of Nintendo’s Christmas domination line-up. It’s clear that Nintendo are so confident in this game that they feel they can release it out of season, and the fans will go crazy for it. And who can blame them? So far, fans have been going crazy over a single video. Well now we have some more information on the game!

As expected, Galaxy 2 has had a difficulty ramp up. While some levels will be easy, there will be a lot more akin to some of the later levels in Galaxy, and apparently some that are even harder. If there’s anything harder than Galaxy’s Bouldergeist Daredevil Run or Luigi’s Purple Coins, then this is officially a difficult game.

Most reports suggest this game handles and looks like the original, which is no bad thing. The game handled near on perfect in the original, and the graphics have still yet to be beaten by anyone, so there are no complaints from us there. The music will also be fully orchestrated again, which is brilliant news. Gusty Garden Galaxy anyone?

The game has also introduced numerous new mechanics to the game. First up is the drill, which we saw at E3 2010. This can burrow through to the other side of a planet when used by Mario, and can also be used to tunnel inside some planets for more rewards. We saw a particularly good use in a boss battle, so expect more inventive uses of this new feature.

The game also introduces comet fragments along with the standard coin and star bit collecting. According to Nintendo sources, collecting these fragments will unlock “super-hard” levels for gamers looking for a real Galaxy challenge. Sounds intriguing.