Dedicated "tennis players" should make sure to pick this up sooner than later, but if Nintendo decides to go back and offer previously released games as digital downloads once that becomes their thing, Mario Tennis Open should be a first day purchase. Best in small doses (which can be accomplished in almost any of the game's modes), Open is a solid game to have in your back pocket for when you have a couple minutes of downtime, even if it's just to work on your serve.
Multiplayer helps mix in smarter opponents and a layer of strategy as well. But overdoing it exposes the inherent simplicity and makes the game too redundant. Like its real-life equivalent, too much tennis might just leave players sore to the whole experience.
What's Hot: Super Mario Bros. inspired mini-game, plenty of detailed courts and characters, user-friendly Dynamic View, lots of items to unlock, eye-friendly 3D effects, online multiplayer, download play.
What's Not: Less content than previous Mario Tennis games, you can only customize your Mii, no way to filter Dynamic View from online multiplayer.
What the game lacks in ambition and depth, though, it makes up for in the ageless pleasure and pain of a finely-balanced multiplayer battle. The ability to dip in and out for a quick, engaging match is a compelling proposition on a handheld. But after seven long years, it's a shame there aren't bigger ideas to rally around.
I enjoyed Power Tennis (both times), but the balance-breaking power shots were far too vital to winning. In response, Camelot has scaled back the wackiness with Open, which translates to a casual tennis game that plays it fairly straight.
MISC. UNLOCKABLES:
Pro Level CPU Players: Place 1st in Champions Cup.
Unlock Star Open: Complete all World Open Cups.
Upgraded Mii Stats: Complete an entire theme outfit and your Mii’s stats will be further upgraded while wearing it.
The fundamental Mario Tennis Open experience is sound. Camelot’s decade of tennis experience means they understand how to make the sport engaging and addicting. Using the 3DS’s touch pad or buttons for the game’s six types of shots is a welcome addition. The inclusion of a gyroscope mode allows players to strip away the challenging nature of court position to focus on selecting the right shot for the occasion.
- codes to unlock multicolored Yoshis
- these Yoshis will have different statistics
- blue Yoshi and six question-mark circles to be revealed
- QR code that will give players a Yoshi costume
- this lets your Mii run as fast as Yoshi
- more QR code features to be revealed at a later date
The official Mario Tennis Open website has gone from teaser to full-blown site. There are all sorts of screens and videos to check out, although I'm guessing most of you are already sick of the video content out there! Certainly been no shortage of that.
Despite the lack of content, the game of tennis Camelot has crafted is addictive and fun. It might not hold a candle to the handheld Mario Tennis games in the Game Boy lineage, but Mario Tennis Open is a still great game that is sadly hampered by a small feature set and harebrained online.
