Introduction:

Mario has been seen in many sports titles. These include tennis, soccer, baseball, golf and, just recently, basketball. This being Mario's first sport outing on the DS was, in my opinion, absolutely breathtaking. Sure this game has gotten some crummy reviews, but it seems to me as though those game editors out there didn't give it much of a chance as Mario Hoops is a very generic, outstanding game that utilizes brilliant use of the touch screen and not to mention some of the best graphics to be seen on the DS. Allow me to begin my review.

Story:

Being a sports title, Mario Hoops has no storyline whatsoever. Basically everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom has decided to give basketball a try and run into a few Final Fantasy characters on the way.

Gameplay:

Mario Hoops, like I said, is a very generic game that makes excellent use of the touch screen's capabilities. Whenever Mario has a sports game, there is ALWAYS a twist that truly makes a magnificent experience. In Mario Hoops, unlike plain basketball, has you collect coins by tapping the touch screen as fast you can on a question mark pad, and when you make a basket, depending on how many coins you collect you will get that much more points. You can also pull off power shots where you must form the characters specific shape on the touch screen. So if I wanted to do Mario's, I would have to form an M on the touch screen to do so. You can use the touch screen to steal, shoot, pass, block, fake, jump, ground pound, spin attack and slam dunk the ball which really makes this game feel so intuitive. This game can be somewhat frustrating when trying to steal the ball from your opponent as the steal move is somewhat faulty, but that doesn't stop the game from being fun.

I give the gameplay: 9.0/10

Graphics:

The first thing you'll say when you turn on Mario Hoops for the first time is "Wow! I didn't know the DS could do this!" The graphics in this game are absolutely spectacular for the dual screen handheld! The characters are awesome to look at, the courts are awesome to look at, even the basketballs are awesome to look at!!! Absolutely nothing looks blocky or rushed in this game. Kudos to Square Enix for making the DS game with the best graphics, kudos.

I give the graphics: 10/10

Sound:

Everything sounds great in this game, the voice acting, though very little is very well done and makes the game come to life. Everything from the special shots to the slam dunks to the coins dinging sound incredible. You won't want to turn the volume down.

I give the sound: 9.5/10

Replayability:

There are 16 courts in this game, nearly two dozen characters with quite a few to unlock, dribbling challenges, tournament modes, exhibition matches and even multiplayer mode that'll have you coming back for more and more and more. This game is very easy to pick up and play.

I give the replayability: 9.0/10

Challenge:

This game is only challenging when you make it challenging. In exhibition mode, there are five different levels of difficulty, 1 being the easiest, 5 being the hardest and 3 being the most well balanced of the two. When you play through tournament mode the first time, you won't have much trouble at all, when you do hard difficulty for tournament mode however, It can get pretty hard. I'm still trying to beat star cup on hard difficulty! Overall, this game isn't too difficult.

I give the challenge: 7.5/10

Frustration:

The only time this game gets frustrating is when you get into hard difficulty in tournament mode. The first two cups on hard aren't too much of a problem, but once you get to the last two, you're in for a challenge which can sometimes get frustrating. But this game is pretty great about not being too frustrating, very little frustration.

I give the frustration: 2.0/10

Value:

You won't find this game for more than $30.00-$35.00, and for that it is worth it.

I give the value: 10/10

Overall:

Mario Hoops is a truly outstanding experience that really shows what the DS is capable of with both gameplay and graphics. I found this game to be very fun and intuitive and I think I'm going to be playing it for a long time to come.

I give Mario Hoops 3-on-3: 9.1/10

Conclusion:

If you're looking for a game that's easy to pick up and play, and if you're looking for something that shows what the DS is made of, Mario Hoops is for you. Don't rent, buy.

Written By: Michael
Date Submitted: September 24th, 2006