GAME REVIEW: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Nintendo Wii

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

The Olympic games; it’s a big deal. Mario vs. Sonic, now that is something to get really excited about. The Olympics happen every four years, but Mario and Sonic have never shared a video game before so try to remain calm as I review this mini-game-masterpiece.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is the most fun I have had on my Wii since Resident Evil 4. These two games have nothing in common but I haven’t enjoyed playing many Wii games as much. Once you get past the learning curve, and believe me there is one, you will find yourself having a good time with your friends playing this game stoned. The controls only seem complicated at first, reading the instructions before events is crucial to your success but after the first or second time you’ve played the event you won’t need to re-visit those instructions; and game play will be way faster and much more enjoyable.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympics is basically a collection of mini-games but there are a ton of unlockable events and many challenges for each character. Not only can you use characters from previous Sonic and Mario games, but you can also use any Mii that you have stored on your console. Sega has done a great job integrating the Miis into the game and they look natural amongst the other characters. Well, as natural as a digital rendering of a human can look standing next to a 5-foot tall hedgehog.

The music isn’t the best but it isn’t bad – the heavy-on-the-trumpet epic soundtrack seems to fit seeing as how this game is supposed to take place at a huge worldwide competition. The graphics are bright, colorful and fun and all the elements come together great whether you are stoned or sober. The controls are hard to get a hang of but once you get in the zone and figure it out, you will see that they actually make sense for the most part. Archery, running and swimming are all particularly good.

The replay value of this game is high as a party game with your friends but once you have unlocked everything there is in the game (it will take a while) you may not want to play it alone again. I really enjoy this game; playing high with my friends I find myself really getting into it but I feel that it requires a great deal of patience from first time players. I am giving it 3.5 pot leaves out of 5. It may not be for everyone but it is a great first attempt at bringing together two huge gaming franchises. Stick with it for more than one attempt and you may find yourself having more fun than you expected.