E3 06: Mario Hoops 3 on 3 Hands-On

LOS ANGELES--Mario and his posse have made their way to the basketball court for an innovative take on the sport called Mario Hoops 3 on 3. This DS game uses the touch screen for just about everything, and it's really interesting. OK, fine, it's actually pretty rad.

The game takes place from a behind-the-back perspective. You move around using the D pad, and when you don't have the ball, you can use the L button to switch control to one of your other two ballers. When you're on defense, swiping upward on the touch screen makes you jump; a downward swipe is used to steal the ball. When you have possession of the ball, tapping the screen is used to make you dribble faster. Swipes to either side will pass the ball, and an upward swipe shoots. If you're close enough to the hoop, shots become dunks, and the game has some pretty crazy dunks. Mario, for example, pulled off a crazy spinning slam that rocked the rim for real. In addition to just shooting hoops, you can collect coins, mushrooms, and other items by running over question marks on the court.

The roster in the game contains a bunch of the characters you'd expect to find in a Mario sports game, such as Mario, Luigi, Waluigi, Bowser Jr., Donkey Kong, and more. In addition to its single-player mode, the game also has wireless multiplayer. Graphically, the game looks pretty nice. It's not superdetailed or anything, but the polygonal visuals are definitely bright and colorful.

Mario Hoops 3 on 3 is currently planned for a September release.