Mario Hoops 3 on 3

There is a reason why Mario Hoops 3 on 3 is not called Mario Basketball or something like that. While the sport does include a basketball and a pair of nets, there are fundamental rule changes in this game. For example: 
 
- Instead of scoring 1,2, or 3 points, players can score between 20 to about 150 points.  
- Characters are allowed to jump on, slap, and create magical pillars to knock another character off his or her feet. 
- Turtle shells, stars, lightning bolts and other staple items in other Mario sports games are used in this game.
  
More on these items later, by the way. 

So, with key rule changes on hand, Mario 3 on 3 in an interesting interpretation of basketball from the pudgy plummer's franchise. And to a certain extent, their brand of "basketball" could be really fun. While players operate in one of the best-looking games on a DS, the controls allow a lot of freedom and offer a good sense of control, from dribbling a basketball to shooting the rock. Sadly, the game is short and is hobbled by an extremely inconsistent AI, resulting in a package that is slightly above average (which is a bit of a shame because the concept had a chance to be really, really good).  
 
Without a storyline to drive the entire game, you're left to 4 modes: 
 
- The typical exhibition mode, where you pit 2 teams with 3 players each in 1 game.  
- Tournament mode, where you assemble a team and take to tournaments that have 7 (occasionally 8) other teams.  
- Challenge mode, where you learn the nuances of the game (if this is the case, why can't we call it "Training mode") and a meaningless dribbling minigame (right now, let's just say that the minigames are barely worth mentioning) 
- Multiplayer mode, which pits you against another human opponent. 

As a result, you'll spend much of the time playing 3 on 3 basketball against AI opponents, especially in tournament mode. The first thing you'll notice is how the controls are extremely unique. You move a character with the directional pad, but the ballhandling/dribbling is controlled by the stylus. In addition to bouncing the rock, the stylus is also responsible for shooting (from the three pointer to the slam dunk to the special shots) and passing . On defense, the stylus is also responsible for stealing, blocking and throwing items (more on that later). This control scheme equips you with almost anything and is responsive enough that it will give you a strong sense of control, so that's a good thing. 

You would also notice the different skillsets in each character, but sadly there isn't a lot of differences except for aesthetics. The characters can divided into 

a) All-around players
b) Good shooters
c) Good defensive players
d) Players who could execute trick moves

You'll take these characters into over 10 different courts, and thankfully the differences are much more noticeable. Some courts are filled with fireball monsters, Another makes everyone go into slow motion, and another court forces players to shoot outside shots. However, I would skip Pirate Ship, because you get hit by cannonballs way too frequently.

Another key part of a match is collecting coins. On the court, there are numerous squares each with a question mark. If your character has the ball and pounds the ball onto the square you earn a coin. With coins, you can add more points to your total. Remember that you can score at least 20 points. If you dunk a ball without adding more coins in the air (which you can do) while having 10 coins already, you get 30 points. Also, if a character doesn't have the ball and runs to a square, an item would appear. Items include (but not limited to):

mushrooms (increase, decrease speed)
turtle shells (can be used to hit opponents, some shells home in on targets)
Star (grants invinsibility for a short duration)

Because of these items, the game can become one of two things: It could be more entertaining, frenetic, and feel like another Mario sports game (a good thing). The only item that I have a gripe over is the star. It's absolutely infuriating and overpowered, allowing you or your opponent to steal the ball from you and score a ton of points. It just comes down to luck when finding that star. BUT given that coins are so important in a match, the game could be extremely slow and boring, since you'll be spending all your time collecting coins and probing for an open shot (there is no shot clock). 

But no matter how the game goes, the biggest issue stems from the AI. The one word I would use to describe it is "inconsistent". Early on in the tournament mode, the AI is laughably easy. You can quite literally walk your way to the basket and dunk at will. On defense, you can steal the ball from your opponents with little effort and time. However, once you get comfortable with the stupid AI, the game throws a curveball and exponentially increased the difficulty of the game. All of a sudden, the AI that you easily took advantage of suddenly act like ballers who have played the game since the Big Bang. They are faster, handle to ball deftly and play the stingiest defense you'll ever experience in the game. This is not a bad thing, but the game does a poor job of transitioning you to the increased difficulty; I would rather have gradually increasing difficulty rather than two distinct levels of difficulty, which is what the game is culpable of.

The soon-to-be-good enemy AI is bearable, but the AI on your team is worse. On offense, they do a solid job of trying to get open for a shot, but that's about it. Their defense is an issue, however, because once you botch up, they won't pick up the slack. So that means that you'll need to manually control your entire party. I am assuming that the developers made the AI this way because they don't want the computer to do the heavy-lifting and the babysitting of the player in the game. But considering how the enemy AI can defend so well even after you beat one defender, it's a shame that your friendly AI can't do the same. 

Even if you start to get your butt handed to you on a silver platter, at least you'll do so in style. Mario 3 on 3 boasts one of the best looking games on the DS. Character models are vividly detailed and are very fluidly animated not matter what they are doing, be it shooting, dribbling or executing a special shot. Environments are vibrant, varied and colorful, and each court looks different from the last. And to top it all off, the game doesn't slow down often, henc culminating a strong graphical presentation. The same can't be applied to the soundtrack, however. The score is filled with jolly tunes that sound so much like the music from other Mario games. They are solid, but not spectacular.

Unfortunately, 3 on 3 is pretty shallow when it comes to depth and replay value. Unless you fall in love with the traditional 3 on 3 basketball, there's not much to do. Skilled players will easily blow past the tournaments in a couple of hours (tack on 1 extra hour should you struggle against the overpowered AI). But after climbing that steep mountain, the challenges and rewards fall short. Sure, there are unlockable characters (including 3 final fantasy characters) and balls, but the characters are only slightly different from the standard ones, and the balls are just for different aesthetics. Hopefully, you could find someone else to play 3 on 3 in the multiplayer, because that's where you can get the most fun. Like I mentioned earlier, the other minigames (online or not) such as the dribbling race are a waste of time and space. 

Mario Hoops could've been a very strong entry to a dominant sub-genre of the pudgy plummer. However, issues such as the AI, the lack of options outside of tournament mode limit the game from reaching its high ceiling. 

Breakdown:

Story: NA
There is no story to really speak of.

Gameplay: 3.5/5
The controls are intriguing yet functional. The stages are all different and have varying rules. But it's the inconsistent AI that makes the game frustrating as well. 

Presentation: 4/5
The slickest presentation on the NDS. Period. But the soundtracks leave you wanting more. 

Bonuses, Alternatives and replay value: 3/5
Multiplayer mode is a godsend, because it's very fun. Too bad there's nothing else worth noting. 

Overall: 10.5/15 (3 and a half stars)
This is more of a rental due to the lack of depth outside of the tournament mode, which isn't overly strong in the first place.