Check out this trailer for the Nintendo Wii game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Dream Events… Enjoy!

Mario, Sonic, and pals take to the snow in this sequel to their original mash-up, and we got our hands on a new event: 500m speed skating.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was an outright hit when it arrived on the Nintendo Wii in November 2007. Mixing the all-star rosters of two industry heavyweights, it went on to sell more than 5 million copies. It, therefore, came as no surprise to discover that Sega is releasing a sequel this October, ahead of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. We got some hands-on time with the game at a recent event in Central London and were treated to a brand-new two-player event: 500m speed skating.

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Speed skating is both fun and frantic. At the start of the race, you need to waggle the Wii Remote furiously to get an initial speed boost. Once you approach the first corner, you gently move the remote from side to side, mimicking a skater’s arm. Timing is everything–if you’re off the mark, your character loses speed. Thankfully, an onscreen meter helps you match the optimum rhythm. The 500m dash is a single-lap event, and things heat up once you reach the final bend. You get one speed boost per race, and saving it until you hit the final stretch gives you the best chance of clinching first place. Finally, you need to waggle the remote for one final sprint before the end. Unfortunately, you can’t use the Wii Balance Board in speed skating, although other games, such as bobsleigh and downhill skiing, support the peripheral.

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A lot of parents feel that video gaming is a bad thing for children. They say they spend too much indoors doing nothing, that it rots their brain, that it stunts their mental growth. You see all the negatives of video games played out in the media. They blame everything wrong with an abnormal kid with tons of underlying problems solely on the effect of video games. None of that is fair at all. Nothing could be further from the truth (ok, except maybe the staying inside part, but hey, there are worse things). I’m sure that in reality you don’t really think someone who hauls off and shoots their classmates is really the way they are because they decided to play a video game, do you? Video games just really aren’t that bad for kids.

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We take a look at three new events and one new gameplay mode in which Sega and Nintendo characters talk to each other and help each other out. Mass hysteria!

Mario and Sonic had such a blast competing at the Summer Olympics, it seems, that they’re back for some wintery competition. During our E3 2009 demo for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, we got to see a few of the iconic events that the pair (and their respective crews) will be participating in. We also saw a new adventure-style mode that offers an interesting diversion from the sports-themed action.

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We play through the first of four worlds in this upcoming DSiWare game.

The two iconic and most recognizable video game characters have teamed up once again in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! With the game available on  DSiWare, you’ll be able guide the adorable, tiny wind-up Marios to safety. The game was announced during the Nintendo press conference, and we had an opportunity to check it out on the show floor of the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

It looks like there will be more than 30 levels in the game, with additional puzzle packs that will be available weekly after launch. It’s unknown at this time how long the service will go on for, but we were told by a Nintendo rep that it will last at least six months. There are four worlds, and each will have eight levels, a bonus stage to unlock, as well as a boss level.

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