When I heard that Mario Sports Mix featured volleyball -- along with basketball, dodgeball, and hockey -- I knew I had to check it out. I've played competitive indoor volleyball in high school and college and recently coached a youth team, so clearly the sport runs through my veins.
One of my pet peeves, however, is the lack of quality volleyball video games that don't star voluptuous, scantily clad women on the beach (crazy, huh?). Thankfully, Nintendo is working to address the situation.
From what I played, developer Square Enix has done a good job so far of capturing the feel of the sport. Of course, the Mario Kart-esque coins and items add a level of unrealistic silliness -- multiple points off of one play is blasphemous -- but really, that's part of the fun. Nobody expects this to be a realistic sim.
To my delight, the skills and knowledge of the game that I picked up in real life actually translated to the digital court.
I used the timing on the block I developed as a youth to stuff the ball back in the face of my unsuspecting opponents several times.
Years of reading a players' approaches to spike the ball made adjusting my guy on defense second nature.
Also, judging whether the other team would attack at the net (which means I should block) or lob it from the backcourt (stay down) flexed the same mental muscles I use when playing in real life, minus the painful realities of not being in the peak physical shape I once was.
Mario Sports Mix employs simple motion controls (think Wii Sports) plus a couple of buttons to use items, where timing is key for everything. My only real complaint is that the game has players swing the Wii Remote upward to pass the ball -- that's just bad form.
For the demo, Square Enix went with Nintendo's usual starters (Mario, Donkey Kong, Peach, etc.). The representative on the show floor pointed out that Waluigi is in the video but not playable; conclude what you will as far as unlockable characters go.
Much like other mascot-filled Nintendo titles, each character has its associated traits: Bowser muscles his way through everything, Yoshi has extra hang time, and so on. But signature moves for every character makes the game a bit too chaotic for my tastes.
The three levels on display took place at the beach, in the jungle, and in an indoor stadium. I expected the sand court to play differently than hard floor, like in real life, but instead Square Enix went with more unconventional environmental obstacles. The tide, not sand, slows players down on the beach, and a moving-raft court (mistimed hits might land in the river) gives new meaning to the term jungle ball.
Finally, even though the stadium stage serves as the basic level, this was the one I was most excited about. Today, everyone associates the game of volleyball with the beach, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but indoor is where my heart is. You're still situated in a doubles match and not the more traditional six-man volleyball game, but regardless, this feels like a huge step towards\ the definitive simulation game of my dreams.
Though I wouldn't say Mario Sports Mix was my favorite title at E3, it certainly was a pleasant surprise for this volleyball fiend.
