Few entertainment products are as brazenly corporate and synergistic as the "Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games" series, which, yes, is exactly the ludicrous fluff-fest it sounds like.
It started with a duo of 2007 games based on the then-upcoming Beijing summer Olympics. There have been entries for every Olympics since, up to the recent "Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games" for Wii U and 3DS. They're all officially licensed by the International Olympics Committee.
And they're absurd.
Who asked to see Wario square off against Knuckles the echidna in the javelin toss? Need we see Amy the hedgehog in her one-piece? What physics allow Yoshi to participate in the equestrian? Is it kind of hot when Dr. Eggman does the triple jump?
Why is any of this happening?
Video games are capable of being great works of art. Sometimes, they're mechanically dazzling, as in the case of "Downwell," a fairly straightforward game about plummeting deep into the earth while shooting creatures with your weaponized boots. Other times, they're emotionally engrossing, like "Gone Home," an interactive narrative about a family with buried secrets.
And sometimes you get a video game that's just about Donkey Kong hitting the Rio beach with Princess Daisy and Tails the fox. You have some friends over, drink 10 Rolling Rocks and laugh uproariously -- mostly at the spectacle, but kind of at the just-good-enough gameplay that recalls everything from rhythm games like recent "Hatsune Miku" titles to "FIFA."
Video games, as a medium, are not dumb. This specific video game, though, is absolutely dumb.
And sometimes, that's just what you need. Because after a long week of sitting at a desk or shelving groceries or any number of mundanities that define 70 percent of our time, it can feel real good to watch a feathery mammal whose name we honestly don't know pummel Super Mario in the boxing ring.
You know you can't argue with that.
"Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games" is available for $59.99 for the Wii U version and $39.99 for the 3DS version.
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