Mario Slam Basketball: in shops Friday!

With Rafa Nadal Tennis and Pro Evolution Soccer, the year 2007 was already off to a good start for fans of Nintendo DS into sports titles with a twist. But nothing has quite prepared you for Mario Slam Basketball"¦

After a small cameo in NBA Street V3 for the Nintendo GameCube, Mario turns to the DS for his first leading role on the basketball court. It's no secret that the world's most versatile plumber can take a sport and make it all his own, but developer Square-Enix has gone all-out to apply that Mushroom Kingdom magic to the game of shootin' hoops, tailoring all its moves to the touch screen and creating a deliciously innovative take on the game in the process.

Playing Mario Slam Basketball is such a visceral experience that words really don't do it justice, so we whipped up a dedicated microsite that shows it off in all its glory. But though the game's gorgeous graphics speak for themselves, it won't be until you perform a slam-dunk with a stylus yourself that you'll realise that Mario has managed once more to revitalise a genre for long term fans, whilst simultaneously opening up the game to those waiting in the wings - Nintendo.