Take two of the most prolific video game characters in history, throw them together in the Winter Olympics with all of their friends, add a Wii remote and get set for some fun. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is the followup to Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games which released in late 2007. Sega and Nintendo both come together once more strapping on skates and ski’s and joining around 20 other characters from both the Mario universe and the Sonic universe. All your favorites are there including Tails, Robotnik, Amy, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Princess Peach and more.

You select a character, each have their own specific skill set, but it’s all very simple and works surprisingly well given the pairings of the skills with characters you can see fitting well with that skill-set (ie Bowser has high power, Sonic is fast etc). You’re now set to play your favorite character in various Winter Olympic events and it’s fun!

One of the cool features in the game is the ability to tweak the controls to suit yourself, got a Wii Fit Balance Board? Add that into the mix, want to use the Wiimote and Nunchuk, you can do that too, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t. Most of the controls are motion based, though there are points where button presses take place.

The controls are tight for the most part, but it’s not perfect (what Wii game is?), sometimes small adjustments work better than large ones, so this sort of stunts the game somewhat, at least until you become accustomed to it. That said, there is still plenty of fun to be had.

Graphically Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is lovely, as you would expect from the might of both Nintendo and Sega. Presentation is well thought out with great textures, environments, character models and sweet cut-scenes. Needless to say this isn’t an all beige affair, with bright popping colors around every snowdrift.

Overall Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is definitely a better title than its predecessor (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games). The mini-games are fun, the controls have been tweaked and once you get used to them, you’ll have a blast. There’s plenty of re-playability with the varied gameplay modes, though there is no online option.

U-Haul Review Status:
Two of the biggest names in gaming, coming together with their posse to kick some butt in Winter Olympic event minigames! If that sounds good to you, hire that U-Haul and let Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games move in with you.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games gets the L Word ‘ensemble’ rating. When you get the whole cast together, you’re sure to have a good time. They’ve all got different characteristics and when together it’s a party.