Mario Sports Mix Review

By Ron Burke

Posted on April 5, 2011

Mario is most known for his adventures through pipes and castles while gathering mushrooms saving Princess Peach. He enjoys other hobbies in his spare time like kart racing, soccer, and playing mini-games. Now Nintendo has introduced Mario and his friends (and enemies) to a couple of sports. Mario Sports Mix has the gang playing Volleyball, Hockey, Basketball, and Dodgeball.

Mario Sports Mix includes a number of characters in the Mario universe. Luigi, Wario, Toad, Yoshi, and Bowser are a couple of the characters that you can select. If you want, you can also use your own Mii in the games and play alongside the characters. It

All of the characters look great, and their animations are top notch. They move the way that you

In each of the games you have three choices. One option teaches you how the controls for each of the games work. Then you have Exhibition games and Tournament games. You get to select the stage you play in for the Exhibition games and other settings. The Tournament mode has eight different characters playing in an elimination tournament where you strive to reach the trophy. Each sport has three different tournaments. In the Exhibition games you can set the difficulty level, while the Tournament mode doesn

The other way Nintendo tries to keep you on your toes is by changing the court during the game. Often a Question Mark Panel shows up on the court. Coins or items will come out of the panels. The coins usually add to your score, except for in Dodgeball where they add to your total attack power.

The items that pop up from the panels should be familiar to anyone who has played any Mario Kart or other sports game. The banana peel makes the opposing player slip up. The turtle shell knocks players out. You won

The playing areas change as well. In Basketball the floor might shift, making it very easy to get a three-point shot. You might have to shoot the basketball into Petey Piranha, which will close its mouth at the most inopportune times. In Volleyball the tide might come in and leave some coins which you

The second problem is the AI. While I expect this game to be a little easier because of its casual nature, the AI is practically brain dead. Sure, they know that they want to score a goal in hockey or basketball, they

Ron Burke

Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief | [email protected]

Ron Burke is the Editor in Chief for Gaming Trend. Currently living in Fort Worth, Texas, Ron is an old-school gamer who enjoys CRPGs, action/adventure, platformers, music games, and has recently gotten into tabletop gaming.

Ron is also a fourth degree black belt, with a Master's rank in Matsumura Seito Shōrin-ryū, Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do, Universal Tang Soo Do Alliance, and International Tang Soo Do Federation. He also holds ranks in several other styles in his search to be a well-rounded fighter.

Ron has been married to Gaming Trend Editor, Laura Burke, for 28 years. They have three dogs - Pazuzu (Irish Terrier), Atë, and Calliope (both Australian Kelpie/Pit Bull mixes), and an Axolotl named Dagon!