Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games

Author : Jodie Lawton

I recently borrowed Mario And Sonic At The Olympics Games from a friend. I was a little bit skeptical about whether the game was going to be any good. My first thoughts were that the title of Mario And Sonic At The Olympics Games did sound very inspiring, and I thought that it was either going to be stupidly easy or too much hard work.

After playing for just half an hour, I got over my initial irritations and found the game to be exciting, competitive, active and surprisingly comprehensive.

Just to mention my small irritations at the beginning. I felt that the individual games took too long to load, and I got a bit frustrated that I couldn't get some of the Wii remote moves correct at the beginning. I soon overcame this as I got more used to the controls, and as you get into the competition spirit, you are bound to enjoy the scenes of being awarded medals and put on pedestals much more. The game soon transforms to a personal quest.

The most surprising part of the game for is how clever the graphics are. The quality of the story scenes when you see all of the different Nintendo characters in their glory are exceptional. You have to see it to believe it. If like me you are not very familiar with the Nintendo characters other than Mario and Sonic, then you will love meeting all of the Nintendo gang in this game. You will soon learn of their personalities and foibles, and figure out which avatars are best for specific Olympic Games.

When you first load up Mario And Sonic At The Olympics Games,you will be entertained by a 'movie trailer' tour of the "Beijing Olympic stadium" and a snapshot of all of the cool competitions that lie ahead.

I think that the best place to get started is in 'Single Match Mode' where you can play single games such as the Aquatics 100m Freestyle, Fencing, Shooting and more at beginners level. This will help to get your skill levels up and ready to take on the Circuits and Missions. You will notice lots of question mark boxes in the different events categories. This indicates that there are lots more games to unlock. You can unlock these by completing the Circuits (three events together) in 'Circuit mode'. You will need to gain 1st place and the gold trophy to win more games.

There is so much fun and exercise to be had with the different Olympic events. The game is really easy to use as there are on screen instructions for each event. You just have to master them! My favourite competition events so far are the trampoline, skeet and dream race. My favourite character and event combo is Dr. Eggman and the Triple Jump as he looks so utterly ridiculous with his long bandy legs!

Enjoy, but don't get too tired. Try combining active games such as track with more 'leisurely' events like Shot-put!

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Wii-Games---Mario-and-Sonic-at-the-Olympic-Games&id=1689559

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Author : Nathaniel Edwards

Super Mario Galaxy 2 continues the series of 3D Mario titles that everyone has loved since Super Mario 64. The series' level design and gameplay has always been so stunningly perfect and engrossing that reviewers just don't have a lot to say. That has remained true this time around, as Mario Galaxy 2 has become the highest-rated video game in history according to Metacritic, as reviewers just can't dock the game even a point out of ten. Indeed, Galaxy 2 is a remarkable game, and likely the best platformer ever made.

Just to get it out of the way, let's start with the negative points. Like other Mario games, there is virtually zero plot. This wouldn't really be a problem, but the game acts like it does have a storyline and you still have to sit through dialogue and cutscenes, even if nothing at all happens in them. Here's the entire game's story: (say it with me now) Princess Peach has invited Mario over to a festival with the promise of cake. Bowser kidnaps Peach and takes her somewhere far away, where eventually Mario rescues her. Galaxy 1 gave a bit more storyline by including the story of Rosalina and her Lumas, but she is virtually erased from the story here and we're back to the most generic non-plot possible. Nobody really cares that Mario games have a nonsensical and empty story, and this way is honestly better than what Sonic games have been subjected to recently.

However, the game still forces you through random dialogue between levels. The majority of the time, it's nothing but Lubba giving you some bland encouragement or telling you what you already knew ("Wow, that Power Star must have opened a portal to a new world! Let's check it out!"). Then there's more tedious dialogue in a few other cases, like whenever you want to play as Luigi. In order to play as Luigi, you must find him at the start of a level, click through three dialogue bubbles, then press "OK." Then after you've beaten the level, Luigi talks to the camera for a bit saying you should totally play as him again sometime. After the first time, all this dialogue seems totally pointless and time-consuming. So the game has no storyline yet still subjects you to game-interrupting dialogue far too often.

The only potential other negative worth mentioning is that this is the first 3D Mario game that's a straight sequel, so there are worries that it's too similar to Galaxy 1. Playing around with gravity has certainly lost some of its flavor since the first time around, but the rest of the game is so varied and freshly designed that you don't need to worry about getting bored too quickly. Every galaxy has a new surprise to it, not just in aesthetics but gameplay. You're constantly kept on your toes, ready to deal with magma monsters or pumpkin goombas or boos or magikoopas or any combination of any enemy and landscape possible.

Now that that's out of the way, you should understand that everything else about this game is going to be nearly perfect. The level design is just so interesting and even with the weird ways you sometimes have to fight gravity in certain levels, it's rarely frustrating or confusing. Some players may find the game a bit difficult, but 1ups are plentiful if you spend any time hunting them down. The orchestral score is amazing, maintaining the traditional Mario melodies and surrounding them with great sound. The controls are bouncy and fun all on their own, as they have always been. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is without compare among platformers, which is exactly what we expect from this legendary series, and nothing less.

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Wii-Game-Review---Super-Mario-Galaxy-2&id=4408009