only thing I could think of is that ugly font they use in their Mario sports games. It�s

like Comic Sans� pale Scandinavian cousin, Comic Hans. Boom! Take that, Camelot. I�m

coming for you.

So there I was, playing Mario Tennis: Power Tour for the first time, expecting another

typically great Mario sports game from Camelot. Expecting to have nothing to complain about.

But...that�s not what I got. Now, don�t get me wrong. Mario Tennis: Power Tour is

a perfectly good tennis game, but...well, let�s just say its shot�s a lot different

than you might expect.

So Mario Tennis: Power Tour came about a year after Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube.

Back then, Mario sports games were among the best multiplayer games Nintendo had to offer.

Fast-paced, accessible...and Power Tennis was no exception. But when the time came for

this GBA follow-up, Camelot tried something different.

They tried to make a single-player Mario tennis game.

And I would argue...that�s just inherently less appealing.

See, rather than just throwing you into tournaments and having the gameplay right up front, like

most Mario sports games, Power Tour tries something different. It�s actually a tennis

RPG, in a way. You play as a student at this tennis school, and if you want to be the top-ranked

player on campus, well...you have to level up.

And walk around.

And talk to people.

So much for fast-paced and accessible.

I guess it�s all a matter of tastes and expectations, but...personally, the single-player

mode bored the hell out of me. There�s just so much down-time between your tennis matches.

So much wandering around and reading dialogue. And that would be fine, were this some kind

of interesting adventure game or something.

But it�s not. It�s a tennis game. And I just want to play tennis.

But again, if you�re into a slower, more RPG-like approach to a tennis game, you�re

probably going to love this. But I do appreciate Camelot�s effort. Rather than just make

a portable Power Tennis, they did something completely different. And that�s awesome.

Fortunately, you can just jump into the tennis through exhibition play. There�s also multiplayer

support, if you have those ridiculous link cables. I mean, Power Tour is a really nice

package on the GBA. My only problem is...its approach bored me, and its roster is, like,

mostly generic characters from the story. I mean, when I play Mario Tennis, I want to

play as Mario. Not freaking...Mason.

Camelot�s Mario sports games were tremendous on the GameCube. That�s partially because

they didn�t over-think things. I appreciate them trying something new on the GBA, but

in this case, they did over-think things.

That makes Mario Tennis: Power Tour a good game, but not a great one.

Big thanks to our pal Sean from Wisconsin for sending it in.