Product Description

Two of the most beloved icons in the world, Mario and Sonic, are joining forces to star in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Developed exclusively for the Wii video game system and the Nintendo DS system, this momentous agreement marks the first time these two renowned stars have appeared together in a game.

Featuring an all-star cast of characters from the amazing worlds of both Mario and Sonic, players will be able to compete as or against a range of familiar characters including Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Knuckles, Yoshi, Tails, and more. Innovative usage of the Wii and DS control systems to maneuver your favorite character will allow players to race the likes of Mario and Sonic down the 100m track, leap over the high jump, or churn water in a swimming heat, all while competing for the much sought-after Olympic gold medal. With up to four players on the Wii and on the DS, the stage is set to catch the fever this holiday with Mario and Sonic.

• Compete in stylized Olympic venues with authentic sports and events to choose from including track and field, archery, skeet shooting, table tennis, gymnastics, and more.
• Select your favorite playing style from the all-star cast of Mario and Sonic characters with four player types to choose from: all-around, technical, speed, and power. Examples: Mario (All-around), Peach (Technical), Yoshi (Speed), Bowser (Power), Sonic (Speed), Knuckles (Power), Tails (Technical), Amy (All-around).
• Game Modes: Try out each event individually with Single Match mode, compete for the highest overall score in a series of events in Circuit mode, or take on challenges created specifically for each character in the Mission mode. Up to four players can play together on the Wii. DS allows up to four players to compete via wireless connection.
• Unlockable stages where familiar items from the worlds of Mario and Sonic enhance the chall

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #538 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sega
• Released on: 2008-02-08
• Rating: To Be Announced
• ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review

For over a decade now fans have been wondering just what a team-up between Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog would be like. Everything from traditional platform games to complex role-playing titles have been suggested, but it’s fair to say nobody imagined that it would finally happen in the form of an athletics simulator. It’s officially licensed from the 2008 Beijing Olympics though (Sega already had the license for their own more traditional tie-in) and contains all the usual events you’d expect including the 100m sprint, swimming, judo, table tennis, hammer throwing and archery. Sega have even been talking about using the new Wii Zapper controller for a spot of clay pigeon shooting.

More than twenty-five characters from both universes will be playable in the game, including not just Mario and Sonic but also Luigi, Tails, Yoshi, Knuckles, Bowser, Doctor Eggman, Princess Peach and Amy. Other characters will have cameos as judges such as Cream the Cat and Toad. You’d expect some characters to be naturally better at some sports than others but each has their own strengths and weakness, with even Sonic’s incredible speed mitigated by his slow acceleration. The whole game is developed by Sega but overseen by legendary Nintendo creator Shigeru Miyamoto, with full tournament and missions modes as well as online leaderboards for all the different events. The name may sound like an April Fool’s joke at first but this crossover could well be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Manufacturer's Description

LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (November 15, 2007) SEGA Europe Ltd. and SEGA of America, Inc. today announced that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Nintendo DS will release across Europe early 2008. This exciting game is part of an exclusive partnership between SEGA and Nintendo which brings one of the most legendary competitions, an epic face-off between Team Mario and Team Sonic to Nintendo immensely successful handheld system. Coming out for the Nintendo DS with exclusive new content, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is also being released for the Wii home video system on November 23rd 2007.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, created specifically to take advantage of all the features the DS has to offer, boasts 16 official Olympic challenges including two new events that are exclusive to the handheld game - 10m Platform Diving and Cycling. Using the unique Touch Screen and Nintendo DS stylus, players can interact with the game as they jump, swim, run, shoot, pedal and flip their way through authentic competitions to win Gold medals. The Nintendo DS edition also features eight Dream events †five of which can only be found on the handheld game. Each Dream event takes an Olympic sport and brings it into a video game-inspired world filled with obstacles, power-ups and familiar opponents from the worlds of Mario & Sonic to challenge even the best players. These exclusive DS Dream events are: Dream Canoe, Dream Boxing, Dream Basketball, Dream Long Jump and Dream Shooting (Skeet). Dream events are available to play in both the single and multiplayer modes.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games presents DS players the chance to play as any one of 16 video game characters eight from the world of Mario and eight from the world of Sonic - each bringing their own talents and athletic capabilities to the competitions. The game is filled with challenges for all kinds of gamers thanks to the three game play modes - the Single Event Mode where players can choose one specific event to play, the Circuit Mode where players can choose a series of events to compete in, and the Mission Mode where players have the opportunity to fulfill a series of solo challenges that test their athletic capabilities, timing and reflexes. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games finishes up with the Gallery, where mini-games and Olympic trivia come together to bring more addictive DS fun.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games also offers irresistible multiplayer opportunities by taking full advantage of the DS wireless communications capabilities that offers both Single-Card and Multi-Card game play options. Multiplayer game play can be enjoyed in Single Event Mode - including the Dream Events - as well as Circuit Mode for up to four players. For gamers looking to see how they do on an international level, DS players can use the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection to upload their scores to the worldwide rankings and check how they rate against players around the world.

