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Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

EMAIL PRINT wii

8.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 36 critic reviews
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Based on 60 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Sega

Genre(s): Sports

Players: 4

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Release Date: November 6, 2007

Summary

In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, players compete in events that take place in environments based on the official venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Using a supporting cast of characters from the worlds of both Mario and Sonic, gamers compete as or against a range of lovable personalities including Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Knuckles, Yoshi, Tails and more. Innovative usage of the Wii and DS control systems to maneuver a favorite character allows players to race the likes of Mario and Sonic down the 100m track, engage in exhilarating rallies in table tennis and churn water in a swimming heat, all while competing for the much sought after gold medal. [Sega]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website Predict this Metascore

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Official Nintendo Magazine UK

It's ideal both as a family game or as great post-pub entertainment. [Christmas 2007, p.64]

games(TM)

Mario & Sonic brings with it the return of the dreaded ‘Nintendonitis’. Play for more than an hour, aiming to break the world record on each event and it’s likely that your arms won’t forgive you for the rest of the day. [Chrismas 2007, p.128]

NGamer UK

If you like laughing and sweating - and especially both at the same time - this is Olympic gold. Some duff events, but you'll be giggling too hard to care. [Christmas 2007, p.44]

VideoGamer

Neat ideas like the inclusion of actual world records, and the option to gamble the potential points you could win from an event round off this tidy compilation.

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IGN

For being a game that’s made up of simple gestures and “been there, done that” gameplay, Mario & Sonic is a huge surprise in its ability to still pull us in and really deliver pure, classic entertainment.

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AtomicGamer

Overall, I'd still recommend this game, despite its higher-than-expected price point. You'll still have a good bit of fun for your gaming dollar.

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Games Master UK

Shallow stuff, but simple enough for anyone to play. Shame to see Mario and Sonic wasted. [Christmas 2007, p.72]

Nintendo Power

While the game never really blows you away, it's hard to imagine that any fans of Mario, Sonic, or party games wouldn't be glad to have this in their collection. [Holiday 2007, p.79]

GameZone

Some of the motions are brilliant, like Archery, but most are mediocre at best, like Skeet Shooting.

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Pelit (Finland)

Wii is just right platform for olympic games. For example Archery and High Jump are just excellent. It's a shame, that some of the events suffers from fiddly controls like Single Sculls and Table Tennis. Generally game is quite fun and it works best with bunch of sporty friends. [Mar 2008]

Zentendo

Its presentation and decent execution put it beyond mediocrity, but its fumbling inconsistency, repetition, and lack of defined flair fail to truly set it apart from others of its kind.

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NTSC-uk

A great game with a group of friends, and one which could help shift a pound or two, but the necessity to unlock events for multiplayer and the near-vertical difficulty curve for later circuits are hard to overlook.

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GamePro

It only takes a few minutes of playing Mario & Sonic at the Olympics to understand that this isn't so much a game as it is a marketing tool to promote the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

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GameSpy

Mario & Sonic is by no means a bad compilation of sports-oriented mini-games; it's occasionally flawed but ultimately fun.

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PALGN

With a wealth of options and a large variety of mini-games, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Game is a great partnership for the former rivals.

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Eurogamer

If you're willing to put the hours in, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a highly entertaining party game.

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GameTrailers

Overall, it lacks the polish and simplicity to compete with so many other mini-game collections on the Wii, leaving the unlikely pairing of mascots as its biggest draw.

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Gamer 2.0

While the game is incredibly tiring to play, it's a whole lot of fun when you're playing with other people. Other than that, it's just another game based on the Olympic Games... or it's just another Mario sports game.

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Play.tm

This is more of a distraction until a proper Wii Sports game appears on the scene. There just isn't enough substance here to keep the committed player coming back for more.

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Gaming Age

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is a lot of fun to play when you get a full group together, as long as you can get everyone over the initial learning curve.

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PTGamers

Deep down, it’s a set of mini-games wrapped up in the Olympics thematic, but fails to prevail in one or the other aspect.

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Kombo

The real Mario/Sonic event comes next year with Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In the meantime we have Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, a fun distraction when playing with friends and an exercise in skipping animated clips of characters cheering when playing alone.

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Cheat Code Central

With competent graphics, a real feeling of character, and mostly good uses of the Wii's motion sensing controls, this game is an enjoyable experience overall. Just don't let the allure of the crossover cloud your judgement when deciding whether or not to play this title.

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Electronic Gaming Monthly

Let me help clarify: The controls aren't complicated on their own; they're just complicated for this type of gaming experience. [Holiday 2007, p.66]

Worth Playing

The controls are hit-and-miss, and although you can play with a friend, you won't be able to progress through the circuits together, which makes it a moot point.

