Mario Power Tennis

[BreakABone]

Well this game seems to have gone under the radar pretty badly this week.

Anyhow, I picked it up as soon as possible, because if it was anything like the first game, well it would be great. But they managed to improve it somehow.

First and foremost, you can play straight up tennis in this game, at the start there are 3 normal courts, and as you progress you are able to unlock normal versions of the gimmick courts, though some of them go through cosmetic changes. Like the Isle Delfino court, is a whole lot more colorful than the gimmick version.. a little too colorful for my taste.

The power shots can be turned off. With that said, they add a great deal of strategy to the game, and unlike what most reviews say, they don't really distract too much.

[Jonbo298]

I've played the demo of it and it was very fun. Is there a LAN option?

[Typhoid]

Can you write up a description on the game, so I know what im missing. (IE: Players,courts,types of matches, special stuff if any that you have encountered.)

[GameMaster]

Got a 8.5 from IGN, that's a good mark in my book.

[BreakABone]

Well, I will write this off of what I remembered since my game is next door at the moment.

I believe you start off with either 14 or 16 characters and you unlock 4 of them. So as far as character variety goes, there is plenty of it to be found in the game. Some people may be disappointed that some of their favorites were removed like Baby Mario or Toad, but in some small way Nintendo has made up for it, or atleast the think they have Baby Bowser for Baby Mario and Diddy Kong for Toad or vice versa, didn't use them too much too know.

As far as courts goes, there are a variety. You start off with 3 regular courts, and I believe something like 5 or 6 gimmick courts. You unlock two more gimmicks courts, as well as normal version for the gimmick courts. The normal version also offer some differences (ball speed, bounce) stuff like that as well as cosmetic difference, the classic Super Mario Bros court has the background from the game. All in all you get a huge variety of courts, counting gimmicked and normal gimmicked courts I would say about 15 or so.

Then there are different modes of play, some work better than others. There is standard tennis, which is no gimmicks on the court. Ring Shot tennis where you score points by going through rings on the court. the winner of the point gets all of the rings he scored as well as half of the oppenents. You can set the limit at either 100, 200 or 500 coins to win. Then there is item battle, which is basically Mario Kart with rackets, but kind of sucks since you don't control when you use your weapons instead they are fired after thenext shot.

There are also tons of mini-games, some are enjoyable so are eh, but they add a bit to the game.

All in all, I'm having fun, and for the purist.. as weird as it may sound when dealing with Mario, you can have normal tennis matches, no power shots, no gimmicked courts. just like the 64 version.

[Seth]

I'll probably pick this one up. I'm hearing that it's great for partyesque play.

[Perfect Stu]

a friend of mine wants to know if this game is still worth a purchase even though he still has and plays Mario Tennis for N64

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Perfect Stu

a friend of mine wants to know if this game is still worth a purchase even though he still has and plays Mario Tennis for N64

Personally, I think it is.

I mean you get different characters, a handful I know that were not in the 64 version and aren't just cosmetic changes to the roster from 64, but won't go into spoilers.

There are tons of mini-games, I believe 6 or 7, and some are even multiplayer and are a fun diversion from the actual tennis mode. I like Chain Chomp Challenge.

The gimmick courts and power shots add a new dimension of gameplay if you are willing to let them. Most folks play with Power Shots on at first and then realize that it's not what they want because they don't know how to use them properly. But since you are forced to go through tourney with them on, I've learned how to use em to my advantage and they do make for more interesting matches since they can keep the volley going on longer. It's not a cheap gimmicks because you have to earn a power shot, not like you can use it every turn so you till need to have the basics of the game down.

As for the gimmick courts, again you can love them or hate em, but they add a new dimension of strategy to the game. Some are really distractions, but you may find one that you really love. I personally love Glopper Bay just because the gimmick is so simple and really not distracting at all, it forces you to use a lot more strategy.

Glooper Bay or whatever the proper name is, is a simple court built around the second world in Super Mario Sunshine. It's a tennis court over water with moveable panels. Basically the panels are good, but if you get the ball into the water it's an automatic out. So you are forced to think about where you need to land your shot or you may end up shrinking your potential playing field. It's a simple enough court with no real distractions, which is why I like it.

[Perfect Stu]

alright thanks penguino. i'll probably tell him to give the game a rental first to try it out...

[DimHalo]

I just played a little Mario Power Tennis at EB Games. I am convinced. I'll be renting it this weekend for a closer look and then I will probably ask for it for my birthday (which is coming up very soon!!!)

[Neo]

How does the gameplay compare to the N64 version?

[DimHalo]

well, i didn't play it long enough to give a really good comparison. but it seemed about the same.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Neo

How does the gameplay compare to the N64 version?

Without the power shots or gimmick courts, I really could not tell a difference between the two games. Though my friends say that the game is a bit slower, and the characters aren't as strong, but I don't know.

[Seth]

I bought the game today. HL2 has taken up tonight but hopefully I'll be able to have a crack at the tennis sometime this weekend.

[Blade killer]

i got it on the day it came out... amazing great game