Crazy cameos aside, controlling Mario, Donkey Kong and the rest of the Nintendo crew is mostly handled with the stylus. The D-pad still controls your character, but shooting, blocking and passing are all done with various stylus swishes. The accuracy of each shot depends on how steady your stylus hand is.
Regular baskets net you 20 points, while shots from the three point range earn you 30. As you make your break for the hoop, crates containing coins may pop up - crack those open to add to the already astronomically high score.
Mario Hoops 3-on-3 gathered a lot of attention at E3 earlier this year, but in a matter of weeks we'll all get a chance to see if stylus basketball is as hectically exciting as it sounds or just needlessly complicated.
