Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
There’s no doubt about it, the world has gone mad.
Sega have released another Mario and Sonic sports game.
To most of today’s youth this wont seem like a big deal, but back in my day you were either a fan of Mario, or Sonic – not both. Never both! Probably because both characters were the faces of their respective machines, with Sonic being the face of Sega and Mario the face of Nintendo.
You’d have more chance of getting John Lydon to publicly endorse a dairy product… oh wait, hang on… Yes, the world has gone mad.
Ever since Sega announced that they were no longer competing in the hardware market, I’ve always felt uneasy playing Sonic games on non Sega platforms – it just seems wrong, like listening to a bad cover version of a Stones classic. In fact, in my humble opinion, Sonic has not had a significant outing since Sonic Adventure on the Sega Dreamcast.
And then in 2007 the unthinkable happened – Sega and Nintendo settled their differences and released Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. The game was a commercial success and naturally, a sequel was announced.
Skip forward to here and now, and we have Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games.
Featuring 25 winter Olympic-based events, essentially the game is bit like a chilly version of Wii Sports, except that you can choose to play as Mario, Sonic, Yoshi, Tails and just about every other character that has appeared in their respective flagship games.
Sega have quite wisely included the option to play as your mii, meaning if you want to add a personal touch to the proceedings you can see yourself ski-ing down the slope next to Donkey Kong and Dr Eggman (aka Doctor Robotnic as it was in my day).
As mentioned earlier, there are 25 different events available, ranging from the good (alpine skiing), to the bad (curling), to the downright weird (snowball fights).
When you start out, there are the bog-standard events available and as you achieve gold medals the dream events are added to your options.
The dream events are quite an interesting feature. Taking the proceedings away from Vancouver and letting you take part part in a variety of events in the weird and wonderful world of Mario & Sonic Land. Taking part in the ski slope races are like a cross between Mario Kart and SSX. Throughout the track there are the bonus, like the red shells and invisibility, and whilst the course design in nothing like Mario Kart, these sort of events do offer a bit of variety from the standard sports.
Sega have made good use of the controls. For the most part they are responsive and easily accessible, but there are a few events that do require a bit of practice.
The skiing and snowboarding events are the most fun – partly because the controls are so well suited to them. Essentially you have to hold your remote and nunchunk like a ski pole, turning from side to side and tilting them forward should you wish to speed up.
However, other events don’t fair so well. The speed skating is a clunky affair in which you just find yourself waving your arms around like a crazy old aunt on a wedding dance floor. The same can be said for curling – an attempt to emulate something similar to wii sports bowling, which fails badly.
They have also incorporated use of the balance board – however, trying to steer a speeding bobsled with the weight of your backside is no easy task!
As a single player game it is let down by some questionably weak AI. You can be miles behind at the top of a ski slope and before you know it, you will have caught up with your competitors. However, one does get the feeling that this game was designed for group sessions and not sad, old and bitter gamers like myself.
Graphically the game is quite impressive. The colours are bright and vibrant, with the models of each character are rendered to a suitable standard. It’s nothing particularly groundbreaking, but it does the job.
On the audio side of things it’s a bit hit and miss. Whilst the music, of which consists of your typical fanfare Olympic themes on a never-ending loop, is fine and suitable for the subject, it can get on your nerves – especially since there are a lot of menus to get through before finally getting to play your chosen event.
The characters’ quips also lose their charm quickly, thanks to the fact that they always say the same thing before each event. With Mario saying “Oh no, I lost!” at the end of each Ice Hockey game, I found myself losing pity for my chosen character – partly because no one likes a whingebag and partly because ice hockey is a team sport – there is no ‘I’ in team, Mario!
Anyway, matters are not helped by the over-enthusiastic narrator, who shouts out “you lose!” whenever you come last – as if it is mocking you. It’s a bit like the sporting equivalent of X-Factor – you go out there, you do your best and find your efforts slated by some smug know-it-all.
However, I am not going to lower myself to that level. Actually I am, I’m a critic after all.
Ultimately, whilst enjoyable for younger audiences and casual gamers, Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics is not up in the same sporting league as Wii Sports Resort.
It’s a good effort, but not quite good enough. Therefore, it gets a bronze medal from me.
7 out of 10
The Good
- Good variety of events
- Vibrant and solid graphics
- Balance board compatible
The Bad
- Some events are too similar
- Weak AI
- Incoherent controls on some games
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