by
Ted Kritsonis
Faze
Video Game Editor
When I was in college, Mario Tennis
for the N64 was a popular game in the student lounge because
it was fun, it was a sort of a sports game and it was very
easy to learn. With Mario Power Tennis, Nintendo expanded
the scope of the series in various ways without trying to
change much in the atmosphere I just described.
Mario Power Tennis is more or less
the same game, except with a lot of new additions. For one,
this game is far more of a tennis game than its predecessor
ever was. Topspin, lobs, slices and drop shots are easily
done and positioning plays more of a factor in the way you
hit the ball. But like its namesake, the most noticeable gameplay
addition is the power shot, where every character pulls off
some grandiose maneuver to hit the ball really hard or to
catch it when they have no business doing so.
Gimmick courts have also been added,
some of which include conveyer belts, swimming pools and teetering
courtsides. They make things challenging in several ways because
you obviously have to worry about more than just hitting the
ball. It can all get a little confusing too, but you’ll
find ways to use these elements to your advantage after a
few games.
And, of course, there are a slew of characters to choose from
in a who’s who of Mario world characters and other Nintendo
stalwarts like Donkey Kong (my personal favourite) and Diddy
Kong. Each character is put into a certain skill set that
emphasizes speed, power, defense, technique, tricky or all-around.
Whatever your preference, each character can be competitive,
though it really depends on how you use him or her.
Mini-games have also been thrown in
to challenge your tennis game in other ways. These include
painting Mario’s face on a brick wall by hitting a coloured
ball into the right spot on the picture, and another where
you have to hit ghosts back into their boxes before they come
after you. They generally weren’t my cup of tea but
I can see how they might attract some gamers.
When you factor in all the gimmicks, mini-games, tournaments
and hidden characters, you’ve got a lot to do in this
game. The default difficulty is a little too easy, but you
can rest assured that the AI in single player on higher difficulties
is very challenging, though it does take a bit of a dive when
playing doubles with a CPU partner. Understandably, Mario
Power Tennis isn’t meant to be a tennis sim but the
positioning of your partner is so off that it will cause you
to run all over the court just to bail them out.
This is precisely why the multiplayer
game is meant for humans to play with and against each other.
When you play with three others in a doubles match, you’ll
probably have some excellent matches that will really highlight
the sports aspect of the game.
Mario Power Tennis is certainly a significant
improvement from the original and achieves the type of “party
game” status that Nintendo loves to create. It doesn’t
pretend to be realistic because it’s not supposed to
be, though you could argue its gameplay mechanics suggest
otherwise in some respects. But without being too technical,
this game will be fun for just about anyone, even those who
don’t like tennis.
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Publisher:
Nintendo
Developer:
Camelot Software
Platform:
GameCube
Rating:
9/10
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