Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games 3DS Review

Before thinking that this addition to the series is the same as the previous Nintendo DS and Wii games, think again. M&S 2012 brings a completely new way to play, incorporating everything the 3DS and the series has to offer into an amazing little package. This version adds an all new story mode, something the series hasn’t seen before. It also brings in a massive amount of events and series of events to play.

Story Mode:

The story mode takes the basic idea of completing the events in order to go forward in the story, but there’s a catch. there’s not just one branch for the story mode, there’s too: Mario’s, and Sonic’s. The story follows the hero and their partner/s in episodes around the plot, in which Bowser and Dr Eggman have taken matters into their own hands regarding the Olympic games, setting up fog machines around the city of London which bring out Phantoms of characters which must be defeated by the heroes before you can continue on. Within each episode, there can be many challenges or events to complete before the episode is completed and you progress with the storyline. You also have to keep things in sync with the other branch, for example you can’t go through the Mario branch all at once, you’ve got to make sure you’ve completed Sonic’s branch to near to Mario’s.

The story mode is basic, though for a first time player it’s a great way to get into the game and play all of the events there are to see what they like and enjoy. The different branches add more gameplay time into it, but at the end of the day this is a game that is MADE to be replayed over and over, where you aim to beat your time records and get the gold medals in all the events. The graphics of the Cutscenes in the Story mode equal that of the gameplay itself, though the 3D effects are implemented well, bringing the characters into the foreground and leaving the background… well, in the back.

Single Play

Here, you’re able to play medleys and Highlights. Highlights allow you to play a single event at a time, which is good for if you just want to see what an event is like or if you’re aiming for gold medals in it. Medleys allow you to either play pre-set events in sequence, or you can make your own sets of events to play through. This customisation allows you to make a set that you will enjoy playing over and over, and if you do get bored with it then you can make another selection!

Muliplayer

Muliplayer allows you to play with 2-4 friends locally. This is also possible through download play, if your friends don’t own the game themselves. Muliplayer doesn’t allow you to play Co-op story mode, which fits in with the way the game plays; you can’t really do many of the games in Co-op, so it’s all verses with local play! The ability to use download play is a great addition as previously said, meaning you can play with friends even if they don’t have the game themselves.

Record Log

The record log is an online leaderboard system. it allows you to see where you are in comparable with the rest of the world with the game. It also incorporates the 3DS friends list allowing you to see who out of all your friends is doing the best with the game. Being able to communicate in this way with friends and other players online is an aspect very well implemented with most 3DS titles these days and it works very well in this place too.

This game takes use of EVERY part of the 3DS. The Accelerometer and Gyroscope is used for a lot of the events, and the microphone is used for blowing and shouting into it (For example, with the weightlifting event where you’re required to ROAR into the microphone to get your character to lift it properly.), and the physical buttons and touchscreen are used regularly with most games too.

There are over 55 events to chose from, which is a huge improvement from the previous parts of the series. The characters you can choose from have been improved massively too, with you having the ability to choose from 5 different groups of characters for the different events. ‘Heroes’, ‘Girls’, ‘Tricksters’, ‘Wild Ones’ and ‘Challengers’ gives you 20 different characters to play as. The groups are set with the intent of having the characters with the same interests and skills compete in the same events. For example, if you’re doing some Acrobatics, you’ll be looking at using the girls.

Mario and Sonic 2012 brings you the same game you loved before, but improved to take use of the 3DS’ capabilities and also a storyline which, though it could do with some improvement, is a welcome addition to a game that needed a bit more meat to start with. The replay value is amazing as always with games of this series and genre, allowing you to go back and play over and over, with friends and even to beat your own records and submit them to the Record Log. If you’re a fan of this series, or just want something new to play then get hold of this game.

7/10