Mario and Sonic return to hit the slopes of Vancouver for some sweet and snowy fun! (warning - long review)
The game comprises of a large number of Olympic and more creative Dream events (basically the olympic events with a Mario and Sonic twist!) There are a whopping 20 characters to chose from, each grouped into 4 types; Speed, Skill, Power and All Around. The characters are Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Wario, Waluigi, Peach, Daisy, Bowser, Bowser Jr, Donkey Kong, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Eggman, Shadow, Vector, Silver, Metal Sonic and Blaze. Each have diffrent stats, but it doesn't really seem to make much difference in game play.
You can enter single match events or take part in Festival Mode either with one character or 4 characters as a team. In festival mode your goal is to acquire the most points and win the competition. Festival takes place over 17 days and has training events to teach you how to play the games and events which you compete in. Rivals such as King Boo and Jet the Hawk will also appear to take you on - these rivals are like "boss" battles - you have to beat them or the game will not let you advance. Playing through festival mode will unlock new events as you progress.
And now to talk about the events!
Alpine Skiing.
There are 2 events listed under Alpine Skiing. Downhill and Giant Salom. They are pretty much the same. You hold the Wii-mote and nunchuck like ski poles and tilt them to turn and try to pass through all of the gates on the way to the goal. Missing gates will result in penalty seconds added to your timer - the goal is to get to the bottom of the hill in the fastest time.
Ski Jumping
You can either compete with one character or as a team with 4 characters. The goal is the get the most total distance from your jumps. You zip down a hill and have to maintain balance against the wind with the Wii-mote and nunchuck. Then you leap off the hill and fly through the air still trying to maintain your balance to get the furthest distances you can.
Freestyle Skiing
The moguls event has you navigate through small mounds of snow to get points and then leap of edges and perform tricks by swimging the wii-mote. Your score is based on how many mounds you pass through, how many tricks you perform and how fast you get to the bottom
The Skii cross is alot like the Alpine Skiinig only you directly race againts other players and don't need to pass through gates. You can jump off ramps and perform tricks to speed up.
Snowboard
The half pipe is hard! I can't get good points on it! You slide along a half pipe and jump up the sides and flick the wii-mote to perform tricks. If you press the stick in any direction on the nunchuck a pattern will appear on screen and you have to trace the pattern to perform a special trick.
Snowboard cross is the same as ski cross only you only need to use the wii-mote to steer, nunchuck is not used for anything (which makes me wonder why the game says you can use it when it doesn't do anything)
Speed Skating
The 500m race is all about timing and rhythm! All you have to do is swing the wii-mote from side to side at the correct rhythm and timing to make your character skate.
The 1000m race can be done alone or as a relay. You waggle the wii-mote to accelerate (no need for rhythm this time) and tilt it to turn round corners
Figure Skating
You get to pick from a range of songs (from ballets) and react to the spots on the rink which tell you how to swing the wii-mote. Very simple, but strangely one of the more satisfying events in the game. Just amounts to flicking, spinning, tracing the occiasional pattern and balancing the wii-mote.
Skeleton/Bobsleigh
These events are EXACTLY the same. Only in skeleton you pick one character and in bosleigh you pick 4. You hold the wii-mote and tilt it to turn corners as you zip on a track. There will be a lit up path on the track which will give you optimum speed, but it is quite difficult to stay on. One of the more challenging events in the game.
Ice Hockey
Pretty fun! You pick four characters (one is in goal) and you play ice hockey. Steal the puck off your rivals and try to get it in their net to score. Passing the puck will power it up, when fully powered you can unleash a power shot which obviously work better than regular shots. A challenging event and probably the most immersing one.
Curling
As a team you have to try and get as many stones close to the middle of the target as possible. First you throw the stone by swinging the wii-mote, then you have to shake to sweep the ice and maintain the stones momentum. But your rival team tries to knock your stones out of the target. My personal least favourite event in the game. It's too boring
Dream events!
Dream Alpine
It's a ski race down Seaside hill! Pass through gates and perform tricks off ramps for a speed boost. Smash through boxes to pick up items like in Mario Kart
Dream Ski Cross
A ski race through 2 laps of Mario Circuit. Much like the Dream Alpine, just a different track
Dream Ski Jumping
This one's awesome! You fly through a Mario Galaxy environment on skis and pick up star bits to earn points. Collecting 3 super stars will grant you with invincibility and double the amount of points you get from collecting star bits
Dream Snowboard Cross
A snowboard race through radical highway. Perform tricks to speed up.
Dream Speed Skating
As a relay team of 4, shake the wii-mote and tilt to turn through Eggman's Ice Factory . Pick up items Mario Kart style to help take out your rivals
Dream Figure Skating
You can choose to skate through a sonic or mario style world. Same as the regular figure skating, but more entertaining. They follow a story of sorts. The Mario rink is about chasing after a power star and the Sonic rink is about collecting Chaos Emeralds
Dream Bobsleigh
In a bobsleigh tilt left and right through the Sonic Heroes Special stage picking up spheres to increase your speed. There are weapon boxes lying around too. It's a race to the finish
Dream Ice Hockey.
Like regular ice hocky only you can pick up power ups from boxes to get an advantage. For example chaing the puck to a green shell or using an invincibility star
Dream Curling.
Bowling with the curling controls.Try to knock down the most pins throughout.
Dream Gliding
You fly throgh Sky Sanctuary on a paraglider and shoot green shells (you have an unlimited ammo stock) at Eggman's Robots and the other players to score points. Power up boxes are in the area to give you an advantage. Whoever gets the most points wins
The game offers alot of events, but a lot of them play the same, so the game isn't as varied as it may initially sound. More novel features include shopping to get gear for your Mii and being able to customise the design of your snowboard and skis etc
You can also use the balance board for some events, but it's part of it's own mode - so you can't use it in festival or a single match.
Graphically the game is nice. The character models are well done and have great personality in their animations. The music is also a step up from the predessor. There are some cool remixes of old Sonic and Mario tracks and the olympic events have some cool music too!
Overall, this is a great quick mini game based game. It's alot of fun to play either on your own or with friends. The events are fun and varied. Definitely worth trying!
Milesprower2k9 Original Reviews