Wow I Am An Olympic Gold Medalist !!!! You Can Be Too. (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii))

Member Name: bubbles12

Product:	Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
Date:	14/05/08 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hours and hour of fun packed entertainment.

Disadvantages: table tennis is very very hard, to master.

This game has brought back many memories for me, I remember in the 1990's playing Sonic on the Sega consoles and Mario on the Nintendo console. So I was amazed when I noticed the both sonic and Mario had been brought together for the first time in this Olympic Games wii game.

OLYMPIC GAMES

This is unlike any other older Mario of Sonic Platform game, it is basically made up of many mini games, which are based around the Olympic Games.

The object of the game is to compete against the computer or other opponents, and gain a winning place in the top three, this will then give your character a bronze, silver or gold medal.

As you gain medals other games will be unlocked, the aim is to gain medals within the top three for every character in every event.

There are no online play options on the game, but the game tracks all of your records for all of the events you have competed in, so if you improve on the last time you played this will be saved instantly.

If you get a really good score you can even upload your best scores and compare then to other peoples scores around the world.

There are 20 different events for you to unlock and complete, you can play single events where you play one event against friends of even the computer, or you can do a circuit, where you compete in four events and try to finish first so that you can unlock new events. Lastly you can complete missions here you compete in many events, but you have to reach certain goals, For example throw a javelin in between 30 and 40 meters, this sounds easy but it can be quite hard as you always throw it past the 40 meter mark.

CHARACTERS

One of the games best assets is the characters, which are these I remember as a teenager from the Sonic and Mario Days.

From the Mario selection you have Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser, Daisy, Yoshi, and Peach. All of these characters are different and they are sometimes faster, stronger and have more stamina than other characters, so it is best to check there profile when you need to complete an event that needs the character to be strong.

The Sonic characters consist of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Blaze, Vector, Dr. Eggman, or Shadow. I always go for the sonic characters as I think they look a lot better, these tend to be the faster side, but Mario's team seem to be stronger so it will all come down to what you need in each event.

If you don't want to choose a sonic or Mario character to play then you can always use, your Mii that you will have created when you got the wii console.

EVENTS

The track and field events include 100 meter run, 400 meters, 4x100m relay race, 110 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles, long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, hammer throw, and the javelin throw.

These events require you to run as fast as you can, by quickly moving the wii remote up and down then you need to press the back B button to jump, release of land. It sounds simple but your arms will tire quickly from all the alternate up and down jigging.
Other then the track and field events, you can also play a single skull row race, 100 meter freestyle swim or a 1x 400 meter freestyle swim relay race, the swimming and rowing are basically the same movements as the track and field races, just jab the wii remote and nunchuk towards the television and press the B button when your stamina is running low, You can keep check on your stamina as a pink heart appears on screen and drains as you tire, just press the b button and you instantly regain your strength.

The gymnastic events include trampolining, vaulting, and you can also do skeet shooting, fencing and archery. These events can be very tricky but once you have perfected the routines, they are really good fun.

Fencing and table tennis are the events that I found to be very boring, and long winded, they were hard to hit your opponent and the movements you do don't seem to register on the game, I don't know if this was a floor in the game, but you can get round it if you improvise.

Within the Olympic game you have fantasy stages, which are races like the original Mario karts game, you race around the tracks throwing collected weapons at you opponents in a bid to win the race.

MOVEMENTS AND MOTIONS

All of the events within this game, are operated using you own movements. So you will really need to throw a javelin to get the best results. I know is sounds crazy but I have tried just flicking the remote but you don't get the same result. So for you to win you need to put all you have into it.

All of the events will need the use of the wii remote and some events will require the use of both the wii remote and nunchuk.

PRICE

This game is in the top 40 for released console games this year, and is continuing to be very popular although it has been out for a while.

This will cost you 34.99 for any wii retailer, like woolworths, game, game station, asda and many more.

You can even buy this with the reward point gained from writing your reviews, as you can buy this from Amazon.

Yes 34.99 sounds a little bit excessive, but it has dropped in price as this was originally released for 49.99. So i feel i have saved some money and gained hours of fun.

MY OPINION

This is a very entertaining game and the hours fly by, but I do have to admit that some of the games are very good and easy to perfect while other can be very hard and you struggle to even place.

Some of the combinations you need to master of very hard, as the character only reacts to your movements so when the games consist of many movements in one sequence, you can struggle as timing and exact movement it critical to win a place.

The hardest one for a combination sequence was the long jump, as you have to run very fast by jiggle the wii remote and nunchuk as fast as you can, then you have to hop, skip and jump. Along with this you need to jump from the line and land perfectly for your score to be counted.

So overall this game is highly entertaining, but I can be very frustrating and many of the events need to have precise timing and movements, but once these have been perfected you can go on to complete the game and win all of the Olympic medals.

Summary: Great game to pass away hours.