Mario Hoops 3-on-3 Review: Messing with Perfection
Deep into March and I’m well soaked in basketball. All seems right. I’ve recently made it my business to drag my raggedy butt over to Brooklyn’s Dodge YMCA Saturday mornings to hoop for at least an hour, something I haven’t done so regularly since, well, college. It shows in the jumpshot (and wheezing). And need I mention we are well into March Madness? It hasn’t been a particularly exciting tournament so far, but if you love basketball, several teams have put on some fine displays. Tennessee was looking silky smooth in the first round—a joy to watch, they converted fast breaks and sank jumper after jumper (and here I always thought Tennessee basketball was a girl’s sport). So in the midst of this surging love of a sport I’ve held dear for so many years, I thought I would pick up Mario Hoops 3-on-3. After all, 3-on-3 is my favorite variant of basketball. I’m not the best ballplayer, and keeping track of nine other players running around the court is a lot to ask of my little brain—five I can track. I fingered the DS packaging and thought, “Hmm, this little Mario character and his little game would seem to combine my two current obsessions, basketball and video games. Iconic game, iconic plumber.”