Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (Nintendo DS, 2006)

read whole review (a lot got cut off) @ http://gnadegames.blogspot.com

Mario Hoops is hard to review. Nintendo and Square-Enix put so much production and money into the game, that it is very distracting when trying to review the game on its own merits. This game screams big-budget! It's the equivalent of a summer blockbuster movie...only it's a video game on Nintendo DS. When I first picked up Mario Hoops, played through the tutorial, and started playing I was blown away by the graphics, presentation and even the unique gameplay. It is very impressive in the first couple hours, but as I went on to the second tournament and then the third, I realized that this was the most ridiculously easy game I had ever played. I just lost my first match yesterday and am now being challenged in the Hard Mode Star cup...so the 7th tournament. It has made the game a little more interesting and a little more annoying. The controls, which I had no problems with in the early easy part of the game when I was just dunking nonstop on my competitors, have become problematic. I have tried passing several times to a player on a fast break and have instead jumped up for a mid-court jump-shot...very frustrating. At the same time, I like the increased defense of the computer controlled players. It should be noted that this is not a basketball game...well not really. Though you shoot, slamdunk and dribble, the game is basically a scramble to ? blocks to rack up coins before you attempt to score and put these coins in your bank. It doesn't feel like a basketball game because the strategy is not about protecting the hoop, since letting a character dunk on you only nets 20 pts., but instead about chasing aroudn ? blocks for items and to prevent the offensive player from collecting coins to add to his potential basket (20 pt. dunk + 100 coins = 120 pts!). It's different, and while I was playing the super easy tournaments I was yearning for the ability to have my brother and friends join in for some multiplayer, which I am sure would be a ton of fun. No Nintendo wifi connection! It's a glaring issue and I can't believe that the developers didn't offer this feature. They poor salts in our wounds too, since you don't have any hoops download play only lame mini-games. They really should've delayed the game to include wifi online play like they did for Metroid Prime Hunters...it would have added a lot of value and fun to the game. That pretty much sums up the game...while fun and amazingly well produced, Mario Hoops lack the extra shine and features that would've made it really great and would've forgiven it for its control and other small gameplay issues. With only local multiplayer and a limited 1player experience, this game's flaws become less forgivable and more frustrating.
Gameplay: 7/10
Pros: Unique take on basketball, the control and placement of dribbling the ball is really cool, multiplayer would be a blast
Cons: The control for passing/shooting can be frustrating, the first 5 tournaments are ludicrously easy
Graphics: 10/10
Pros: Best 3D graphics on DS hands down
Cons: ?
Sound: 9/10

Desperate for a new game and sucked in by the amazingly persuading marketing via television commercials, my daughter and I set out to our local mega-retailer to purchase a copy of Mario Hoops 3 on 3 for the Nintendo DS. It was a no-brainer for us. We both loved Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Baseball, and Mario Strikers for the Nintendo Gamecube. They were all hours of fun, and we knew 3 on 3 would be no different. To add to my excitement, I noticed a pricetag of only $29.99. As a parent looking into that glass case at that one game your child truly desires surrounded by ones priced at $34.99 and higher, this was a dream come true. After our purchase we didn't even make it to the car before my little one had opened the package and pulled out the game card. Her pink DS was equipped with our newly purchased joy and powered up before my key was in the ignition. For hours that day she sat behind the two screens intently playing the newest addition to the Mario Sports family. I was quite intrigued. "What a great game that must be," I thought to myself. As evening approached, she had traded in her handheld for a pillow and reruns of Full House. I decided to give it a whirl. After an extremely long and confusing tutorial I asked my child what she thought of the game. She kind of shrugged her shoulders and went back to her show. I proceeded to play the game and after only a few moments decided that I had just wasted $30. The over-use of the touch screen simply kills the game. This is the one thing I truly feared when the DS came out, and hadn't really noticed it until this very release. The buttons are hardly used at all. When they are, you're hands will be positioned so uncomfortably you won't want to play anymore. While I appreciate Nintendo's attempt at innovation, this was the wrong way to go about it. Mario Hoops has the cool cartoony graphics we're accustomed to in the Mario Sports series, but the way the game is designed to play is just to difficult for enjoyment. I figured, maybe there was a way to swith the controller scheme to not rely so heavily on the touch screen, but alas there is not. If you are considering purchasing this game, and you don't have 3 hands, look deeper into that glass case and possibly consider shelling out an extra five bucks. Needless to say, this game card began collecting dust and ultimately became a sale on my eBay store.

Whether you'll enjoy Mario Hoops 3 on 3 depends on how you like to play. If you're someone who likes to unlock everything, you'll find this game quite short. If you like to come back a lot and play multiplayer and exhibition a lot, you will find it very fun. Mario Hoops' controls are very interesting, making good use of the touch screen. If you like using buttons and think overuse of the touch screen kills the game, never fear. Square Enix probably thought of that, because they included a "help button" feature that allows you to use the buttons instead of the touch screen. The graphics might even comepare with the Gamecube's, and the music is good too, although the voices are rather limited. Overall, this game is a solid buy if you're looking for a heavily Mario-ified game of hoops.

This game is a different breed than traditional basketball games. Intuitively using the stylus in game play to make unstoppable dunks or execute shifty dribbles, but this complexity gives the game a new feel and approach to basketball in a cool crazy sort of way.

If I were to rate this game I would give it 5 out of 5.This game has great graphics,good music,and has a different Mario theme.You can play with the 10 characters and you can unlock a few more.The 10 characters are Mario,Luigi, Peach,Daisy,Yoshi,Wario,Waluig​i,Donkey Kong,Diddy Kong,and Bowser Jr.The unlockable characters come from other Nintendo games which is a twist in this game.If you purchase this game I hope that you will enjoy it.