Mario Hoops is just that good

We here at DS Fanboy can tell you with authority that 2006 is the year of the threesome. Of course, it's with GameBrink's authority, but who's keeping track? The site recently put up a review of Mario Hoops 3 on 3 that is so hot it burns -- on their rating system, it pulled a 95, outscoring such DS classics as Phoenix Wright and Trauma Center. In fact, the only game to score higher with their reviews was Mario Kart.

What makes this more interesting than it otherwise might be is that Mario Hoops has only local Wi-Fi capability -- if you've a friend with a DS nearby, you can go head-to-head. The game does not, however, feature the open online play that many expected. Imagine if it did. Why ... Mario Hoops might take over the world, then. See? They left out online play to save us. Mario is here for you.

But, y'know ... sometimes we like to suffer. In this case, it might have been a worthy tradeoff.

[Thanks, Zuko!]