Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

THE GOOD:
To start off with, there is already a confirmed sequel to this game, at the winter Olympics. This shouldn't grow into a series and all the fans will get their platformer. Seeing the opening cut-scene with the impressive CG effects, music and everything which sucks you in. You are then able to make your save file with your own flag and name. You can also have up to four save files for your Friends and family.

Sega made full use of all the characters from each series, and didn't add pointless characters to play as. The veterans include Mario & Sonic, Luigi & Shadow, Yoshi & Tails, Dr Eggman & Bowser and all the other characters you'd expect. But then you see they have added some characters that needed their game. Blaze The Cat and Daisy get impressive stats, and balance out the female roster to go along with Peach. Cream The Rabbit also appears, but as the referee in some events. There will be even more characters added in the next game too.

The game has a very good theme and music that to be honest tells you the style it will have. When playing the game for a while, you'll get a notice saying you should give your arm a break, but still gives you the freedom to carry on.

The mechanics and design are very simple but still enjoyable in the original way. Your 6 year old cousin could work it out, and so could your 70 year old gran. Before every event you have a controls section too, so you know what you are doing every time. You have the freedom to use the Remote & Nunchuk, but if you don't have a Nunchuk, you are able to play every event without it. Having this sense of freedom and not being bossed around by the game makes you feel in total control.

Graphics aren't the main thing you should look for in a game, but this game had a big effort put in and it deserves to be mentioned. The character models all got upgrades because characters like Blaze got a entirely new costume, and in any event you can see the crowd in the background waving Sonic & Mario flags. You can always take a look and see your character in it's pride.

The game takes variety in it's events, with Swimming, Sprinting, Fencing, Flying and Ping Pong. The events are enjoyable and there are often a lot to unlock which are worth the wait. This game has a Circuit Mode as well, which is rather like the Mario Kart formula where you get a trophy for winning and once you win enough you get a prize.

There is also a history gallery where you can play minigames and learn a lot about the games from famous athletes to locations to pretty much the entire history. Learning some of these things can be really satisfying too.

The soundtrack was impressive. If you ignore the glass shattering announcer's voice, you get some nice melodys. You get some retro music in the gallery and all the events have different music, often upbeat and not distracting in anyway. The sound effects are also spot on going in nicely with the music, calm and quite nice to listen to.

THE BAD:
The bad parts...

No Story:

There was no sort of Story Mode. Not even a career like in the Official Bejiing Game made by the same company where you can evolve your character and get a good single player experience from it. Not having a platformer scared away a few people, and then seeing the duo's combined effort put to waste by no interactions hurt the game a lot.

Not 'Pro':

Ok, I like to think that I'm a casual gamer who likes to play with freinds and have fun instead of taking the gold, but the "Pro's" wouldn't like it. Well there aren't any game breaking unfair moments, there is no online multiplayer like in the official game and the online leaderboards seem kind of empty, as if not many people have bothered to submit anything.

I'd buy this game for sure, but make sure you're not a competitive person.

SUMMARY:
Overall, this game has more good points than bad, and although it didn't live up to be the best of what was expected it turns into a fun, well developed game that all your family can enjoy.

If you liked this one, I advise you to get the next one and follow it through. You'll get real fun from this game, so make sure to get it.

Thanks For Reading!