The ability to tailor the game experience is exactly what makes the title such a great bet for gamers and “nongamers” alike – newbies can flail away and giggle at the alligators crossing the net while pros execute surgical shots and master the fine art of ball control on different court surfaces. It truly delivers for all audiences - provided that all audiences are able to tolerate sitting through the power shot animations a few hundred times.

The controls are excellent – and make this upgrade worth a purchase even if the GC version is still in rotation in your Wii. Forehands and backhands can be finessed with horizontal, vertical and diagonal strokes, giving players a relatively deep set of moves right off the bat. The Wii-mote is generally very responsive and accurate – though I did encounter a few instances where my diagonal strokes were misinterpreted.

Minus a few gimmicks (and the unskippable power shot animations, which definitely get old), Mario Power Tennis is one of the best Mario sports titles available, with an excellent variety of activities and characters, a balanced approach to accessibility vs. depth, and awesome controls that’ll have you flailing like a champion. This is easily worth the $30, especially if you happen to have friends over on a regular basis.

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