Product Description

The biggest Olympic superstars are back and the only country they're representing is video game land. The team-up that fans could previously only dream of is back, as the worlds of Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog combine at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

Following the same format of the 2008 summer games tie-in you and your friends can choose to compete in authentic Olympics disciplines as everyone from Mario and Sonic to Bowser, Dr Eggman, Yoshi and Tails.

Only a few disciplines have been revealed so far, but already we know that the game is going to contain ice hockey and figure skating. There will also be new fantasy events such as Dream Ski Cross, which sees everyone competing in a Mario Kart style race complete with familiar looking power-ups and speed boosts. Realism isn't the goal here, just good old fashioned multiplayer fun.

• Superstar team-up: Only the second game to include Mario and Sonic characters together, featuring the official Olympics license and input from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto.
• Worlds collide: Play as any of the characters from the original game - from Prince Peach to Vector the Crocodile, as well as first-timers Donkey Kong and Metal Sonic.
• Added balance: For the first time in a Sonic & Mario game you'll be able to use the Balance Board for some events, if you have one.
• The full monty: The new Festival mode lets you play through the whole of the Olympic Winter Games, including all the disciplines and an opening and closing ceremony.
• Friendly rivalry: Mountains of multiplayer options, including four-player competitive tournaments and co-operative games.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sega
• Released on: 2009-10-16
• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Format: Unknown format
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
The biggest Olympic superstars are back and the only country they're representing is video game land. The team-up that fans could previously only dream of is back, as the worlds of Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog combine at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

Donkey Kong is added to the line-up of gaming's biggest superstars

New addition Metal Sonic faces off against Mario in the ice hockey game

The Dream Ski Cross event looks suspiciously similar to Mario Kart Wii

Princess Peach looks particularly fetching during the figure skating

Following the same format of the 2008 summer games tie-in you and your friends can choose to compete in authentic Olympics disciplines as everyone from Mario and Sonic to Bowser, Dr Eggman, Yoshi and Tails.

All the disciplines you'd expect are here, including alpine skiing, ice hockey, speed skating, bobsleigh, figure skating and snowboard halfpipe. There will also be new fantasy events such as Dream Ski Cross, which sees everyone competing in a Mario Kart style race complete with familiar looking power-ups and speed boosts. Realism isn't the goal here, just good old fashioned multiplayer fun.

Key Features

• Superstar team-up: Only the second game to include Mario and Sonic characters together, featuring the official Olympics license and input from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto.
• Worlds collide: Play as any of the characters from the original game - from Prince Peach to Vector the Crocodile, as well as first-timers Donkey Kong and Metal Sonic.
• Added balance: For the first time in a Sonic & Mario game you'll be able to use the Balance Board for some events, if you have one.
• The full monty: The new Festival mode lets you play through the whole of the Olympic Winter Games, including all the disciplines and an opening and closing ceremony.
• Friendly rivalry: Mountains of multiplayer options, including four-player competitive tournaments and co-operative games.

About the Developer: Sega Sports Japan
Sega have renamed and reorganised their different development studios a number of times over the years and this is what used to be known as Smilebit. The studio no longer makes games like Panzer Dragoon and Jet Set Radio but instead sports titles such as Virtua Striker and Sonic & Mario.

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Customer Reviews

If you enjoyed the original, you'll love this one!
Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games is a massive improvement over the original game, and anyone who's played the first game and enjoyed that will surely get a kick out of this one. There's plenty of new content this time around with 4 new characters joining the original cast from the previous game, a new Festival mode which takes you through the 14 days of the 2010 Vancover Olympic Games, Plenty of new sports including 12 new Dream Events which are amazing, A Party Games mode and a new Shop feature where you can buy music, clothes for your Mii and accessories for your equipment.

The gameplay is also a big improvement from the first game. The Wii controls work great and are very responcive, and there is much less waggle this time around. You can play any of the games with any control style you want, Wii Remote, Wii Remote and Nunchuck, or the Wii Balance Board. There's something for everyone.

Graphics look great for a Wii game, and characters are animated really well. CGI cutscenes are pleasing to the eyes.

