Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games Preview [Wii]

21 Sep 2009 at 12:36:34 by John Robertson

Did you know - although I forget the exact sales figures that were blasted our way - that Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is the seventh best selling games-franchise of all time?  No, I didn’t either. But, with those sorts of stats acting as the foundation for the upcoming Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games it would seem that we have a bona-fide contender for the coveted Christmas number-one spot on our hands.

If you’re familiar with the first game then the basic set-up of the winter edition will be largely familiar; pick a character from either the Mario or Sonic universe, select an event and proceed to shake, waggle and/or tilt your Wiimote until opponents are beaten and victory is achieved.  The emphasis is squarely on providing a fun, sometimes embarrassing, experience that is at its best when playing along with a group of friends or family.  It seems SEGA is fully aware of where the game’s strengths reside and have placed more of an emphasis on the multiplayer components, both in competitive and co-op play. 

For starters, and unlike the previous iteration, all 20 plus events are available in multiplayer from the off, ridding you of the unnecessary grind of playing through the single-player just to unlock the ‘main event’ as it were.  Prior to each event a simple tutorial displays the actions required to lead your chosen avatar to victory, so anyone jumping straight into multiplayer without having played the single-player needn’t worry about learning the controls on the fly. 

Of the events we managed to get our hands on it’s the four-man bobsleigh that is most obviously geared towards bringing the most out of the co-op elements.  Beginning with all four players shaking the Wiimote as frantically as possible to simulate the opening run down the ice with bobsleigh in tow, and culminating with you all sitting in a line, leaning from side to side in a desperate attempt to stick to the optimal racing line it’s the perfect event for anyone that enjoys making a fool of themselves in front of small crowds.  When played in this manner the game is undoubtedly a lot of fun and the fact that you’re all having a good time working towards the same goal overshadows - and largely removes - the feeling that, at its core, this is one very basic game. 

While you can participate in all events using the Wiimote alone many present you with the alternative option of syncing up a Wii Balance Board and balancing your way to snow-covered glory.  The aforementioned bobsleigh, for example, can be controlled by sitting on the balance board and shifting your weight from one side to the other, finally putting the part of the human anatomy known in the medical world as ‘the bum’ to work.  Snowboarding and skiing events instruct you to stand on the board (either sideways or straight-on depending on your weapon of choice) and transfer your weight between your feet to turn or, when taking part in trick-based events (the snowboard half pipe, for example), you twist and lean in any number of ways to perform impressively acrobatic tricks.

Perhaps the most interesting implementation of the balance board comes in the skeleton event (kinda like the luge but head-first), in which you need to rest on the thing with your chest at its centre and your hands gripping either side, leaning left and right to steer yourself safely down the track. The simple fact that your assuming the same position as your on-screen character (and because I’ve never seen the board used in such a way), somehow makes the event seem a little more involving than most of the others and is a great way to give those neck muscles a work out as you stretch your head back and up towards the TV in a desperate attempt to see where you should be heading.

Those of you already excited about getting a few mates over and heading out onto the slopes with four balance boards and a bobsleigh in hand should take a step back for a moment.  Only one board can be synced to a Wii at any one-time, meaning that three of the four-man team are limited to the Wiimote.  This is a hardware limitation, as opposed to an inadequacy on the software side, so the development shouldn’t be blamed for the resulting disappointment, but it is rather frustrating that Nintendo didn’t have the foresight to allow multiple boards to conneonsnle. Let 4he nhelforeeigtt Tfight over which sibling is going to be able to control the game with their rear-end begin.

Aside from the official events you’re likely to see on TV when the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games begin, you can try your hand at a number of ‘dream events’.  These offer a wackier alternative to the official Olympic events and feel much like a certain Kart-based racing game featuring that overweight Italian plumber who seems to be fond of red hats and facial hair.  The dream snowboard cross, for example, on paper sounds like a standard downhill race with competitors charging down the piste in a partially controlled run to the finish.  In practise though you’ll be flying around loop-de-loops, hitting speed pads for an extra boost, firing red shells, green shells and lighting bolts at opponents and scouring the arena for shortcuts.  Many of the dream events are so completely different in the way they play compared to the standard events that it almost feels as though you’re playing a completely different game, especially in terms of the tactics needed to win.

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games looks to be picking up exactly where the first game left off, improving and streamlining the elements that helped launch the franchise into the very profitable position it currently finds itself.  The improved multiplayer functionality and dream events should help keep players interested over the long-haul but, as someone, somewhere once said, “It’s-a me, Mario!” and isn’t that all that really matters?

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