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Edge Magazine

It’s the kind of concept you suspect was conceived more by the desire to ‘leverage brand synergy’ than to create a classic videogame. [Jan 2008, p.90]

NZGamer

The single-player is an amusing distraction but playing with a few more people immediately takes things up a notch.

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GotNext

A brilliant idea on paper.

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GameDaily

The events don't show much diversity, outside of a few creative "dream" events. Worse yet, the controls are haphazard, sometimes reading perfectly and other times barely registering. As a result, it earns a bronze metal, at best.

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1UP

The complexity in the competition's certainly a step up from "Wii Sports" and "Wii Play," but without the option to play how you want and when you want, this feels like just another souped-up minigame collection. It's enjoyable -- and to be honest, more fun than I expected -- but it's not quite the evolution of Wii Sports we've been looking for.

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GameSpot

Mario and Sonics' debut as a duo fails to earn them a spot on the medal stand.

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GamingExcellence

“Mario and Sonic at the Olympics” turned too quickly into “Player versus Mario and Sonic Olympics”, and the result is an unhappy gamer with a set of sore arms.

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The Wiire

Playing with others is certainly more fun than playing alone, but there is nothing inventive about the approach to multiplayer, and the lack of full online play is disappointing.

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Gamestyle

This game is certainly entertaining, but only for a few days, and several of the events just prove too aggravating to replay again once you’ve done them as often as you need to.

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Game Informer

This game had the chance to go in a different direction on the Wii and do something interesting with the Olympics, but unfortunately merely substitutes remote-shaking for button-mashing rather than offering genuinely fun activities.

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GameTap

I could go on and on how Mario & Sonic misses the mark in nearly every respect, but there’s really no point.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 60 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Anonymous gave it a5:
A rather shallow and irritating mini-game collection of which the Wii is becoming unfortunately best known for. The controls are incredibly tiresome and gimmicky. Frantically waggling the remote and nunchuk really isn't fun and is only amusing amongst friends because of how ridiculous it is. Though funnily enough, for a game that aims squarely for the lowest common denominator, a lot of the events have surprisingly fiddly controls. One also has to feel a bit sorry for Sonic, as cool a character as he is, his supporting cast just can't compete with Mario's, so whereas Nintendo have more than enough popular characters to fill their side of the roster, SEGA have to include the obscure likes of Vector the Crocodile.... Basically this is a standard Track & Field game, but with silly button-mashing replaced with even siller remote-waggling. New gamers with low standards may enjoy it, everyone else will get very bored and very tired very quickly.

Alex R. gave it a9:
I personally really enjoy this game. C'mon what game outside Brawl do you see Sonic and Mario, not to meantion almost every recognizeable character from each party, competing against each other? Sure a few events can be difficult, but NO ONE ever said that the Olympics were easy! So why should this, being the closest most of us are ever going to be competing in the Olympics, be retarded down to simple platformer button pressing? In my oppinion, even if it involves than breaking a sweat on a few of them which to me is fine, I love all of the events even if the computer beats me!! So to sum it up- PROS: sixteen total playable characters + Mii's, events are great fun, great party game, gives some intersting/good education on the Olympics in the past and today some Wii titles where you can press random buttons or do random actions to win- in M&S you actually have to try to win at most events. CONS: Some events can be difficult at times (hey the real Olympics aren't easy either), the Wifi feature is only to update records on events (I was kind of hoping to actually face against people online). You have to play though random minigames to acess the Olympic trivia.

Lucky P. gave it a9:
Great game, very funny!!!!

Darren S. gave it a10:
You've got to be kidding me with some of these people slagging it off - obviously they have no sense of fun or sense of humour. The best thing that you can do is go and get yourself a copy of this and play away. Don't cry about one or two games being difficult to follow - just play, laugh and cry as your arms get soooo tired.

Mick gave it an8:
A good game which goes to show that 85+% of games reviewers don't have friends other than those they meet online...with the continued popularity of the wii it is time these magazines and websites start to rid themselves of some of their critics or they'll quickly find themselves very out of touch with their readership.

Filazafer X gave it a9:
Simply put, this is the best olympic game ever made. I just don't understand why it got so many poor reviews. I have always loved this type of game and this one takes it to a whole new level. The controls are creative and change for every event. It works great. It is the only game I have rented first and then bought. If they ever bring this out with online play it would be a huge hit. That is the only thing it is lacking. Personally I love it and I enjoy competing in every single event. I hope they make a winter olympic version soon.

Luke B. gave it a10:
I rated this game a 10 because it is super fun. It is one of my all-time favorite video games. My favorite is the javilin throw. I have the world record in that one!

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Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

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