Mario and Sonic in SochiHello everyone and welcome to my newest review. Before I begin, I'd like to tell those of you who read my Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric review that when I said that I hadn't played Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic games, I was telling the truth. However a few days later, I found a great deal on Amazon for this game and I bought it. Now that I finally decided to beat it, I'm ready to make this review.
Graphics: 10/10 The graphics in this game are superb. All the characters look absolutely fantastic, and all the different areas in the game look very realistic. This game is a perfect example of what the Wii U is capable of graphically. For these reasons, I'm giving the graphics a 10.
Sound: 9/10 When you play a Mario or a Sonic game, you can always expect to hear a fantastic soundtrack, and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic games is no exception. This game offers some great remixes to great music from both Mario and Sonic games. While I feel like there should've been some more Mario remixes in the game, I still love the soundtrack regardless, therefore I'm giving the sound a 9.
Addictiveness: 5/10 Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has never had super addictive gameplay, and the same can be said for the latest installment. The motion controls are overused, and the events where you have to tilt the gamepad to turn are very tedious. Also though this is the 1st game in the series to offer online multiplayer, I felt like there weren't enough multiplayer events to be satisfying. Out of the 16 events, only 4 are available for online play. These events are Freestyle Ski Cross, Snowboard Cross, Short Track Speed Skating 100m, and Winter Sports Champion Race. Because of these issues, I'm giving the addictiveness a 4.
Story: N/A Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic games doesn't have much of a story. The closest thing to a story in this game is Legends Showdown, where each of the characters compete in each of the events against shadow versions of themselves. Once you progress far enough, you'll compete against a boss character in an event. Once you complete all the events you've beaten the game. But like I said before, while this mode tries to be a story mode, it really isn't. Because of that, I have to leave this category blank.
Depth: 4/10 There are 5 modes in this game: Legends Showdown, which I already talked about, Medley Mania, which is where you compete in a series of 4 events, single match, which is where you can choose to play one of the many events this game has to offer, Action & Answer Tour, and Worldwide vs, which is online multiplayer. All these game modes don't take very long to complete, so there really isn't much depth to this game unfortunately. Because there isn't much depth to this game, I'm giving the depth a 4.
Difficulty: 7/10 How difficult Mario & Sonic Sochi is to the player mostly depends on how well they deal with having to use the motion controls from both the wii remote and the gamepad. If you're great with both of those, you shouldn't have much problems. If you do have problems with those controls though, you're in for a rough time. I personally had a hard time with certain events in the game because I'm not great when it comes to motion controls. But part of the reason I found some of the events hard is because of the turning mechanics. Trying to turn in certain events can be a chore because the controls are so slippery. I found myself thinking that I was turning the right way only to bump into the wall, thus slowing my progress. Because of these slippery and sensitive controls, I'm giving the Difficulty a 7.
Overall Score: 6/10 While Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games is a beautiful looking game with a great soundtrack and plenty of events to choose from, the game's poor controls, lackluster gameplay, and the lack of online multiplayer events, this game is a very mediocre sports game. I'd only recommend buying this if you find a great deal for the game like I did for $10 or less. My overall Score for this game is 6.
Graphics
10 Sound
9 Addictive
4 Depth
4 Difficulty
7