Review: Mario and Sonic At The Olympic Games

Now I've been in the gaming industry a LONG TIME and have played a fair share of Mario games and Sonic games but... Mario and Sonic. In the same game. Now THIS I have to see. This was made in the sudden Olympics rush during the Beijing Olympics. Word has it that we'll be seeing Mario and Sonic at the Winter Games next. The mind boggles.

Gameplay:
This is interesting to say the least. XD;
You use both stylus and key controls to move your character through the various sports games. I think you've got almost every sing athletic event covered here though some have to be unlocked through playing other events first. There are several modes under single player:
Single Match where you get to play one event
Circuit where you have to compete in a series of three events and
Mission where you have to compete in an event with a specific goal (Not to let Sonic pass you, gather all the stamina icons, etc.)

As for character selection, your choice of 20 characters from both Sonic and Mario fame are divided into four:
the Power type (Knuckles, Wario, Bowser and Vector)
the All-Around (Mario, Amy, Luigi and Blaze)
the Speed type (Sonic, Princess Daisy, Shadow and Yoshi)
and the Skill type (Tails, Princess Peach, Waluigi and Dr. Eggman)
Yes, you heard me right. EGGMAN.

The games play out in 3d and in differing camera angles depending on the event. Controls are responsive though some games are a bit frustrating at first but once you get the hang of things, they're rather fun.
Of course, it doesn't really last very long. There isn't really a point to the game and when you look at it, it's a minigame collection with a sports theme and two large names.
Some games can take some time to learn and some can be downright frustrating but thankfully, fun outweighs frustrating.



Last words:
Well, the impossible has happened! Sonic and Mario are in the same game. So ends the rivalry between the two. This game's a good time waster and.... *evil laughter* If anyone manages to beat Sonic in the 100m Dash using Mario, I would SO like to see a video. :D


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Rating:
Graphics: 5/5
I was pretty impressed! The stadiums are well rendered and the characters look pretty good.

Gameplay: 3.5/5
Some of the games take some figuring out. Most of the events are stylus controlled and are pretty fun.

Soundtrack: 4/5
The soundtrack's fine but I do kinda wonder about the announcer/host guy though.

The Look and Feel: 4/5
It looks good and it plays good. All in all, pretty fun. A bit frustrating sometimes but fun.

Rating: 7.5/10