Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS)

Gamecow’s Price	RRP $69.95     Save $20.00 $49.95
Availability
Genre	Sports
Platform	Nintendo DS
Release Date	15/10/2009
Rated

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS) Product Information

This sports party game is a follow-up to the smash hit Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. This game will allow players to take to the snow and ice of Vancouver and Whistler, Host Cities of the 2010 Winter Games, and test their Olympic Spirit in competitive events through their favourite Mario and Sonic characters. With an assortment of new challenging Dream Events and surprises from the world of Mario and Sonic, the stage is set for a winter Olympic experience like no other.

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS) Review

While most of the attention has been on the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, its Nintendo's handheld that's again quietly stepping up to deliver serious quality. The Big N's handheld has been home to some pretty impressive games over the last few years, and while not everything on the system is golden, developers seem right at home with pushing their properties onto such an inviting, accessible system. Such is the case with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, a title that's based on the Wii version, and while not perfect in its own right, manages to come together as a much stronger package than its console counterpart.

At its surface, Mario & Sonic DS looks like it'd be a carbon copy of the Wii version, and nearly identical in many ways. You've got your core Olympic disciplines, dream events to throw in a little more "gamey" content in there, you've got the Mario and Sonic franchise characters, and the backdrop of the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver.

Everything from luge, bobsleigh, and snowboarding is done better on DS, and it usually relies on using traditional controls instead of experimental scribble tactics. Ski Jump is perhaps the biggest exception to the rule though, designed around the stylus for launch, jump timing, and mid-air tilting by tapping the left and right sides of the touch screen. Most of the time though, traditional controls win out over gimmicks, so snowboard rocks its skiing counterpart, cross country and biathlon are welcomed additions, and skating (more of a Track & Field button masher) beats out its Wii counterpart which is entirely waggle.

And then there's the old ace up the sleeve. On Wii, curling was the event to play, and on DS that again remains true. Using some nice swipe-based strength and a well-developed core mechanic, curling is a great addition to the package. It's more than just mashing buttons, scribbling all over the place, or adapting traditional racing controls into something like a downhill event. Instead, curling – a mix between shuffleboard, horseshoes, and bocce ball – is a laid back event that is well represented from top to bottom. You may not get the feel of physically pushing yourself to the limits while mashing buttons to speed skate, but using finesse and strategy in curling is pretty dang close to the real thing transformed into pocket goodness.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games still has a bit of a “farmed out” feel to it. The game lacks the soul of a first party Nintendo offering, and the re-used assets and key art found in dozens of other games, posters, or box art gives the appearance that this game was somehow built off old standby content and not hand-crafted by the companies that brought you these fine mascots in the first place. It’s fun to see Mario team up with Sonic, even if the story in Adventure Tours mode doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and the evens – while still hit or miss – offer far more compelling gameplay mechanics and a whole lot more depth.

Full review IGN