M&S 2012 Released in North America

First Region to Get the Game

For some gamers, the time for more Mario versus Sonic action has come. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games was released in North America today, making it the first region worldwide to receive the final product. Fortunately, international gamers will not have long to wait, as the game will be rolled out to Australia on the 17th of this month, to Europe on the 18th, and to Japan on December 8th. The 3DS versions of the game will not be available until February of 2012 for most regions.

Like the previous two games in the Mario & Sonic series, initial reviews have been mixed. At the time of this writing, only two reviews are available on Metacritic, which means that an official aggregated score from the website is not yet available. The two posted reviews come from Nintendo Power and The Guardian, who gave the game a 7/10 and a 3/5, respectively. The Guardian complemented the colorful environments and the “unexpectedly” fun co-op sports, but criticized the uneven control scheme and the lack of Wii MotionPlus.

Ultimately, as is the case with many franchise titles, the game’s success will depend on the impressions of the fans and how well it sells. If you live in North America and have gotten your hands on a copy, do you agree with the early scores? Send us your own thoughts and opinions on the game in the Comments section below.