I wasn't expecting much when I picked up Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. It received mediocre reviews, and appeared to be another shitty mini-game collection. With such turds as Wario Warez, Monkeyball, Mario Party 8, and Wii Play, I didn't hold my breath for anything special (Wii Sports and Rayman are the only good ones). However, I was happy to find one of the better wii titles to date.
The Basics
The game is easy enough to summarize. You pick one of 16 characters from the Mario and Sonic series (or a mii), and compete in an assload of different events. There are 4 skills which each character has stats in, which consists of power, speed, skill, and stamina. I really have no clue what stats you get if choosing a mii, but after many hours of play I'd guess they are defaulted to all-around.
Game Play
Mario and Sonic plays similar to most other mini-game collections. You pick an event, and the controls are based on that event. For instance, table tennis has you swing the wiimote to hit the ball. Other events have you drumming the controls to run, aiming with the wiimote to fire, and even tilting the nun chuck to aim in archery.
The game's biggest strongpoint is the sheer number of events to play. There are the track and field events such as pole vaulting, javelin throw, long jump, and many variations of springs and hurdles (100m, 400m, and relay for each). You also have the trampoline, water sports, table tennis, archery, skeet shooting, fencing, and the list goes on. The best events, in my opinion, are skeet shooting and the dream events.
Speaking of dream events, these are definitely the best to play in Mario and Sonic. Dream Race is basically Mario Kart on foot, complete with turtle shells, bombs, boos, and lightning bolt power ups as well as obstacles to avoid. Dream Platform is similar, except you are skydiving (falling through a ring lets you do button combinations for points/speed boosts). Dream Fencing adds a health bar and power ups, while Dream Table Tennis also adds power ups and scores points based on rallies. Although fencing isn't that great, dream race and platform are amazing, and dream table tennis doesn't last nearly as long as normal table tennis
The biggest flaw with the events is those that take way too long. Playing in a 4 player table tennis tournament is annoying when you win the first game, because you are then forced to wait for 2 matches to play again. And each match takes around 10 minutes, so be prepared to wait. Pole Vaulting is even worse, where you have to continuously jump at heights barely above the previous. It gets tedious very quickly.
Other Thoughts
One thing I feel needs to also be added is how awesome it is to use my miis for a change in a game. Nothing has pissed me off about the wii more than making these worthless fucking miis, only to not be able to use them for anything. Well I can finally use them in Mario and Sonic at the Olympics! My 4 man relay team of Kim Jung Il, Hitler, Sadam, and George Bush is undefeated in the 4x100m hurdles. I just hope more games start doing this. I really want to beat Super Mario Galaxy as Zoidberg, Peter Griffin, or Satan
Overall, this is the best mini-game collection for the wii since wii sports. There are quite a few dud events, but there are enough good ones to cancel that out (Wii Golf sucking ass doesn't make Wii Sports a bad game). If I were to guess I'd say the bad reviews are more to do with everyone being sick of mini-game collections. While that is true, I'd definitely say this is a must have for any wii owner's party game collection
The Good
Tons of events to choose from, and most are well done. Best mini-game collection since wii sports
Can dust off your miis to use them for a change.
Dream events are a ton of fun. Skydiving + Mario Kart = win
Adds just the right level of complexity to not feel stale (dream events, archery).
The Bad
Some events take WAY too long for a party game (pole vault, ping pong)
We've had enough mini-game collections. Release more REAL games
My arms hurt
In Conclusion
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is a fairly good party game. It doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but it is a ton of fun with a few friends over.
I give it a B+
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
| < Prev |
|---|
