Easily the best 3d Mario game for me. It looks great, it sounds great, and above all else: Controls are smooth as butter. Traversing the world in that game feels so freakin' good. You can go anywhere and everywhere, you can go real fast, you can be super-precise. I love it.
Story-wise? Meh, I don't really care. It has more personality than many of the other games, and some pretty funny moments. Its not bad, but its not great either. It does however justify the world and the levels, which is good. And again.. controls... MMMMM
Also, the water is fun to play with. Rocket jumps, hovering around everywhere, splashing civilians.. Its great.
(7.8, too much water?)
Also, for people having issues with it being slow (I.. dont know why, but still) watch some speedruns. When put in the hands of pros, the controls really shine. You can do so much fancy stuff.
