Mario and Sonic do the olympics

The 2008 Olympic games sparked off a whole host of sports related games for not just the Nintendo DS but most other platforms as well. The DS and its touch screen capabilities is ideally suited to these sports games, which in my opinion, is why they are so great on this handheld. Some of these sports games are really good with great graphics, good game play and are good fun (such as International Track and Field) and others are really poor (such as the The Woodley Summer Sports – although I think that this is aimed at younger gamers).

It’s strange that Nintendo and Sega used to be in competition during the good old days of the NES/SNES and the Master system/Mega Drive. They were at war with their signature characters. It was Mario v Sonic to the death. Now these two companies have come together to release the best sports game for the Nintendo DS with “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games”.

This is by far the best of the recent influx in sports games and if you are to buy any game of this genre this, in my opinion, is the one to go for.

****Game modes****

In single player mode you have the choice of a single match, which as its name suggests is where you select an event at random, select the character you wish to use for that event and then challenge the computer generated player; or

A circuit, which is where you select the circuit type such as, select your character to complete the circuit and then challenge the computer generated players at each event within that circuit; or

A mission, this is where you are given a specific thing to achieve. An example of this is where you have to perform a successful long jump 3 times for a total distance of over 20m. If you ‘foul’ then you fail the mission. If the total distance does not exceed 20 m then you fail the mission.

With the circuits you must complete the beginners class in order to unlock subsequent classes, which get more and more difficult as the game goes on. In each class there are a number of circuits such as the Jupiter circuit and the Venus circuit. In order to progress through the game these circuits must be not only completed but you must also complete them in a medal position.

It should be noted that at the start there are only two missions available, being the long jump mission and the shooting mission. As you progress through the game and win medals more and more missions are un-locked.

Multi player mode lets you play up to six events against up to three people. So if you, and your three friends all have a game cartridge then you can compete against each other in all 24 events.

****Graphics****

The graphics are fantastic. They are bright, colourful and well defined

****Playability****

In the events where the stylus is used this game fully exploits the capabilities of the touch screen and the co-ordination and timing of each action can take a little practice, but it all adds to the fun of the game. Once mastered the motions are really fluent and work very, very well. I have never had an issue with the touch screen not recognising what I am doing, although I have heard this issue from other users.

Not all of the events require the stylus to be used and revert back to the directional pad and buttons. Whilst this may seem a shame once you play these events it is easy to see why the touch screen/stylus combination would not work. Events that do not use the stylus include cycling and table tennis.

The first time you play the event there is a demonstration to show what movements are required and when they are required. Subsequent tries on the same event will give the user the chance to view the demonstration again, or just proceed with the event. This is a great feature since once you know how to complete the event you don’t want to see a demonstration every single time. It just gets mundane and boring.

****Characters****

With a choice of 16 characters from across the Marion/Luigi and Sonic the Hedgehog genre games and sagas there is a great choice of character from Mario to Bowser to Sonic to Dr Eggman.

The characters are categorised in to power types, speed types, skill types and all-rounders. Each character has its strengths and weaknesses and in order to progress through the game it is important that you chose the character with the best attribute for that type of event.

This is easy in the single events as you can choose a different character for each event. This is more of a challenge in the circuits whereby you choose one character to complete the whole circuit and whilst you character may be strong in a speed event, it may not be strong in a skill event that makes it a little bit more difficult to win.

****Events and difficulty****

There are a total of 24 events including athletics, aquatics, gymnastics, archery, table tennis, fencing, shooting and cycling.

Included within some of the events there are sub-events such as 100m, 400m, long jump, javelin, hammer and other events which are unlocked as you progress through the game.

All the events are a challenge, but some events are lot more difficult than others to master and I assume that these will vary from person to person.

I find the long jump quite difficult since you have to clap at the start in order to stoke up the crowd and get them behind you (this involves putting the DS down to clap in to the microphone), then quickly pick up the DS and start rubbing the screen to get sprinting, before striking the screen from left to right at the correct angle to make the character jump.

Another difficult event is the archery, although it is one of my favourites, whereby the event involves taking the wind speed and direction in to consideration.

Progression through the game is a challenge because you only get one character for each circuit and for every event there will be a computer controlled character with the ideal attribute which you have to beat and whilst your character may be fast it may not be strong and will be put up against a strong character in a throwing event. This can be frustrating, but what’s the point in having an easy game? It defeats the whole point of the exercise.

****Sound****

I have finally found a Nintendo DS game with decent sound, and this is not just good, but great sound. There is no repetitive cheesy music to listen too and the sound effects are great. I can finally leave the volume on my DS up and enjoy the full audio and visual package which I haven’t with other games.

The sound effects include the commentator, the start gun, the crowd and the individual cheer of each character as its name is announced at the start of the event.

The sound effects are crisp, clear and easily heard and understood.

****Conclusion****

This is a good fun game with great graphics, great sound, great graphics but is still a challenge and I think that it will be enjoyed by all.

In the long term I think that there is a risk this game will get repetitive, but it should result in a few hours of entertainment along the way. The multiplayer functionality is superb and should extend the life of the game even further.

Whilst the above point may be negative this should not pose any real problems since it is now possible to rent games or part exchange ones that you have already purchased.

If you’re a DS owner who likes sports games then this is definitely for you. If you are a DS owner then I would also recommend this game to you. Give it a go, you will be pleasantly surprised.
 

(Originally posted on Dooyoo under Yackers1)