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> Results: Mario Hoops 3 on 3
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The ESRB says...
Mild Cartoon Violence: Mario and friends throw bombs and turtle shells to keep the other team from getting a basket, but the only thing that happens when hit is they fall down and get right back up again. Mario and pals love trying out all kinds of sports and the latest is Mario Hoops 3 on 3 for the Nintendo DS, except these Mushroom Kingdom ballers have their own rules. Two teams of three players compete on various courts from all over the Mario universe. Scattered on the court are question mark blocks, and if you dribble the ball over the blocks you get coins. When you make a basket these coins are added to your total score, so it's not uncommon for a slam dunk to net you more than 100 points a pop. This causes the scores to be ridiculously high, too. Getting coins is just as important as making baskets. If you are on defense and don't have the ball and run over a question mark, you get an item like a bomb or turtle shell that can stymie the other team and maybe get you the ball back. Also unlike real basketball, Mario's game has no free throws and shorter periods, but it still retains the fast paced nature of real basketball. Aside from the rules, the other unique thing about Mario Hoops is the controls, which all center around the DS touch screen. While you move Mario and Co. around with the D-pad, everything else uses the stylus and touch screen. Tap the screen to dribble the ball, tap the screen on the bottom area to dribble the ball behind you to keep opponents in front from stealing the ball. Slide the stylus up to shoot a basket, or left and right to pass to a teammate. Tap the screen in certain patterns to perform a super shot. On defense, attempt to steal the ball by swishing down on the touch screen near the dribbler. While the controls in Mario Hoops are unique and more immersive than a regular basketball game, they're also rather loose and inaccurate, especially when competing against a CPU that gets notoriously difficult early on. Luckily a thorough tutorial mode helps players learn the new controls. The colorful 3D graphics look great on the DS and the music has that bouncy Mario charm. If you have two DS systems and two copies of the game, you can even play against a friend. If you can get past the loopy controls and difficult computer players, Mario Hoops 3 on 3 provides a pretty decent game of fantasy basketball.  
Kids will love the bright, cheerful graphics and familiar Nintendo characters. Reading skill is helpful to learn the controls in the tutorial, but an older gamer can help out by showing the younger one what to do also. Just be careful that kids don't tap too hard on the touch screen and get too rough with the DS.
There is little to no violence as Mario and friends throw cartoony bombs and turtle shells at the offense to steal the ball back. If hit, players just fall down and get right back up again. Kids won't learn the fundamentals of real basketball by playing Mario Hoops, as the rules are totally different in the game. While the game starts out pretty easy in the tournaments, things get tough pretty quickly and kids (and adults) may get frustrated. But if you and your kids look hard enough, you all might still find some charm and entertainment to be had with Mario Hoopse 3 on 3. This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "mario hoops" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Mario Hoops 3 on 3 |
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