Mario Hoops 3 On 3

With Mario Hoops 3-On-3, you'll use Mario's magic touch to win b-ball games! There are plenty of basketball games out there, but none with the hands-on control of Mario Hoops 3-on-3. Use the touch screen to get your game on as you exectue tricky dribbles, special passes, and sweet shots-all with strokes and taps of the stylus.
Customer Review: Has the typical flaws of Mario sports titles, but fun and unique game nonetheless
Anyone who played Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars knows that Nintendo/Square Enix collaborations can result in absolutely amazing games. Unfortunately, there haven't been too many since then, but Square Enix reunites with Nintendo once again for the Nintendo DS game, Mario Hoops 3-On-3. Mario Hoops was initially intended to be an original intellectual property of Square's, but you'd never be able to tell from the final product-every facet of the Mario universe and its sports spinoffs permeates throughout this game's entirety. As with Mario Kart, Mario Strikers, Mario Tennis and the like, there's the option of initiating unbeatable super-goals if you're fast enough or in the clear, gimmicky courses to play on and of course that notorious item-induced chaos that can rapidly and randomly turn the tide of a game. The big gimmick of Mario Hoops 3-On-3 is its (intended) control setup-you dribble, pass, and shoot the ball with taps, sweeps and swishes of the stylus. This may sound fun or unique, but unfortunately it really only ends up being so in practice mode, because in the heat of an actual game, you won't be able to control your team as efficiently as you'd like with such wonky controls. The DS is top-heavy enough as it is, but having to hold the entire console AND properly operate the D-pad with your non-dominant hand while using the stylus with your right just makes for awkward, uncomfortable control settings, unless you're resting the DS against a solid surface-play for just a few minutes and you'll find your hands getting sore. Thankfully you have the option of playing the game with buttons, which is significantly easier and the manner in which I decided to play pretty much throughout the whole game. While I was perfectly content playing the game with buttons, it is a bit disappointing that the game's big gimmick ended up falling completely flat, and I have a feeling will with most other players. Another control issue is the setup of the Special Shot-a super shot which goes straight for the hoop and can only be executed if a certain symbol (different for each character) is tapped out twice on the touch screen. Even while playing with buttons, this is the only way to execute a Special Shot. As a result, you'll only end up using Special Shots about as often as you would Mega Strikes in the Mario Strikers games (not very), possibly even less so. This is too bad, because the Special Shot animations are some of the most pleasing and exciting visuals in the game; but thankfully for pure aesthetics' sake there's a `Challenges' mode in which you can practice using each character's Special Shot. An issue that recurs consistently in Mario sports titles is the utter lack of effort your teammates make to help you at all unless you're in direct control of them-while you're controlling the one character who has the ball, the other two will run around randomly or not move at all, making zilch effort to defend against the CPU's persistent offense; because of this, you should really only pass the ball if a teammate is relatively nearby, or you could toss it right into the hands of an opponent. While this may sound like a lot of griping, the gameplay itself is pretty fun-you select a team of three to lead you through an exhibition (VS. match) or tourney (1-player mode) of basketball games. You can dribble, pass the ball, execute slam dunks or try to make a shot from far away, and perform various defensive moves when the opposing team is in possession of the ball. As previously explained, these moves are all much simpler when performed with buttons-you press B to dribble, Y or A to pass left or right, and X to shoot when in possession of the ball; you can press B to attempt a steal or use items, Y or A to sidestep left or right, or X to jump or block when you don't have the ball. There are also advanced tactics, such as charging the ball to increase the likelihood of your shot going in when further away, or jump-steals, which allow you to knock the ball away just as the opposition is attempting to make a basket. Both fortunately and unfortunately, items are the wild card-and as with other Mario titles, some of them are a bit overpowered and make for unfair or unexpected happenings in the gameplay. Lightning makes everyone else on the court fall, Spiny Shells home in on the ball and create a massive explosion (meaning there is no way of avoiding it unless you attempt to make a shot before it hits), and Stars grant complete and total invincibility for a surprisingly long period of time, basically allowing the user a free shot. You'll have to be particularly careful that the AI opponents don't get ahold of some of these devastating items, because they tend to bolt after them the moment they appear, particularly on higher difficulty levels. In the 1-player tourney, you'll go through Cups in a very Mario Kart-like fashion, and beating all three of the tourney's games wins you a trophy; to win gold or silver trophies as opposed to bronze, you must not just win, but win by a specific margin of points-which is very easy at first but progressively more difficult as you go on. Thankfully, unlike some other Mario sports titles, for the most part, the CPU opponents rarely reach that obnoxious level of cheap, outrageous difficulty that can leave a player too frustrated to go on, although once you start playing some of the Cups on Hard, some of your opponents are a little too precise with their shooting and stealing, and as previously mentioned, the item-induced chaos and court hazards can just plain be too much to keep track of, especially if you're playing with the stylus and can't sweep or swish fast enough. Graphically, the game is actually very impressive-this could have easily been an N64 title, as nearly all of the background scenery is vivid and colorful, and some of the extra aesthetic tidbits are a pure joy to behold. The game is also blessed with an excellent soundtrack, with great, exciting beats to bump along to while you're dashing down the court. Arguably the game's greatest asset is its massive plethora of hidden goodies and unlockables-there are 11 hidden characters, 4 hidden courts and a multitude of alternate character costumes and ball colors to unveil throughout the gameplay. One of the biggest draws is the addition of the Final Fantasy characters-you can unlock White Mage, Black Mage, Ninja, Moogle and Cactuar as playable characters, all of whom are very fun to play but unfortunately all also require relatively exhaustive tasks to be completed before you can unlock them. I have yet to give the wireless multiplayer a try, but I have a feeling it's exactly the same as other DS games' wireless or download play (and no, you can't play locally or online; you can only play against friends in the immediate vicinity who also have DS consoles). Overall, it's a nice DS game, and arguably the best Mario sports title on a handheld console so far; however, its replay value is slim once you've completed all or most of the Cups, and in my opinion to really be able to enjoy the game, you have to get used to playing it with buttons. Ultimately, it's a fun (albeit gimmicky) sports title.
Customer Review: Awesome game
This game is simply awesome. You can combine all sorts of characters to be on a team, and with extensive touch screen usage, you can use all sorts of sweet moves. A special bonus is that you get to use a few Final Fantasy characters in the mix, which give the game a special twist. This game definately deserves 5 stars!

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