'Mario & Sonic' tackle the Winter Olympics

Who knew that curling (the Olympic sport, not the hairstyling technique) could be so fun?

"Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games" lets you play this and several other sports that will be featured in the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February.

There's skiing -- freestyle and alpine with two courses each -- ski jumping, snowboarding, speed skating, figure skating, skeleton, bobsleigh, ice hockey and, of course, curling.

You can play as any of 20 standard Mario characters -- Bowser, Wario, Donkey Kong, Peach, etc. -- or pick one of your Miis. Your points accumulate based on the name you play under, not the specific characters.

All of the games can be played using just the Wii remote. In the skiing events, snowboarding and ice hockey, you can add the nunchuck for more control, but you don't have to.

Plus, if you're playing by yourself, there are several events in which you can utilize the Wii Balance Board. I found I had more control in events like downhill skiing with just the Wii remote, tilting it left and right to negotiate curves and tipping the front down to crouch and pick up speed. When standing on the balance board, you shift your weight left and right to make turns and press your weight forward to crouch. The balance board more accurately duplicates actual skiing (without the snow in your face), which is probably why I was clumsier at it.

My favorite event is the bobsleigh. First, you shake the Wii remote to push off with your team, pushing the A button at the right time to jump on the board. Using just the Wii remote, you hold it upright in front of you and lean left and right to negotiate the curves. The first time we did it, we both felt a little dizzy. If you use the balance board, you sit on it and still lean left and right with the signals for turning coming from where you're putting pressure on the board.

My daughter's favorite event is figure skating. You pick from six classical tunes for your routine. This event can only be done with the remote. You swipe it up or down and twirl it around at the correct time to hit each move. You earn points on accuracy. It's pretty funny to watch characters like Bowser and Donkey Kong do delicate pirouettes.

This being Pittsburgh, I can't forget ice hockey. We found this worked best with the remote and nunchuck. Each team has four players, which you pick. The Mario characters are grouped into different categories with specialties in speed, power, all-around and skill. I'm sure a more sophisticated player or ice hockey fan would know which player to put in which position, but we just picked the characters we liked.

You can pass, check, shoot, steal the puck and more. You always control the player closest to the action. We haven't figured out all the intricacies of this game yet, but it has a lot of fun potential. We particularly like stealing the puck from each other. This probably would be a good beginner hockey game.

And let's not forget curling. I knew next to nothing about this game before picking up my Wii remote to "throw the stone." It seems like an icy version of bocce, with brooms involved. You throw the stone by flicking your remote. You can twist the remote to spin it around other stones. Then, after you throw, you move the remote back and forth to sweep in front of the stone to keep it moving. The goal is to get it closest to the center of the circle. It's surprisingly addictive.

With each game, you earn points, the amount determined by how you ranked in the event. The points can be used to buy items in the Olympic village -- music from other Mario/Sonic series games; paints, decals and banners for your gear; outfits for your Mii (you can't dress the Mario characters), or trivia and information books about the Olympic Winter Games.

There also three party games, but you have to play the Olympic events first. In one of these games, balloon attack, you play events to earn balls to pop the balloons, which give you points. The Olympic events are enough to hold our attention, so we haven't investigated these games too much.

This game is perfectly timed to create interest in the upcoming Olympics, which begin Feb. 12. And it has enough variations to keep us playing long after the Olympics are over.

Additional Information:

'Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games'

Grade: A

Developer & publisher: Sega

Platform: Wii (also on DS)

Genre: Sports

ESRB: Everyone

Retail : $49.99