Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Comments by Ellie Gibson

Wow, this review has made me more interested in this game than I was expecting. Guess I must have had really low expectations.
Would've liked to have seen more mention of he characters different abilities, other than in a photo caption- do they really not make that much of a difference? Would prefer that if so, I think.

Cool how some kids want the game :) I didn't realize kids visited Eurogamer until just now.

Just as entertaining as Assasin's creed (which according to that review thread sucked and wasn't worth a buy anymore)..... I guess..

LOL

Oh well, I'm sticking with Assasin's Creed :)

It would seem that 7 is a bit low considering the fact that the main gripe is the unlocking issue and maybe a couple of dodgy events...oh well its on pre-order so...

@disc

I am 35 and looking forward to this game ;)

Why shake your arms? Surely some deft wrist action would accomplish the same result?

Looks a great game.Ideal for family fun at xmas.

Can't help but think that if there was nothing to unlock in single player and everything was available at the start, the reviewer would have called the game for no secrets or extras to unlock?

Damned if you do damned if you don't. So to speak..

Four huge paragraphs dedicated to wishing everything was unlocked and multiplayer from the start.

I'll be buying this. Perfect for parties around Xmas.

So has anyone actually lost weight playing Wii Sports?

I was in the mall the other day and couldn't play Wii Tennis.. the game kept returning to the menu! (Press A+B you say? Haha) Of course there were some people staring at me and that made me a bit nervous, so I put down the Wiimote and went on my way :)

Hmmm, 7 is better than I thought it'd get and there are enough places selling this for £30 that I might just go for it - or at least stick it on my Xmas wish list for the holiday season.

I do agree with Ellie's point though; having to play the single player to unlock multi-player content is a bit of a pain in the arse. How many people are going to unwrap this on Christmas day and want to play straight away with all the family, only to find half the content is inaccessible until they've had a chance to put their own time into the game - which probably won't happen until after all the parties are over. It's a bit of an oversight if you ask me.

Then again, the Dream Events sound excellent and I like seeing the Mario characters in an Olympic games setting (Sonic's okay, but I really wouldn't miss any of his pals tbh; still, there you go) and having Miis in is a massive bonus too.

WarioWare suffers from the same "multiplayer-oriented game where you have to unlock the multiplayer" problem.

7 seems better than I expected.

No point complaining about the gameplay in the review when it's clear to see it's nothing special.

I hope nintendo are not charging 40 for this. £40 for mini games isn't worth it really.

He, decathlon with the same wiggling, that's innovation.

"WarioWare suffers from the same "multiplayer-oriented game where you have to unlock the multiplayer" problem."

Good point, and having unlocked the multiplayer on my own I wish it was just there from the start.

Not a deal-breaker, and I may get this to take home at xmas.

"If you're a lady or a fat man..."

And if you own a Wii, then you are.

(I kid, I kid, I kid. But on the other hand, I do own a Wii and I am a fat man. So perhaps I don't. Ahhhh....)

Couldn't you just download someone else's save file and skip all the unlocking nonsense? Anyway, although I would've preferred this to have been set in a more fun, Mario-ish world, I'm quite interested in it now. Being able to import your Miis and play as them kind of sold me, actually.

Does Ellie get stuck with reviewing all the non-games on Eurogamer? First Scene-It, then EA playground, and now this. What has she done to deserve this?

"Mario & Sonic's biggest flaw, however, is undoubtedly the unlocking nonsense."

Rayman: Raving Rabbids did this as well. I just took it back. Stupid unlocking!

I'd have preferred to have Zack and Wiki in my Christmas stocking but Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games will do. This will make a nice alternative to Wii Sports for family fun. After reading other reviews of this game; I was expecting a 5/10 from E/G, it’s good to see a game reviewed for what it is and not for what it could have been.

All this unlocking nonsense in games is basically there as a challenge: If you hold down the (Z) button while pressing buttons (A) and (B) simultaneously on the title screen and then vigorously shake the Wii-mote in an up and down motion; you will unlock all events and characters. This is called wanker mode.

Does it not say something about the game itself when actually playing it is viewed as some sort of 'chore' rather than actually being fun?

Further proof that Wii is all gravy in a party or family knees up context but with the expection of Galaxy & Metroid fails consistently to provide engaging single player action. (old ports dont count).

(I await the no doubt rabid response....)

that is true afghan, but you could maybe add a couple more to mario and metroid

why don't old ports count anyway? Loads of 360 games are just old PC games after all, and they still rock. Same goes for the other way around - KoToR came out on xbox first but it didn't stop it from being one of my favourite PC games ever, for instance.

Why is calling Eggman by his real name blasphemous? He was only called "Robotnik" by the American translators in the first place. And what's wrong with Vector? He's a classic Sonic character, which I'd prefer them to keep using rather than making new ones every 5 seconds.

