Mario Power Tennis (GBA) (Game Boy Advance) Preview

Camelot are once again behind the helm of another handheld Mario sports game, which fans of these games will attest is fantastic news. As is tradition, rather than the game being full of nothing but matches (though assuredly there'll be many), Camelot have inserted an RPG mode. The name may not suggest it, but you most definitely don't get to play as Mario and friends in this mode, which could be perceived as disappointing/false advertising. Instead, you take control of a rookie and try to raise your skill level so that you might stand a chance of winning a tournament.

Entering tournaments won't be on the agenda at first though, much less winning them. At first, you're plonked into a training ground and basically told to get better

Of course, if you're not into RPGs and just want a quick match or few when you switch it on, there is a separate mode that allows this. These exhibition matches can be played using the Mario characters and their thieving Power Shots, with your RPG character being able to be brought in as well. To take on the franchise characters, it is possible for your created character to learn Power Shots as well, but they need to be built up and earnt in RPG mode before use.

Pleasingly, up to four players are supported if you have the necessary link cables and game cartridges, meaning you can have some fiendish doubles matches against other people rather than against the computer. Just make sure you're evenly matched in terms of statistics, first though

Despite the totally different formats, Mario Tennis Power Tour's gameplay looks similar to that seen in Mario Power Tennis on the Gamecube. A and B are used in different combinations to perform different kinds of strokes, hits and volleys depending on the situation you're in. Two forms of special moves are included (or are available after time) for each character, offensive and defensive, and can be activated when they're powered up. Attacking specials include a truly ridiculous move by Donkey Kong wherein a cannon is pulled out and a rain of balls descends upon the opponents, while Mario can valiantly try and bat them off with his mallet defence move. Hopefully these won't be able to be used too often to make the game a little fairer; but when have Mario sports games ever been truly fair? It's part of the appeal that they can steal a win at any point. Just don't go making any bets over the outcome of matches - they'd have your house if they could...

As you can see from the screenshots, the game is looking typically bright and bouncy, with neat sprites that look so well formed that you might want to pick them up, and some great little animations, particularly for the Power Shots (Waluigi has some rather nice looking water included in his). Everything is looking smooth and slick, from the trail behind the ball as it is hit (complete with sparks that could have come out of a firework) to the flashing target as the ball is sent shooting forward. It looks to feature blink-and-you'll-miss-something-important gameplay, so you'd better keep your eyes open; with the pace this goes at, it wouldn't at all be surprising to see 40