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Mario and Sonic, Their First Team Event Ever!
Product: Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
Company: Sega
Date: 07/19/2007
Avaliable On:

For the first time ever, Mario and Sonic will appear in the same game. In Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, published by Sega, the two characters (as well as many of their buddies and side-kicks) will come together and take part in the Olympic Games.

In this sports party game, you will be able to compete in many of the same Summer Olympic events that will take place in 2008. Characters that have been confirmed to compete in this year's mascot Olympics include Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Knuckles, Yoshi, Tails, Peach, Bowser, Amy and Eggman. The developers implied that more competitors will be on their way, but these are definitely expected to show up.

Each character has his or her own stats that will make them better at various events. For example, Sonic is obviously high in speed, while Bowser is power. Other characters don't necessarily have a specific strong area (like Mario) and will be better for all around play. Players will, of course, gravitate to their preferred and favorite corporate mascots, but the variance in abilities will make some characters better in certain events than others.

Players will be able to use the unique controls of both the Wii and DS in order to do things like the hammer throw, the triple jump, the 100 meter dash and the high jump. It is easy to see how well these events match up to the Wii's controls. For example, in order to toss the hammer, you simply swing the Wii-mote around and around until you are ready to release, then just tap a button. For the triple jump, you pump your arms really fast until you lock in your speed. Then when you approach the foul-line, you twitch one hand. When you land, you twitch the other and then you twitch the first one again for your final leap.

Since Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is designed to be a party game, you can compete with up to four players in either individual events, or random events on both the Wii and DS.

As an added bonus, the developers took the time to get with the International Olympic Committee in order to come up with an accurate recreation of The Olympic Stadium that is being erected in Beijing. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is supposed to be on sale this holiday season.

J.R. Nip aka Chris Meyer

GameVortex PSIllustrated