The plumber, hedgehog, and friends are getting ready for Vancouver 2010, and we checked out a few new events at GamesCom.

After the enormous success of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games–(Mario & Sonic win 5M Olympic medals) 5 million copies and counting–creating a sequel based on the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Winter Games seems like a no-brainer. So far, we’ve seen a number of fun events for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, including bobsleighing, speed skating, and downhill skiing, as well as numerous characters with which fans of Mario or Sonic games will be familiar. We recently got a chance to meet some more characters and events at GamesCom 2009 in Cologne, Germany.

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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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We check out three new events (including Mario Kart on skis) as two icons continue to compete for Olympic gold.

We’re no stranger to athletic competition between hedgehogs and plumbers. Our hands/tush-on preview gave you a glimpse of alpine skiing and bobsledding, while our latest demo gave us the scoop on figure skating, ice hockey, and dream ski cross. It also revealed two new playable characters: Donkey Kong and Metal Sonic.

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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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