First, we jumped into volleyball, which is fairly simple. You choose a team of two Mario characters (all of whom have their own unique strengths and weaknesses) and then hit the sand. If only two players are participating, each has a CPU-controlled partner which you cannot switch to. You move your character with the analog stick, then lift the Wii remote to jump, and swing down to throw. To return the ball, you’ll have to watch for the red landing zone on the ground, move to within that radius, and swing upward to connect. You can also feint a return by pressing the A button, which is fun and effective once you get the hang of it.
Each court has its own special properties. There were three on display at E3: Koopa Troopa Beach, DK Dock, and Bowser’s Castle. Koopa Troopa beach is standard fare, while Bowser’s Castle, for instance, possesses a bit of a computer assistance element, as the player who’s behind will find their opponents’ side of the court gradually growing in size. There are also items (press B), of course—turtle shells, mushrooms, and the like—as well as special powers (press A+B), such as a super-powerful fire spike from Mario and a giant bomb (no reference intended to the popular gaming website) thrown by Wario, which creates a cloud of smoke, thus making it difficult to follow the landing zone of his shot.
Then there’s basketball. Three courts were available: Mario Stadium, Peach’s Castle, and Bowser Jr. Blvd. You play in pretty much the same fashion as you do in volleyball: movement once again with the analog stick, and jump/shooting via the Wii remote gestures. This time, however, you can also switch between characters with C and pass the ball with A. To dunk, you simply hold up on the analog stick and then shoot normally. And defense is equally simplistic: jump by gesturing upward and shake to “attack” the shooter.
In its unfinished form, the game seems distractingly fun, but we both felt like it was too waggleriffic to be truly compelling to anyone who plays beyond the Mario Partys and Carnival Games variety. It’s nothing terribly different from any previous Mario Sports title, but for the waggle commands, which honestly feel just about as unnecessary as they do in any other title criticized for such. Having said that, I was assured by a Nintendo rep somewhere that there was actually a great deal of content in the game, so perhaps we’ve yet to see the full scope of the experience. We’ll have more for you in the near future, but for the time being, be sure to check out our HD video footage of the game elsewhere on the E3 section of the site.
