Wii/DS Review: Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

by Sam Naylor on November 16, 2009 at 7:47 am

mario and sonic review

Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games, like Mario and Sonic and the Olympic Games before it, combines the plethora of sports associated with the events with the somewhat madcap world of Nintendo and SEGA mascots. This provides a welcome relief from the charmless sports games that are often released around these major sporting events; the vibrant and less-than-serious world of Mario and Sonic certainly adds something to the sports game formula, but does it work as a game in its own right?

I’d like to start by emphasising that Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games looks great. As a Wii game, it’s up there with Super Mario Galaxy, and as a DS game it competes with the likes of Mario Kart DS. I was impressed as well with the frame rate during the high-speed events like the Luge and the Bob-sleigh; it was never anything less than smooth, even with two players on screen at once. Of course, being a Mario and Sonic game, despite the abundance of white snow the game remains very colourful and enjoyable to look at.

The game has an abundance of events to play, which in video-game terms could probably be described more at ‘mini-games’. The game plays very similarly to Mario and Sonic and the Olympic Games- for those who have not played that, it feels similar to something like Wii Sports/ Resort, with many more games to choose from. Obviously they are all events themed around the Winter Olympics- Skiing, Snowboarding, Bob-sleigh, Curling, Ice-Skating, and Hockey all have their pace in the game, with Skiiing being the most common, with all the types you can imagine. Fans of the Winter Olympics will doubtless be satisfied with the amount of games available.

mario and sonic dream

Alongside real-world events are crazy “Dream” events, which combine sports with, well, Mario Kart. Most of the Dream Events are races with power-ups (shells, stars, banana skins, and even Chaos Emeralds), and are actually a lot of fun. I found myself thinking that with a lot more track variety this could be the subject of its own game- then I realised that it was already out, and called Mario Kart Wii (or Mario Kart DS for those of us who prefer).

The games all have their own control scheme, and most suit the game well enough, but I couldn’t help but feel that most of the motion control elements just didn’t feel fun enough. For most games, you have to waggle to move and tilt to steer, which can get irritating for people who want to accelerate around corners and the like. The waggle controls started to become more and more irritating as I played more and more of the game, realising that very few of the games quite manage to feel intuitive. The ones that do tend to be closer to Wii Sports style games- for example, the Curling controls similarly to Wii Bowling, and as such is good fun to play.

On the DS, the controls mostly revolve around dragging the stylus to move, which meant that a lot of the time I couldn’t see for my hand. However, I was pleased to find that some events, such as the Snowboarding, use the buttons and not a tacked-on stylus control scheme. Thus, these games feel much more at home on the DS. Generally I think the DS game controls better than the Wii version, unless you have particularly big hands.

mario and sonic ds

Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games is without a doubt best enjoyed in multiplayer. The large number of events and Mario and Sonic elements give it a Mario Party-like feel. There is a ‘party games’ section, but I found these games to be drawn out too much. You have to play events competitively, but then you are required to play another mini-game to cash in on your victories, which takes away some of the gratification of winning a good game of Curling. The multiplayer is certainly the best part about the Wii version when played on a event-by-event basis.

The DS version is more of a single-player experience, due to the nature of the platform. This isn’t necessarily to the game’s detriment; it’s still a jolly good sports game, and on the DS it’s one of the best games I’ve played in quite a while. That sounds like high praise, but unfortunately the DS has been a little stagnant this quarter. Still, I think he game is a very solid title.

Although I must admit I only had a brief encounter with Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, I feel that Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games has a lot more to offer. The Wii and DS versions are very good-looking, have a lot of mini-games to play, and the Wii version is a blast with friends. My recommendation is that if you are expecting to be playing with buddies, get the Wii version. If you’re looking for a good set of single-player challenges, get the DS version. Although the games have control issues in some areas and a lot of useless features (I don’t really see the point in a Snowboard customisation shop), they are certainly at least worth a look if you’re interested.