Mario Power Tennis for Wii Reviews by Gamers

Like all Mario sport games, it's not all about the sport, but the unique experience that Nintendo can bring to it with its overworked and multi-talented characters. Given the Wii's drastic change in actual game play, its puzzling they decided to remake games that would fit directly into their new system. Argue all you want, it's a step back from just a the button press you had in this same gamecube title released last generation. It does still offer the greatness that said title did, and the 16:9 and minor adjustments are a plus, but why nothing new?

So basically their title says it all, Mario Power Tennis "New Control". And thats what you get. And pretty bad ones at that. I think it was a slight attempt to move toward WiiSports tennis in that aiming is based on timing (which is good when you get used to it) but spins and power is extremely difficult to get used to. Particularly as the opponents get harder and your timing needs to be tighter. Since there is no button pressing, charging can be a little harder. It automatically does it, again, as the timing is critical and he motion controls make that worse. Spins are tricky, but easy to pick up, and that didn't really effect the gameplay for me too much, although it's all to easy to for the game to mistake your gesture and prolong the match after ruining your desired shot.

There are good things, and that the core game is there. Which is great. As I mentioned about, some graphical upgrades for those with widescreen TVs. If you master the controls, the game is slightly more fun, and the different options for pick up and play for new people can do it easy (WiiSport-ish).

Ultimately, it's a discounted game, & could have lost another 10 dollars, that seemed to missed the point and sadly made by Nintendo no-less. It's questionable purchase, and controls are really no draw to this game as advertise. It's fun with effort, and not the effort it takes like a RPG, but the effort of "I didn't swing that way!"

It's unfortunate that IGN gave the game such a bad review. The gamecube version was the pioneer and of course was going to be hard to transfer everything 100%. When I first played the game I was unaware that it was going to be a remake of the gamecube version and was under the impression that it would be like Mariocart. For those of you who are not familiar with what's happening here's the short version; Nintendo is lazy. I will not go on about how the company is too lazy to make new titles and are just shelling out games that worked with gamecube and just adding new controls, it will only bore you.

What you need to know is that the new version for wii will quickly become a hot seller and a must for all wii owners. I can not begin to tell you how many hours people have spent playing tennis on the wii sports pack and I believe the mario game mimics that quite well (there is even an option to play that way plus the power ups). The graphics are good, the play is good, and with more than just yourself it's a great game to gather around. The only downfalls are the automatic power shots and some slight awkwardness with getting used to moving around your player with the remote or numchuck. Frankly, I never used the numchuck after one try, it was far too odd and even hazardous to the equipment if you get into it.

This game is worth at least a try if you enjoyed wii tennis and definitely worth a try if you enjoyed the gamecube version, just don't set your bar too high. I hope that this game will catch on and push nintendo to stop sitting on their hands and make games instead of just regurgitating them.