Mario Sports Mix (Hands-On) (Wii) Preview

Whilst the final version of Mario Sports Mix promises to have a wide selection of different sports on offer, including dodgeball and hockey, the build that was on show at the recent Eurogamer Expo in London, England, merely had two of them unlocked, Basketball and Volleyball. Both of these, sadly, were nowhere near as enjoyable as expected. The usual line-up of characters from Nintendo’s heritage are up for selection, with no surprises in the mix from the off (could Square Enix ones be included as in Mario Hoops 3-on-3? It seems we will have to wait until launch to find out), meaning the choice for players for now is simply from the following: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser, and Bowser Junior.

Diving into the basketball option was the obvious first choice given how the DS game from Square Enix was indeed quite fun for the most part. Rather than three players per team, though, for Mario Sports Mix it is a quick two-on-two affair where the Nunchuk’s analogue stick moves the primary character around and flicking the Wii Remote leads to jumping and attempting to score some vital points (or defend at the other end of the playing field) in what turns into real end-to-end action that strangely lacks the tension of NBA Jam, which gamers can also pick up on Wii. Tapping on ‘A’ allows for stealing the ball from your opponent, whilst ‘B’ activates one of the various items that can be collected (yes, never fear, Green Shells are in there) to increase the arcade feel of proceedings. Additionally, each of the Nintendo pack has its own characteristics to add more spice to every match, meaning that Luigi is slightly faster than his portly plumber brother, Bowser and Donkey Kong throw their weight around and the likes of Princess Peach and Daisy are generally good choices for those focusing on 'technique.'

Trying the volleyball part of Mario Sports Mix, Mike and I once more found that disappointment washed over us. The control system was pretty much the same as before, with players moving their character to wherever the coloured indicator, representing where the volleyball is to land, appears, and then flicking the Wii Remote upwards to steady and set-up the ball for your partner to then make a quick downward motion in order to slam back over the net, aiming with the Nunchuk to keep the ball from landing outside of the designated markings of the playing court. As with basketball, there are various game boosting elements, such as the special power move that can be activated once your character’s individual meter has entirely filled up (by performing successful passes, shots, and so on), leading to an almost unstoppable attack on the other team’s basket/court/goal, complete with fanciful animation that cannot be skipped.

All the correct ingredients that made Camelot’s Nintendo sports titles so addictive and fun look to be have been included, yet oddly something was definitely missing and the whole experience felt terribly flat. If something drastic does not change before its release in Japan next month, then this could be one of the biggest Nintendo-published disappointments to arrive on Wii.