Nintendo has taken going green to new heights. No, I don’t mean Luigi is now the company spokesperson, they’re now recycling games! They’ve taken the old GameCube game, Mario Power Tennis, and reprogrammed it to work with the Wii controllers. How well does it work? Pretty darn well. Read on for more details.

For those that missed out on Mario Power Tennis on the GameCube system, the game is exactly what you might expect from a Nintendo sports title. You can play doubles or singles tennis with up to four players in tournaments or in special tennis-themed minigames. Standard tennis rules apply, but each character has two special power moves that can be filled if you charge up your power meter by arriving early for the ball and spending time winding up your racquet swing. One power move is an offensive hit (like Luigi’s smash using a giant hammer or Boo’s triple-rainbow paintball spray) and one is a defensive power return (Luigi throws his racquet, Boo splits into dozens of itself to hit the ball) which returns just about any incoming volley. A series of (mostly) normal tennis tournaments can be played with opponents of increasing difficulty, but there are also full tennis games with special rules, such as in-game item power-ups or a contest to hit the ball through suspended rings to earn points during the volley. Additional solo or multiplayer minigames test a player’s skill (like coloring in a picture using paint balls).

The new controls are great and provide gamers with a “Marioification” of the popular Wii Sports tennis game. In the simplest control scheme, the game takes care of everything but your swing, even choosing when and where to dive or use a power move. However, there are multiple levels of more advanced control. Each player can decide whether to control their movement (with the nunchuk if it’s plugged in), to auto-activate their power shots, or to go full manual and even control their lunges and dives. Swinging is very intuitive. Want topspin? Swing the racquet with a slight upwards trajectory. Want backspin? Swing with a bit of downward motion. Smash hits are performed with nearly a straight down swing. Lobs can be hit by swinging nearly straight up. Backhand and forehand swings are both important, but the Wiimote will often give you the benefit of the doubt. There is a continuum of control modes to choose from, so players can ease themselves into more and more control of their players as they get acquainted with the game.

So, should you pick the game up? If you are looking for fun, arcade-type tennis game with lots of bells and whistles, I recommend it highly. It is an excellent step up from Wii Sports tennis that, thanks to the progressive control modes, can be played by a wide range of gamers. Anyone who burnt out on the original Mario Power Tennis may find the game is too reminiscent of the old version, but the new play controls breath fresh life into a game from the past. If it was sold at full price, I might be skeptical about repurposing old games for a new console, but at nearly half the cost of other new Wii titles, Mario Power Tennis (with the new Wii play control) gets a big thumbs up from me.

Kid Factor: There is very little to worry about here, lots of cartoony explosions and animation but far less than you’d see on Saturday mornings. The game is rated E for everyone and lives up to that grade. Setting the game on its easiest control mechanism makes it as easy as the tennis mode on Wii Sports, making it a fine game even for younger families. Some of the minigames and multiplayer modes are a bit more difficult but the basic tennis idea with cool little power-ups are just fine for younger types. You could even handicap yourself by playing doubles and giving your youngster an expert partner while choosing a less athletic partner for yourself.

Tags: Game Reviews