Well… as I predicted, I’ve been somewhat of a failure at posting the DS game of the week on a weekly basis. But in my defense, my real job has been quite demanding the last month or so. To tell the truth, I actually have a whole list of stuff to post, I just need to find the time to actually do it. But anyway… on to this weeks DS game.

In a fit of boredom last week, I decided to try out a few DS games that I’ve had laying around for a while and have never taken the time to play. I can’t say for sure why I hadn’t tried this game until now, but I think it was mostly due to the fact that I didn’t have very high hopes. I realize that it got reviewed pretty well and I realize that most Nintendo games that revolve around first-party characters and themes are usually decent games. But every now and then, the touchscreen seems to “get in the way” a bit for me. For instance… Metroid Prime: Hunters reviewed pretty well and I know a few people who enjoy it, but I just couldn’t get into it. I’m just too much of a keyboard-mouse person when it comes to fps games I suppose. Anyway, I was a little worried that the touchscreen would just be gimmicky… boy was I wrong.

In the case of this game, I personally think that the touchscreen controls actually make the game better than the average basketball game. In fact, I haven’t had this much fun with a hoops game since back in the day when I’d spend hours-on-end dumping quarters into NBA Jam trying to obtain the code to unlock Jordan (how disappointed was I when I figured out it was all a lie. AAARRRGGHHH!). As a basketball game though, it does surprisingly well.

So how is this game different than other basketball games you ask? Well, there are a few things that make this game unique in the b-ball genre. First off is the fact that Nintendo didn’t spend time trying to make this game too realistic (which is definitely the trend for sports games outside the scope of Nintendo). I guess it’s obvious that any game where your team consists of giant lizard-turtle thing, a ghost and a lanky Italian plumber can’t be too realistic anyways. But the list of selectable characters is the first reason I like this game so much. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, but none are terribly over or under-powered. There’s a good mix which consists of most of your Nintendo favorites.

The next thing I enjoy is the unique method of score-keeping. Unlike real basketball, in Mario 3 on 3 baskets are worth 20 points instead of 2. And on top of that, you have the opportunity to gather coins that pay out when you make a shot. These coins can add up fast and pay out big with some good game planning. A well placed 80 point shot can be a quick way of coming back from a large deficit. Another way to make a comeback is to use “special shots”. Each character has a unique “special” shot that is activated by tapping out a specific pattern on the touch screen. These shots can be blocked as you go through the activation process, but once you’ve completed the initiation, they’re basically unstoppable and are worth 40 points.

Another unique aspect of this game is the “Mario Kart” style power ups. During play, the court is covered with floating “?” boxes. When on offense, these boxes provide you with the coins that you collect for points by bouncing the ball on them. When on defense though, these boxes provide all sorts of fun items which can be used to relieve the opposing team of the ball. There are all sorts of items that can be retrieved from the boxes, but I’ll just say that blue turtle shells create the same level of fear in this game as they do in Mario Kart.

With several unlockable arenas and characters this game provides lots of reasons to keep coming back. The online mode offers up a fun opportunity to school your friends in a friendly pick-up game as well. Much like Mario Kart this game is quite easy to learn, but does take some time to master. The AI seems to be pretty decent and offers up a pretty decent challenge as you progress further through the game. Overall, I’d easily give this game an 8 or 9 out of 10 on my scale and would have no problem recommending it as a definite purchase for any DS owner.