Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a sports game that places Mario, Sonic, and their various allies against each other in Olympic events. The game has the official Beijing 2008 Olympics license, and will feature environments based on actual Olympic venues.

Originally, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was considered an April Fools Joke by most fans, as the game was revealed late March. However, soon after, Sega stated on their official website that the game is official, and that both Sega and Nintendo are working on this game project. Shigeru Miyamoto then soon confirmed that he is supervising the project, confirming Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games to be real.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is to be available for both the Wii and Nintendo DS. Both versions of the game utilize the new functions of these Consoles completely. Mario & Sonic is compatible with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Playable Characters
The playable cast consists of sixteen characters; eight from the Mario series and eight from the Sonic series. These sixteen characters are broken up into four groups of four characters. All-Around, which consists of characters who neither excel or descend in any type of abilities. Speed, which consists of characters who are best at agility and stamina based events. Skill, which consists of characters who are above average skill and stamina, but have low power and top speeds. Power, which consists of characters who are best at strength and endurance based events.

There is also the choice of using the players own Mii as a playable character. When they are chosen, they seem to have no stats, so stats do not affect them, or it is safe to assume that they have 5/10 in all areas. In Dream Fencing and Dream Table Tennis, players can use Special Attacks, which are powerful moves that inflict more damage (Dream Fencing), or hit the ball with more power (Dream Table Tennis).

Other

 * Mii

Non-Playable Characters
These characters act as referees in the events.

Referees

 * Espio
 * Charmy Bee
 * Cream
 * Lakitu
 * Shy Guy
 * Toad
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Pianta

Dream Events

 * Dream Race (Sandhill Race Course) – Get on your marks for this intense power-up filled race course, made for either one player, or as many as four.


 * Dream Platform (10,000M Diving, Tropical Reef Diving Area) – More like skydiving, soar through hoops and perform aerial tricks while avoiding obstacles and opponents to reach the finish line first.


 * Dream Fencing (Duel Wharf Fencing Beach) – With unique special attacks for each character, this jungle-inspired world offers the ultimate duel.


 * Dream Table Tennis (Speed Rally Table Tennis Stadium) – A sci-fi wonderland, this magical table tennis extravaganza offers a special ability for each character.

Reception

 * GamePro - 3.5 out of 5 (70%)
 * 1UP - 6/10
 * IGN - 7.9/10
 * Official Nintendo Magazine Uk - 90%

Official Artwork
(Logo, first artwork and group artwork)

Trivia

 * This is not the first time that Mario takes part in the Olympics. He also competed in an event called "intergalactical Olympics" in the Club Nintendo comic "Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit". An Ackpow in Super Paper Mario also suggested that Mario (or Peach, depending on the character in use) should join a type of Olympics parody known as the Gerbilympics, but this event was never seen.


 * Like previous Mario titles, certain official artworks were reused for the game. The only new Mario artworks are of Peach and Daisy; this is probably because they are wearing sports attire, and most previous works depict them with certain equipment for that game.