E3 2011 Impressions: Mario and Sonic at the 2012 London Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)

Sega is preparing a version of the game both for the Wii and the 3DS, moving the portable entry in the series from DS to 3DS.

Much like the console version, Mario and Sonic at the 2012 London Games on 3DS combines real-ish Olympics events with fantasy-based Dream events. The Olympic events are representations of the actual events at the Summer Olympics, while the Dream events are ones that are somewhat based in reality but then taken in a completely video game-y track.

The demo version on display on the E3 2011 showfloor had a mini collection of five events, mixing in both Olympic and Dream events.

Badminton – a scaled-down tennis-like experience, the badminton game on 3DS was more limited than in the console version

Canoeing – a stylus-based racing minigame

Wrestling – this pitted the player against other players in a mini four player tournament. It was a simple takedown-type challenge, with a grapple and then a speed contest to complete a certain button combination.

Dodge Ball – a simple game of dodge ball that rewards the player for precision button-presses much like in a Dance Dance Revolution game.

Balance Beam – playing as Princess Peach, the balance beam was the least game-like, where at various times the player was required to put in a stylus motion to mimic an on-screen pattern and have the computer perform the move.

The graphics looked crisp and clean, and remarkably similar to the Wii version, showing the graphical power of 3DS. The 3D itself was well done, giving depth to the events, but in the demo, didn’t have a major impact on gameplay outside of the visual gimmickry.

The first entry in the Mario/Sonic Olympics games for the Nintendo 3DS will be out early in 2012.

Check out our impressions of the Wii version too!


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