Sound is fantastic. The soundtrack consists of Olympic themed music and plenty of Mario and Sonic music to bring back that feeling of Nostalgia.

As for this game's fan service, it's the best I've seen in years. It totally blew my mind and left a big smile on my face. Fans of the Mario and Sonic franchises won't be disappointed.

If your looking for a great multiplayer party game, then this is for you. Those who enjoyed the original will love this. 10/10

Solid sports action, let down by average party play
After the success of Mario & Sonic's visit to the Summer Olympic Games (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)), the most obvious next step was to go for the Winter Sports version. And it works well.

The format is broadly similar to the previous game, and the cast of characters returns with a few new additions (Metal Sonic, Baby Bowser, Donkey Kong and so on). Graphically the game has its moments but overall it isn't a feast for the eyes, and the sound is even worse. Surely a few more voice samples could be dreamt up rather than the each character only having two lines (one for success, one for failure)?

The events range from various forms of skiing and snowboarding, to bobsleighing, skating, ice hockey and curling. The controls for the different sports generally work well and are quite simple to pick up. Skiing involves holding the Wii Remote and Nunchuk as if they are ski poles and using them to steer. Bobsleigh and skeleton have you holding the Wii Remote against your chest and leaning left and right to steer your sled, which is actually really good fun. Figure skating involves moving the Remote around to produce various dancing moves, spins and turns on the ice. Curling involves sliding the stone down the ice and then moving the Remote back and forth to simulate brushing. You get the idea.

The only event I would say is let down by its controls is Speed Skating. It involves frantically waggling the Remote and Nunchuk to get anywhere as a more refined approach doesn't seem to work as well. It's not very good. The skiing events can also get a bit `samey' after a while.

A new feature for Winter Olympic Games is the Festival mode. This starts you off in the Olympic village and allows you to train and compete for medals in all of the events as the games progress. You earn coins and various awards as you go, the coins can be used to purchase items from the in-game shop for your character (or Mii). This is great stuff and makes playing the game on your own much more interesting.

However, the multiplayer experience is not as good this time round as it was in the first game. Festival mode can be played by multiple players in a co-operative format, but it isn't possible to play a competitive tournament (even though the game's description on this page says it is), you can only do single events. I don't understand why this feature has been removed as it was one of the best things about the Summer Olympic Games version. OK, you can just keep selecting single events but it's laborious and not the same.

A number of the sports are also played in split screen with multiple players. If there are four taking part, this relegates each player to one quarter of the screen. The graphics inevitably suffer and the framerate drops alarmingly, making some of the sports harder to play. Split screen speeds things up as you are not always awaiting your turn, but the impact on graphical performance and resolution can be a high price to pay.

So the multiplayer experience isn't what I had hoped for, but overall Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games is still good fun and a much better single player game than you might think. Still worth purchasing both to play with your friends and without, but you may find yourself returning to the Summer version for more rewarding party play.

Bigger and better then the last one with great Wii Balance Board controls in 14 events.
Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games is one of the best multiplayer games out on the Wii in which the whole family will enjoy playing together. There are four new characters for you to have fun with which are Donkey Kong, Bowser Jr, Metal Sonic and the super cool Silver The Hedgehog. When using the Wii Board for the Bobsleigh event you seat on the board and, follow the path down by shifting your wieght from left to right which is great fun. Skiing and Snowboarding are fantastic on the Wii Board too but you can only use the Wii Board in one player mode. The Dream events are ace with Dream Apline which is based on the Mario Circuit from Mario Kart Wii. At last I can take Sonic out with a Red Shell with Mario. For all you people that played the Radical Highway in Sonic Adventure 2 on the Gamecube well you are in for a treat because thats what the Dream Snowboard Cross event is and what a rush you will have! Ice Hockey is a bit tricky to begin with but it's great fun once you get the hang of it, especially whilst playing against your mates or family. There are 27 different events in total for you to enjoy. Also you get stars which you can spend in a shop on outfits for your Mii's or buy music from the Mario and Sonic games. Overall this is a must have game for your Wii which I'm sure you will enjoy alot like I do too.