Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games

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The Winter Olympics are nearly here and what better way to introduce children to this magical event than to play the official video game, which stars two legends of the gaming world.  We’ve previously seen Mario & Sonic join forces to create other Olympic games for the Wii and the DS, which were well received by gamers of all ages.  Now we are treated to the first game on the Wii U system in glorious high definition.  Unfortunately there will be no handheld version released this time round.

Players are given a choice of 20 characters from the worlds of Mario and Sonic (plus your Mii characters) to take part in 16 Olympic events, such as skiing, ski jumping, curling, hockey, figure skating, bobsleigh, to name but a few.  These events can be played as single matches or you can choose to use them across 4 other modes, which are Medley Mania, Legends Showdown, Action & Answer Tour and Worldwide Vs.  There are also 8 Dream Events that let players perform stunts that wouldn’t be available in real life, such as Snowball Scrimmage (essentially a snow ball fight!).

Medley Mania allows you to compete in special events, or you can create your own, and the player with the most points wins.  Legends Showdown is an epic tournament that brings all 20 characters together for the game’s story mode.  Just like in the Mario and Sonic games you will have to clear stages and defeat bosses to earn Nintendo themed outfits for your Mii.  The Action and Answer tour is an event tournament with the addition of a quiz.  Not only will you have to use your skills in the Olympic events but you will also need to use your quick wits to answer questions.  It’s a 4 player game and the winner is the person who has the most points after 5 rounds.  Worldwide Vs is the game’s first implementation of online multiplayer, which will be powered by Nintendo’s Miiverse.  The game also uses player’s online scores to rank how each country performs.

Not only will you be using the Wii U gamepad to play some of the events but you will also need a Wii remote plus, so I’d make sure you have this before purchasing the game.  And if there will be more players taking part you will need Wii remotes for them too.  I’ve got to highlight that Nintendo have been doing a brilliant job recently of creating games with local multiplayer in mind.  It’s a great idea as it makes playing more fun and interesting for gaming families.

The game is currently being sold for around £20.00 in most shops, so you know you will be getting excellent value for money.