Mario Slam Basketball (Nintendo DS)

To its credit, the game makes more use of the touch screen than most on the DS, with all the actions bar movement achieved using the stylus (although the basics can be replicated using the face buttons if you want to be boring). Your character dribbles the ball automatically but you can speed them up by tapping the screen and throws are managed simply by drawing the stylus in a straight line. A surprisingly subtle amount of control can be achieved, including several kinds of trick shots and even swapping hands when playing defense. A variety of special courts also complicate things with coins collected along the way adding to your score when shooting. Indeed the whole game works so well that the only real problem is the mechanical enemy artificial intelligence. It's therefore a real shame that playing multiplayer requires both people to own a cartridge each, although that's undoubtedly a result of the game's superb graphics which go well above the call of duty for a simple sports game.
HARRISON DENT