Super Mario Strikers

"A good soccer game limited by little variety..."

It seems that Mario is incredibly gifted at any sport he attempts. In Super Mario Strikers, Mario and his friends compete in a hardcore arcade-style soccer match. There's lots of hitting, power-ups, and ridiculous scoring methods, as expected. Unfortunately, there are very few game modes; once you've unlocked everything, there isn't much to do.

Graphics: 9/10

This is the place where this game excels the most. The visuals are excellent, from the Super Strike animations to the replays. Nothing was really missed here, except for the crowd, which is (as expected from most sports games) a wall of sprites. The net bulges, the ball spins, players make contact with the ball when they shoot and pass.

Sound: 7/10

While the sound effects in this game may be up to par, the music - which only makes an appearance in the option screens and the title screen - never changes, and becomes very dull after playing a couple of times. The in-game sound is excellent, especially the noises players make when they are in possession of the ball. You really feel like you are in the game. The lack of an announcer disappointed me; the only thing you ever here is "GOOOOAAALLL" followed by the goalscorer's name, which also gets old quick.

Controls: 9/10

Very straightforward. Pass, shoot, hit, slide tackle, change players, deke, turbo; everything that you would expect from an EA Sports game. I wish a little more variety could have been added here.

Gameplay: 8/10

You have five minutes to score as much as possible, and by all means, Nintendo lets you score. Against an easy computer or friends I can frequently run into double digits without using Super Strikes. The downside of this is that it can be very difficult to dig yourself out of a hole against a strong computer or skilled friend, even using Super Strikes. Playing alone gets boring after an hour or so, but where this game really shines is multiplayer. This game is best played 1 on 1, 2 on 2 or 4 vs. the computer. I could play Super Strikers with my friends for hours.

Replayability: 4/10

This brings the quality of this game down significantly. I unlocked everything in a couple of days, and I kind of lost interest after that. There is very little variety in this game; after a while, everything seems the same. It would be nice if there were more options.

Final: 7/10

Bottom Line: Buy this game if you have friends, and play video games with them often. Otherwise, rent it maybe. I thought that this was a waste of money until I played it with three other people.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/06