Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
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Game Reviewed: Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter
Games
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Reviewer: Clint
West
Platform: Wii
Category: Sports
ERSB Rating: E
Game Description
Mario and Sonics’ rivalry began many years ago when Sonic
the Hedgehog tried to horn in on Mario's video gaming dominance. Fast forward to the present day and their
rivalry still continues, albeit in a different way. They now appear in the same games! They first shared top billing in Mario and
Sonic at the Olympic Games, then shared the spotlight again in Super Smash
Brothers Brawl. Now they go head to head
once more in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. The game drops the player into the Vancouver
winter Olympic Games with a large cast of characters from the Mario and Sonic
universes. Using the motion features of
the Wii, the player will attempt to lean, shake, and swing their way to Olympic
Gold.
There are twenty seven events to choose from; ski jump, bobsleigh,
curling, ski cross, and ice hockey among others. These events can be played individually or in
festival mode. Individual mode allows
you to pick a single event and play that event only. Festival mode plays out like the actual
Olympics, with 2 virtual weeks of competition, each day usually hosting 2 or 3
events or practice sessions for events.
At the end of some days, a rival appears and the player has to beat the
rival in order to proceed to the next day.
For example, the player might have to beat the speedy Bullet Bill from
the Mario universe in bobsleigh to keep going.
In addition to the regular events, dream events can be unlocked. Most of these are highly exaggerated forms of
the regular events, such as Ski Jumping through a stage from Super Mario
Galaxy. There are also some oddities,
such as Dream Hang Gliding where you fly through the air trying to shoot things
down for points. There is also a versus mode where players can compete in
several mini games. Up to four people
can compete, allowing your family and friends to join in on the action.
The game has a large amount of unlockable content. As events are completed the player receives
star coins. Star coins can be used to
buy songs from the game, stickers and patterns to decorate your boards and
skis, books of Olympic trivia, costumes for your Mii, and numerous other
things.
What Parents Need to
Know
Violence
This game is played
from the third person perspective.
Characters can stumble and fall in some events. In dream figure skating, characters can be
hit by flames, resulting in them being on fire for a brief moment. Dream Hang Gliding involves shooting turtle
shells at objects and other players.
Some dream events have robots with big hammers that can hit
players. Dream Figure Skating in the
Sonic themed world has characters jumping at an icy dragon creature and hitting
it.
Language
No bad language.
Sexual Content
No Sexual Content.
Spiritual Content
No Spiritual
Content.
Misc.
Wario, Mario's rival, tends to be gassy in a lot of his
games. This one's no different. He has a turbo move where he expels gas from
his rear.
Reviewer's Thoughts
Mario and Sonic once again keep it pretty clean. Most families would have no problems letting
Mario and Sonic compete for winter gold in their homes in regard to game
content. As for the fun factor, however, I personally did not enjoy this game
very much. The motion controls are
appropriate for this title, but I guess my old school gamer self would have
liked to have had some more button mashing.
There were a number of times I found the characters not doing what I was
telling them to do. Also, after playing
each of the events several times, I grew tired of them fairly quickly. I played this briefly with a friend, and they
grew bored with it very quickly, preferring Wii Sports Resort for their fix of
sports themed mini games.
