Mario Tennis

To most people, the idea of bashing a fuzzy little ball around a court with a net in the way is their idea of hell, and for the most part, I'm sorry to say, but they could be right. Okay, so Wimbledon is great fun, but seriously, you can't be serious.

Well Nintendo, hope to change all this with Mario Tennis, a quirky spin on the old English game. With 16 characters to hand, ranging from Bowser to Baby Mario, the crux of the game is the standard game of tennis, with the break points, the deuces and the double faults, but with the added bonus of powerups and special moves. The game revolves around the individual players and like in other Mario adventures from Nintendo the characters all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Bowser is great for sheer strength and his powerful smashes, while others survive on speed and agility rather like Mario Kart or Mario Golf.

With Exhibition, Tournament and Multiplayer modes, the game does have a number of options to keep you busy and with the chance to play with up to three other players, this game is great to play with your friends.

Nintendo have done what they did to kart racing and golf and produced a fun spin on what unfortunately is not the most fun of games on the computer. This is how tennis should be: super smashes, special combos and Mario running around in circles. --Stuart Miles