Story wise, there is one but it’s weak and really just superfluous.  This game is clearly all about playing with some friends at a party.  The games are easy to pick up for this reason and somewhat addictive. Now on the flip side, the one player game is just as easy to pick up but super repetitive.  You just play through the same tournament, same games, over-and-over with minimal difficulty increase.  The only reward to doing this is unlocking additional characters.  The most of these characters are colour variations of Toad or Yoshi.  However, the gems among these unlocks are characters from Square Enix games including the ninja, white mage, black mage, and moogle from the Final Fantasy series.

The levels are probably what add the most to the game.  Each level has its quirks and fun but once you get use to them they only add so much.  The areas are rather compact so there is only so much to add in this way.  Like the characters, more of these locales are added as you play through the one player game.

Unfortunately, these unlockable characters are barely enough to hold out for.  Once you’ve played the games once, there really isn’t a huge reason to go back.  Now to avoid this lack of change there is an online mode, for those lacking local friends. The good news is that simply by playing enough games you can also unlock the extra characters.  So really just let the good times roll and just play with friends.

Now the controls are incredibly simple.  For the most part you could play the entire game just flicking your wrist.  Now there are two options, which is to either hold the remote like a classic controller or use the nunchuk.  I suggest the nunchuk as at this point it seems more natural but that’s up to the player.  The nunchuk style lends itself to a lot more variety but the weird thing is there isn’t much.  In fact, once you learn to play one you pretty much know how to play them all.  In fact this really only adds to the redundancy that is already there.

In the end, this is a really weak Mario offshoot. I guess till one of the classic sports games comes out then we’re stuck with this one, but it is probably better to skip this one.

Every month, I’m going to survey you, our gorgeous and treasured readers, on subjects as wide ranging as geeky silly things to silly silly things. Yes, we take our questions very seriously.

But by doing so I hope that we can not only create a gauge on the finger on the pulse on the arm of the world but also create needless competition between folks.

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Our first poll this month will be The Clash Of The ‘Tache as we pit famous moustache owners against each other in a popularity contest for the ages.

There are so many worthy opponents but I’ve whittled it down to my Top 6.

So who is your favourite moustachio man?

RUFUS HOUND

The English comedian has sported this 70s stunner for many a year now. His dedication to the moustache made all the more impressive by his trimming ability. Whether or not it increases or impares his comedy prowess remains to be seen but if his wife has let him keep it this long, he must be doing something right.

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TOM SELLECK

First of all; LADIES, CONTROL YOURSELVES! Yes he is the hairy sex god Tom Selleck but he is also an actor of considerable respect. Sure, he may look a bit like a grizzly bear, but he also looks like a tiger in the sack. And by sack, I mean bed. I understand people don’t really sleep in sacks anymore but it’s just a phrase.

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RON JEREMY

Speaking of sacks… Ron Jeremy is an “adult movie” star of considerable girth. He also has been a moustache aficionado for decades now. In fact, I would argue he is probably the reason for the term “porn moustache”. His lady co-stars over the years have asked for his back to be shaved but not his lip. The hairy back poll will be another time.

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BURT REYNOLDS

He may be in his 70s now, and looking like well worn leather, but there was a time when Burt Reynolds was the man in Hollywood that men wanted to be and ladies want to make out with. Some men also wanted to make out with him too. It would be wrong of me to ignore that fact. Was his power purely in his face caterpillar?

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DANA SNYDER

A relative newcomer to the world of the ‘tache, Dana has made up for his rookie status with flair, and enthusiasm. His glasses may sometimes make him look like he’s wearing a Groucho Marx mask but knowing Dana, that’s probably a look he was going for. Being a voice-over artist it won’t affect his career but will it affect your heart strings?

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MARIO

Possibly THE moustache of our generation, Mario The Plumber is both a man of action and a man of romance, using his skills to kill turtles (not as cruel as it sounds) and save princesses. He may suffer from idenitity dissorders; a desperate need to inform us that “it’s-a me, Mario!” but we know there is only one. Is he your Number 1 moustache though?

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So that’s your lot. Time to make a decision, who is your favourite moustachiod man?

The voting closes at the end of the month and I’ll announce the winner in the February installment of Poole’s Polls!

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