New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis

The New Play Control series of games are a result of Nintendo listening to their fans, producing new motion control versions of older games and porting them to the Wii. Whilst man naysayers are claiming that the company should be focusing on new games rather than tweaking older ones, the demand for some of these ports have been high enough to force attention. These are not just straight ports either, games are receiving impressive graphics enhancements, along with some additional content. Here we take a look at the New Play Control port of Mario Power Tennis

The first thing you can't help but notice from this update are the augmented graphics, giving the game a much more polished feel. The visuals are noticeably slicker and smoother flowing, instantly improving the general feel of the game. Secondly, and most notably, the game has been fitted with the Wii's signature motion controls. In the default D-pad setting, you use the pad to move back and forth, but you can also plug in a nunchuk and make use of it as well. Swing the remote upwards for a topspin, backwards for a backspin, and do a steady swing for a flat shot.

The game features all the usual characters from the Mario universe, each with their own set of skills and signature moves. All characters do have access to the smash shot though, which involves positioning your character just right beneath a lobbed shot. Aligning an on-screen star with your player within a certain time window will result in an all-powerful smash shot, almost guaranteed to win you the point.

Mario Power Tennis is a classic on the Gamecube, so hopefully New Play Control can do it justice. potentially great game ports have been ruined by poor and half-hearted execution in the past, but Mario Power Tennis is looking the business. Lets hope this paves the way to higher quality Wii ports.