Customer Reviews

Jake's Balanced Reviews - Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
This has to be one of the most addictive games I have played in a long time. You will find yourself trying to get the gold medals in all events in just 30 minutes. But, every good game has to have some negatives, right? Kind of... not...

Gameplay --> 9.6/10 The game's events are either controlled soley with the stylus, the buttons, or an intelligent mix of both. The trampoline event, for instance, will have you drawing either a straight line up, a right angled line or tapping the screen three times. Sounds simple? Not when you're on a strict time limit and there are fifteen commands to put in.

Graphics --> 9.4/10 This has to be as good as it gets for the Nintendo DS. Perfect cell-shaded characters mean a lot of fun with the visuals. There's nothing like seeing fully rendered Mario and Sonic characters racing each other in the 100m dash.

Audio --> 9.7/10 This was so close to a 10, but after playing it again to make sure I get this review balanced, i noticed that the music is a little repetitive. You really notice it when you actually focus on it, but you don't really, so it's not much of a problem.

Multiplayer --> 9.9/10 Very good, and there is the option to play with a friend who does not have the game ("DS Download Play"), so props for that.

Replay Value --> 10/10 As I said above, you will try so hard to get the gold medals that you will be playing events over and over again until you get them. There are also the challenges (5 for each character, plus a secret 6th) that do not need to be completed, but you get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing a character have a full circle of stars in his stats screen at the character selection.

Overall --> 9.8/10 (5 stars) Nothing else to say, only it's addictive and, most importantly, fun. Well worth the money.

Best game for DS by far!
The legendary game maker's Nintendo and Sega join and make a FANTASTIC GAME FOR ALL AGES!
It's got over 20 olympic mini-games and 25 other random mini-games. It has Nintendo Wi-fi connection it also has Single-card ds download play and also Multi-card ds download play! it has 90 missions to do and 16 characters to pick from, there is a mode called Circuit mode which is pretty much story mode it has 3 Circuit classes: Beginner's Class, Advanced Class and Master's Class, all-together it has 15 circuits and each circuit can take up to 20 minutes so it has lots of gameplay and if you just want to play mini-games instead doing a circuit or mission you can just select "Single Match" mode there you can play all the mini-games you have unlocked so far! If you touch aAthletics you will find 7 minigames to play and unlock, the 1st is 100M, the 2nd is 400M, the 3rd is 400M Hurdles, the 4th is Long Jump, the 5th is Triple Jump, the 6th is Javelin Throw, and the 7th is Hammer Throw and if you go back and touch Aquatics you will find 2 minigames the 1st is 100M Freestyle and the 2nd is 10M Platform, press B to go back and touch Gymnastics and you will find two mini-games the 1st is Trampoline (which is EXCELLENT!) and Vault, again press B to go back and you will find Achery, Table Tennis (Ping Pong), Fencing (EXCELLENT!), Shooting, Cycling and if you've unlocked it you will find "Drean Events" tap that and you will find Dream Race, Dream Canoeing, Dream Boxing (EXCELLENT!), Dream Table Tennis (Dream Ping Pong), Dream Basketball, Dream Shooting, Dream Fencing (EXCELLENT!) and Dream Long Jump. There is 416 Medals to earn, there are 16 Trophies to earn, there are 40 empblems to earn and 17 Crowns to earn as well, and you can unlock 10 different original Mario and Sonic songs. Oh yeah one last thing you can store 3 save files.

Superb fun - get it!
This software is what you expect from the Mario franchise. Superb graphics, great sound and utterly playable. How they fit so much of a game into a little cartridge is amazing!

This was thoughtfully designed to take advantage of all the DS's features. The graphics are bright and colourful, the controls work well - left or right handed and overall the game hooks you in as you strive to better your scores. The game unfolds as you complete levels, so this enhances the playability and the life of the game.

Connecting with download play is so easy and allows you to play with a friends. Find someone with another cartridge and you can play all the games (in download only some games can be played - but still good fun).

You can upload your scores using WiFi - this seems boring, but is actually really well done. Once you upload it shows you how you rank in the world (expect 15600-18000 at first!) and the top scores. I find some of te number one scores hard to believe - 7.5 seconds for the 100m!!!! No way...

All in all a great game, with lots of Marion type fun. I cant knock it at all - get it...!