Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games Review

September 18, 10:36 AMGames ExaminerDaniel Nations

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The Scoop on Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games

Table Tennis is one of many mini-games in Mario
and Sonic: Olympic Games

When you join Mario, Sonic and a gang of memorable Nintendo and Sega characters at the Olympic Games in Bejing, you are in for more fun than you can shake a Wiimote at.

In Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games, you will compete in over 20 events as either your Mii or a host of Nintendo and Sega legends ranging from the petite Princess Peach to the green-tastic Vector. You will wow your friends with backflips on the trampoline, put your fantastic aim on display in skeet shooting, and blaze past them in the 100m dash.

Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games - Pros and Cons

Pros

• Most events are fun and challenging
• Archery is fantastic
• Dream events add hilarious fun to standard events

Cons

• It's sometimes difficult to understand how the game wants you to move the controls
• The fencing event is a major disappointment

Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games - Gameplay

Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games features the familiar style of mini-games found in other great Wii titles like Wii Sports and Rayman Raving Rabbids. Mario, Sonic and the other characters compete in events that involve running, jumping, swimming, throwing, shooting and acrobatics.

There are three ways to play the game: event mode, circuit mode, and mission mode.

In event mode, you will go up against your friends and a host of characters from Nintendo and Sega in one of the many events. Try your luck at the 100m hurdles, or go out to the archery range for a real challenge.

In circuit mode, you will compete in multiple events and will need to do well in all of them if you want to bring home the gold. Circuit mode also allows you to unlock new events and new circuits by doing well in the existing circuits.

Mission mode allows you to take on the role of one of the many characters and overcome a challenge tailored specifically for that character. It's easy to throw a hammer a long way with King Bowser, but how far can you throw it with Princess Peach?

Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games Review - What's To Like

Most of the mini-games are a lot of fun, especially the track and field events that have you whirling around in a circle to throw a hammer as far as you can and lifting your feet with perfect timing to clear the high jump bar.

Archery is one of the best events, but don't expect to master it right away. It is also one of the most difficult events, so you'll be happy to place anything but last in your first few tries.

But the events that really stand out are the dream events. These are unlocked as you win circuits and provide random wackiness to the standard events. You can pick up a burst of speed and flash past opponents in the Dream Race or have the ping pong ball hover in mid-air in Dream Table Tennis.

Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games Review - What's Not To Like

Fencing tops this list. It will make you wonder why they put a game like fencing on a console like the Wii and yet made the game play like it was on a GameCube. Even putting aside the fact that waving the Wiimote doesn't do anything more than push an attack button, the event itself just doesn't capture the same fun found in the other events.

The controls for the long jump, triple jump and javelin throw can be irritating at first. Following directions will lead to a lot of triple faults until you figure out just how the game wants you to move the controllers. Fortunately, once you get the hang of them, these events can be quite fun.

Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games Review - The Bottom Line

Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games is a great game and a whole lot of fun. Many of the titles that host mini-games work best with a group of friends, but this one is as much fun alone as it is playing with a group of people.

Sure, playing alone doesn't allow you to give your best friend that "in your face!" when you smother his attempt to beat you in table tennis, but there's nothing stopping you from hollering at the television screen, is there?