MARIO TENNIS OPEN

At the time of reviewing this Wimbledon just passed. Here's a way to get onto the court (in the palm of your hand) without pressure, injuries and a sure defeat!

You have access to 13 characters like the usual suspects of Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, Bowser and others, as well as your personally created Mii character. Colourful, vibrant courts in a range of locations are at your disposal, with surfaces ranging from clay, grass and wood, to stone, snow and carpet (!). Tournament, Exhibition and Special Games offer a variety of gaming options. One of the special modes has you whacking the tennis ball against a wall where the classic 2D Super Mario platform game is playing out, the ball interacting with the game outcome!
A cool function of the two DS screens is your choice of hitting options on the touch screen (from simple to drop and lob).

In a pre-Wii world I always found games with sports themes like golf and tennis futile, but Mario fans don't mind the steady flow of titles from this legendary gaming character finding its way to the portable console.

3 / C
- Paul Blom