|
Mario gets about quite a lot these days. From his
humble beginnings as a lowly carpenter being harassed by a giant
ape, Mario has leapt through videogame genres as if they were
simply the next Flagpole along his path, and even stumbled on to
the big screen. In 1998, a reporter committed to paper a survey
which he had taken globally, showing that, even ten years ago,
Mario’s face was recognised in more countries worldwide than that
of Mickey Mouse. Not too shabby for a character borne of pixel
limitation.
And so with the increase in Mario-themed
spin-offs every console generation – most noticeably on the
GameCube with the series of sports titles – it’s no surprise that
Nintendo would wish to replicate this success on their amazingly
successful handheld wonder; the NintendoDS. Joining the party this
time, however, is a company with which Nintendo’s turbulent
relationship has been no secret; SquareEnix. Taking the role of
developer, SquareEnix have been granted an unusual dose of Nintendo
generosity; not only given free reign to use Nintendo assets, but
also allowed to add a little of their own flavour.
Mario Slam Basketball plays quite unlike any
Basketball videogame you may have played before. To begin with, the
camera follows directly behind your current player, and the view is
always positioned so you are shooting towards the top-end of the
screen. Teams are three-on-three, and the usual rules of Basketball
apply, with Mario-slant on the proceedings. Both shots and
dunks are possible – each controlled by flicking-up on the Touch
Screen with the Stylus when in the correct position – however, the
scoring for each is not set-in-stone. Instead of the usual
two/three points, the score is awarded dependant on how many Coins
you have managed to gather with your current player when you make
the shot.
Coins are gathered by dribbling the ball on
Question Mark Blocks, or stealing them from other players when
landing a blow. Dribbling is performed by tapping the Touch Screen
on the side which corresponds to the side of your on-screen avatar
you wish to dribble; tapping the left of the screen will result in
your player dribbling on his/her left side, whilst tapping the top
of the
 screen will have your player dribbling the ball in front.
Stealing the ball in performed by stroking the Touch Screen in the
direction you wish to attack and passes can be performed by holding
the L Trigger and stroking the Touch Screen in the direction of the
desired player. All player movement is controlled with the D-Pad,
and so the NintendoDS console is held in similar fashion as with
Metroid Prime: Hunters.
The game’s inventive take on Basketball is actually
quite endearing, and clearly has been playtested
through-and-through to ensure the change to the standard rules
hasn’t broken the game itself. A series of Tutorials are on offer,
followed by a series of Tournaments. Outside of this, however,
there is little to be found other than Multi-Player. The
Tournaments are great in number and lengthy enough to ensure the
player won’t finish the game too soon, and feature a well-paced
learning curve, but considering the vast majority of First-Party
releases staring Mario on the NintendoDS have included a wealth of
Mini-Games, their false-start here is actually – shockingly – a
missed opportunity. The Character Roster is pleasingly fleshed-out,
and contains more than a handful of surprises when a few extras
begin to unlock. The Courts on which you play feature the usual
Mario styling’s of beaches and Bowser’s Castles, and are a
compliment to the title in their number.
Mario Slam Basketball features some pleasingly
chunky Character Models and well-rendered backdrops. Equalling the
best on the NintendoDS with ease, Mario Slam Basketball
doesn’t look out-of-place alongside the likes of
Mario KartDS, Metroid Prime: Hunters and
Animal
Crossing: Wild World. Mario Slam Basketball doesn’t
utilise SquareEnix’s usual orchestral scores, instead opting for a
more traditional series of Mario Theme Tune remixes and
humble tunes.
Mario Slam Basketball is quite a different
pedigree to what you might be expecting having played the likes of
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour or Mario Superstar Baseball. As
opposed to the fairly run-of-the-mill offerings that appeared on
the GameCube, Mario Slam Basketball has not only set the bar
for Basketball titles on the system, but sports titles as a whole. |