The biggest problem with having to play through the game in order to unlock full multiplayer is it gives one player a massive advantage of knowing and beating the events in advance, especially if the games have as many nuances as the review suggests.

In warioware I found myself having to purposely throw minigames I knew inside out in order to keep people interested because it's no fun getting beat.

Another problem is if you want to take the game round a mates you have to remember to take your save game on an SD card or you have to do the whole damn unlocking process again.

Still it can't be long until an unlock all cheat is revealed, then the game becomes a much more attractive christmas party game.

Sounds like the ideal game for at the job; if it wasn't for the hours of single-player unlocking business!

Bummer. Back to Wii Tennis.

@afghan_jones: You forgot to mention Super Paper Mario and Zack&Wiki.

"Perhaps because one player could deliberately perform badly to boost the other's progress, thereby "cheating". However, anyone paying GBP 40 for a game should have the right to cheat if it's the quickest way to access all the content. Who cares if you cheat anyway?"

It's called "respect for the game". Play it properly, or go outside and stare at the sea.

@afghan_jones, Warioware was a chore to unlock the multi-player; but in all honesty the game was a blast and is one of the funniest titles I've ever played and it certainly used the Wii-mote in a very innovated way. What is the point of your post actually?

Guitar Hero 3 out Friday woooop!

If ever a game was made for multiplayer it's Mario & Sonic. So why aren't all the events available in multiplayer from the start?
Ive been saying this for years about mario party. And still you need to complete the 1p to open the last level for MP.
(Shakes fist)

Doesn't matter if it gets a 2 does it? Mario Party 8 stinks like a dead dog the second you open the DVD case and still the Wiidiots are buying it week in week out. :(

(Shakes fist)

(Shakes Wii-mote)

I just wanna know one thing.. Does Sonic swim in it? :|

What's wrong with Sonic swimming?

Well, on another note: according to the review this is a game you'll want to play with 3 female players - this should look something like the Baywatch intro sequence. ^^

Well, it's a bit of a nerd factor, but one of Sonic's most well known treats (sort of like Turtles liking pizza) is that he can't swim. It's pretty stupid if they completely disregard a fact like that in a game like this.

It's fanservice for god's sake. The people who buy this are people that are too into these characters for their own good.

Like me. :}

Ellie in being allowed to review reasonable game shocker!

Must feel good not to have to slam a game with a 3/10 for a change.

I can safely say that I'm incredibly interested because finally there's a game with fencing in it!

im getting this >_< its mario and sonic for christs sake.

"Kookoo-kachu."

:D

SOLD!

"The only problem with Dream Race is you have to shake your arms about really hard for a really long time. It's absolutely exhausting, and if you're a lady or a fat man the high jiggle factor can result in discomfort."

Oh no, the entire Wii demographic ruled out!

Surely this is THEE best new game to hit us since Super Mario Allstars on SNES???

Only had this game since tuesday, (managed to amazingly and luckily get my hands on a copy before the official release!!), but already completely and utterly addicted. I just can't get enough. Amazing graphics, amazing variety of games to compete in, a very wide and varied choice of characters (and best of all, you can even take your own Mii character to the olympics!!!!), amazing sound effects, and most of all, immense amounts of fun.

Think about all the chocolate you could give the worlds hugest chocolate lover, or all the shoes and handbags you could give to your mother, imagine all the sports memorbillia and alcohol beverages your dad could ever wish for, or just imagine all your birthdays and christmas's just came at once! That's seriously how much fun and enjoyment i'm getting from Mario & Sonic at the Olympics.

My favourite games so far are deffinately Long Jump, and 100m Swimming.. However all of the mini games have become highly addictive and entertaining wether playing by myself, with friends, or even with the family!

Suitable for all players at all levels, i'd say this game is without doubt a MUST buy... and if you're too skint to buy it now, deffinately add it to your Christmas Wish List!!!

Mario or Sonic?? Whichever team you're on, you're gauranteed to have hours and hours of fun, entertainment, laughter and giggles, and a lot of competing!!! If the game entered the olympics, without a doubt it'd be miles ahead of everyone else and straight in with the GOLD!!!

My older bro wants this for Chrimbo, while I have asked for RE:UC. In a cruel twist, both have received mediocre scores...

Bah.

Nothing would convince me to buy this game. I'm just sick of the pit of despair that the Sonic franchise is in. It's in serious need of a reboot. Get rid of 99% of those awful fucking characters, please.

Brilliant game,great for eve1 my kids are addicted at the minute and they love unlocking all the games,winning and getting world records. I think its pretty cool too, great exercise. A winner for christmas.

16 characters all with different abillities. even use your own mii. great 10 out of 10 in our house.

You're wrong about the dream events. With the running one, all you need to do is get to top speed and then it stays there until you hit an obstacle. Makes it easier on the arms.

I thought stats made a huge difference in this game. And they do. Particularly in running events.

IMO, this is close to the best out on Wii.