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Mario Tennis

Developed by Camelot Software Planning, Mario Tennis is yet another title to take a seemingly obscure concept and turn it into an uber-fun party game. Don't get me wrong, the sport of tennis is hardly obscure, but like golf, is a sport that to most people is about as much fun as watching paint dry.

The most notable addition to Mario Tennis is without a doubt the new character, Waluigi. Described as Luigi's evil twin, who, much like Wario has lived in the shadow of his famous cousin his entire life and now wants his turn in the spotlight(In all fairness, Luigi's hardly been in the spotlight, but we get the idea). The name might be a tad hokey, but I for one am glad to see a new character introduced into the Mario universe. Other playable characters include the now standard cast of Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Yoshi, Wario and Koopa. This time around however, Toad is not relegated to a mere spectator, he's a playable character!

Like Mario Golf before it, Mario Tennis promises to strike a perfect balance between simulation and arcade gameplay. It will stay true to real-life tennis, but at the same time will provide an arcade element in the form of power shots, complete with over-the-top special effects. The control scheme is elegantly simple, using only the A and B buttons. It's simple enough to allow the game to be instantly accessible by everyone, but still provides a wide array of shots from lobs to volleys to normal shots and almost unstoppable power shots. The only downside being how slow your character moves when you commit to playing a power shot.

The game also comes packed with a number of options, one of them being a ring shot mode where the objective is to hit the ball through the ring while still making the point. Not to mention the doubles matches for some serious 4-player fun.

With it's fantastic gameplay and nifty graphics, Mario Tennis looks to be another winner. If it turns out half as well as Mario Golf did, I'll be first in line to buy this one. Stay tuned to TVG for a full review upon the game's release.

Gavin Frankle