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Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games Wii may only be a re-release of the original game, but that in itself is no bad thing. It will be interested to see whether the 3DS version is closer to the Wii or old DS experience -- as a sign of things to come for the new handheld system as much as for this game in its own right.

After the reasonable critical response (and a far stronger showing at retail) Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is coming back for London 2012. Like the first two games the formula here is firmly focused on fun and laughter. Football and Equestrian events join the original Olympic disciplines provided in the previous versions -- athletics, aquatics and table tennis.

The Wii version is also joined by a 3DS game that offers around 50 Olympic themed events in single and multiplayer modes. This will, of course, take advantage of the 3D screen and StreetPass features. It also seems likely that there will be special SpotPass items to collect if you take your console to watch the games in person.

There is no mention of a DS version of the game, which it seems has been swallowed up by the 3DS edition. Although there is no huge surprised here, it seems a little more surprising that there is no mention of a PS3 Move or 360 Kinect version of the game.

Add all this up and it sounds like this is essentially a re-release of the Wii version with different packaging and some new events rather than a genuinely new title.

Although this may sounds rather negative, an updated edition of the original would be no bad thing -- particularly if they make all the multiplayer events available from the start.

Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games will be released later this year on Wii and 3DS.

Written by Sinan Kubba

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Sinan Kubba writes the Returning Gamer column.

"As an 80s kid I was obsessed with gaming. But university, stress and life relegated my hobby to the backseat. After years in the wilderness, I'm back into video games. I don't just want to play games that remind of a happy youth though. I'm just as excited about games that take things forward, experiences that re-ignite that curiosity and fascination I had years ago."

Here are the games I've been playing recently:




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