Mario and crew lace up their sports shoes once again, this time taking it to the basketball courts in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for the Nintendo DS. The game teeters on the rim with its mix of pros and cons, but in the long run Mario Hoops shoots and scores

The Mushroom Kingdom cast originally balled with the NBA pros in NBA Street Vol. 3 (and I guess technically also with mini-games in the Mario Party series) but now the ball is in Mario's court and the game of basketball is given the full Nintendo treatment.

The game is actually developed by Square-Enix, and adds even more flavor to the superb presentation of the game with classic Final Fantasy characters and settings.

If the title of the game wasn't a clear indication, players will man teams of three and hit the court in exhibition, multiplayer or tournament modes. Hoops also offers up several practice lessons to help players learn the game as well as a training mode and mini-games.

Players will notice as soon they start the game that Mario Hoops is one of the most vibrant and visually polished games yet to be released on the system. Very few games on the system have yet to the match graphical shine, superb sound and overall style that 3-on-3 brings to the table. The menus are easy to navigate and are full of great visuals... and of course there's that uber-catchy theme song.

Even in the midst of game play, the graphics are second-to-none for the Nintendo DS hardware. The characters have full detail and still look good when in animation and all of the explosions and items look just as nice. While the environments aren't distracting during play, taking a look at the surroundings still reveals great detail and notables such as the 8-bit advertisement boards, ghosts and Podobos (yes, those fireballs have a name).

While the music during play isn't as dominant as it is in the menus, it serves as an appropriate backdrop to the theme of the current court you're on. Add in all the crazy voice-overs and sound effects you'd expect from a Mario sports title and presentation-wise, Hoops is right on par with the style from even the Gamecube's sports titles.

Unfortunately for Hoops, though, while it looks and sounds like a dream, its most glaring issues are in the areas where it counts most - control and game play.

The main hook of the game is the one-of-a-kind control scheme which allows players to tear up the court with stylish dribbling and on-the-fly passing and shooting all by using the touch screen. Taps and strokes of the lower screen will perform not only passes, shots and steals but also pin-point dribbling, item use, sidesteps and flashy special shots.