Mario Hoops 3 on 3: A fun, unique, and damn challenging basketball experience
MetalliCube
80% score
"Mario Hoops 3 on 3", or as it should be called "Mario Hoops 3 on 1", since your "teamates" do virtually nothing but stand around, is truely a one of a kind experience. What really separates this game from the NBA 2ks and NBA lives, besides the fact it has "Mario" in the title, is the concept that nearly everything you do in the game is controlled by your actions with the stylus. The ability to dribble in any direction by tapping your stylus in a particular direction on the screen is nothing short of brilliant. You can also pass, shoot, steal, and perform special moves by performing various simple strokes with the stylus, which prove to be both extremely fun and intuitive. This unique control method is not without its flaws, however minor they may be. Some strokes are dangerously similar to others, so from time to time you may find yourself mistakenly shoot when you meant to pass. However, if you can get past these minor inaccuracies, you'll fall in love with this system in no time. This game can get challenging as you progress; almost too challenging, especially since your teamates are not much help. Some may see this as an issue. Aside from this and a few other flaws such as lack of online play, poor team AI, and slightly iffy controls, this game really proves to be a fun basketball game that stands out from the crowd. It's a shame, because this game could have been so much better, and Squarenix definetly dropped the ball on a few things. However, when it's all said and done, this game is the most fun I've had in quite some time.
