Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo Wii)

Got this game 1 day early and it was soo worth it!!!! Extreme fun in all original and new events! There are 31 events, 55 party missions and a unbeliveable 266 costumes!!!!! Much more of a challange than previous games in events and the London Party Mode is spectacular!!!!!!!!!! Favourite M&S game of all time!!!!

Bright blue skies are a staple of Sega games and now they can be seen above the sun-drenched city of London. At last! Yes, glorious weather, immaculate streets without a burning car, looted shop or persistent beggar in sight, venues packed with spectators delighted with the service on offer - this is probably a vision only Sega and Seb Coe could have of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The first Mario & Sonic Olympics release had it easy, realising the once impossible dream of bringing together Nintendo and Sega's world-famous mascots and former arch rivals for the first time. It was always going to be a hit (even though it made sense to nobody that Sonic could be beaten by Mario in a sprint). Then the second game added snow, and, as everyone knows, adding snow to a videogame makes it approximately 461 times better. Along with a host of new winter events (curling was so awesome), it helped make Mario & Sonic at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games feel like an entirely new experience. The third title is a tougher sell and I'd wrongly assumed this review would write itself in one sentence: 'As good as ever, but don't bother if you have the original game.' That statement is half-true. The first half.

Right from the attract sequence that depicts the gang on a red bus passing famous London landmarks, you're in a happy place and this game is already on its way to earning a bonus star from most Brits. Then there's London Party Mode, which is where you and your family will be spending a lot of time. If you like Mario Party, you'll love this. Up to four participants run around the streets of a mini London in topdown mode, featuring the likes of the London Eye and Buckingham Palace. The first objective is Free Mode where you seek various Mario and Sonic characters who'll put everyone in an event to compete for stickers. There are exclusive bonus minigames here, including one called 'Go Away Boo!' which is basically a variant of Pac-man with Mario and Sonic characters being chased around London by Boos. And that, in a nutshell, is how you automatically earn five stars from me. Soon Big Ben will chime and it's time for a major event. The party goes on until someone has collected enough stickers to fill their book. Party games get plenty of flack, and I'm quite the gaming snob myself, but if you're looking for a game to get the family together around the Wii on Christmas Day and get everyone in a good mood, this is up there with the best recommendations.

Familiar disciplines have had an upgrade. Throwing events, for instance, are now more intuitive than before. On top of that there's a selection of newcomers. Football is the headliner. Whisper it, but in some ways it's more fun than recent FIFA and PES titles in a stripped down kind-of-way. Hold the remote horizontally (nunchuck control is optional) and you've got direction, tackle, pass and shoot buttons. No strategy menus to deal with, just five-a-side fun. It really does work well, not a million miles away from a cutdown version of Mario Strikers Charged. Something else that should please everyone is that all events are unlocked from the start.

Dream events are back. Among them is the Dream Long Jump, which has a backdrop straight out of Yoshi's Story and reminds me a little of multiplayer New Super Mario Bros Wii. Elsewhere there's a bit of Super Monkey Ball-esque racing. You won't be left wanting for fanservice or diversity. As with the regular events, when you're not trying to beat your family, you're co-operating, as in the Dream Rafting where you all have to keep balance of the raft together.

Perhaps noticing the popularity of Dream Events in previous games, power moves now play a big part in the regular disciplines. Olympic purists may disapprove, and with good reason because events such as table tennis and badminton are regularly settled by power shots. It's moments like this where you also regret that Sega hasn't moved on to Motionplus controls. These racquet sports in particular feel a bit 2006. As for fencing, well, I didn't even get what was going on, only that a lot of random waggling and button presses should see you through to victory as well as any tactic. With so much on offer, though, it's greedy to expect all of it to be perfect.

Three Games in and the dream team franchise is still going strong as a multiplayer get-together and a contemporary Track & Field revival with button bashing replaced by Remote swinging. And when it comes to other Olympics tie-ins and cash-ins released next year, expect Mario & Sonic to take the gold medal on gameplay alone. Best isn't always simple, but simple's always best.

My kids love this game. And I must admit I love it too. It's these type of games that make me hang on to my Wii! Even my 2.5 year old plays it!! A great stocking filler for Christmas.