Clash of the Titans

When Nintendo and Sega anounced last year that they would be releasing a game that starred Mario and his long time nemesis Sonic, I don't think anyone expected an Olympic sports game. And while it's not the Mario Sonic platformer we've been waiting for since grade school, it's not a bad one.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic games is a collection of track, field, and other sports events featuring Nintendo and Sega's respective flagship characters. Events include the 100m dash, the hammer throw, and my personaly favorite, the Trampoline.

The Wii version takes great advantage of the motion controls as you swing your arms as if running, swimming, or shooting a gun. The games are easy to learn and not even very hard to master. Just be ready for some serious pulled arm and shoulder muscles the next day.

The DS version works similarly, except that the controls don't translate quite as well. For example, to run, you slide the stylus back and forth on the screen as fast as you can. This can result in some seriosuly scratched screens. So, if you're going to play this game, please, for the love of Miyamoto, use a screen protector.

There are several events in each game, some exlusive to each version. The DS has the 1,000m long jump, while the Wii has 10,000m diving. You play circuits to unlock new events. So, on one circuit, you might play the 100m dash, the long jump, and the hammer throw. If you get the most points out of your competitors, you get a new event.

All in all, both games are a lot of fun for a couple of days. The Wii multiplayer is better, if nothing else because you only need one copy of the game to play with up to 4 players. Either way, the more friends you have, the more replay value the game will have. Once you unlock everything, there isn't a whole lot to do if you're by yourself.

Therefore, I would recommend this game to most anyone, especially Mario and/or Sonic fans. It's a lot of fun, even if it doesn't last forever. Besides, there is always joy in beating Yoshi in 20-some odd events.

These games have a earned a Blatantly Biased:

Wii:

DS: