Mario Strikers Charged

"Great game, but do not get it for the online."

I usually don't care too much for sports games. There's just something about them that doesn't appeal to me. However, I've always loved Mario's athletic outings. That's not because I'm a huge fan of the guy either though I am (see my username). It's that his sport games hardly seem like sports games at all. They basically take a shell of the actual sport and add some Mushroom Kingdom madness. Mario's soccer games probably follow this definition the closest. Close on the cleats of 2005's Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged is here to bring you more zany soccer-themed antics.

Mario Strikers Charged is truly a zany-game, as well. While the basic premise of soccer is there – try to kick the ball into your opponent's goal – MSC is more than a simple soccer game. Like any good Mario sports game, there are items thrown into the mix that can help you to win. Most of these items are pretty typical of a Mario game – bananas, shells, chain-chomps, etc. However, each team captain also has an item that allows him or her to do a special move. This helps in adding more depth to the gameplay, and also adds some small amount of strategy as to whom you choose for a captain.

Also adding to the depth and strategy of the game is that each sidekick (lesser known characters - Koopa, Monty Mole, etc.) has a special shot called a SkillShot. These range from throwing hammers at the goalie (Hammer Bro.) to launching a giant egg at goal (Birdo).

Back from the previous game are Super Strikes, though they are now called MegaStrikes. If your team captain is in possession of the ball, and you are on your opponent's side of the field, pressing and holding “B” will bring up a golf game-like meter. If you time your button presses correctly, you'll be able to unleash up to six shots on goal.

However, you haven't won the game yet. The Wii's motion controls are here to stop you! After you launch a MegaStrike, your opponent can attempt to block the balls by “shooting” them with the remote. This is very fun. It doesn't feel out of place and is quite addicting as you try to improve.

Speaking of MegaStrikes, there is a nice, CG cut scene showing the shot. These are actually pretty decent looking, though they can get repetitive. Also, some of them don't really fit the characters. For example, Diddy turns into a crazy Egyptian monk(ey) on steroids for his. That is really weird and crazy.

Getting back to motion controls, they also come into play in another area of the game: tackling. By giving the Wiimote a little waggle, your character will ram into the opposing player, thus knocking the ball out from under their feat. This is also quite fun to do. It feels very natural and not at all-tacked on.

One thing that tackling shows you is that Mario Strikers Charged is not your typical cheerful, happy Mario game. MSC has a much darker, “tougher” tone to it. One area that this shows through is the graphics. They are not bright and colorful. However, they are not bland and boring, like they were in the original game. Everything has a lot of detail, and there is also some nice looking fire and particle effects. Another good aspect of the visuals are the menus. They have a very unique look to them and are extremely stylized.

Another aspect of Mario Strikers Charged that is stylized is the audio. This game has probably the zaniest audio I have ever heard in a game. The soundtrack itself is crazy because it is so varied. For example, the Wii Menu screen music sounds like something you would hear at the annual hoedown at Uncle Billy's farm. Then, when you get into the opening cut scene, the music becomes rockier. Finally, the rest of the music sounds like something you would hear on a TV sports show.

The sound effects are also very unique. There are so many different sounds in this game! First, you have the blow of the whistle when a match starts. Next, there is a sizzle, as you or your opponent gets smashed into the electrified fences surrounding the field. Finally, you'll hear the moo of a cow, as one comes flying across the screen, attempting to knock players around.

One of the biggest improvements of Mario Strikers Charged over the original Strikers is a bigger selection of play modes. The single-player option is called Road to Striker Cup. While this is fairly linear, it still provides some fun, and I like the fact that the developers incorporated a “newspaper” that shows up in between some matches and informs you of your progress.

A new mode in Mario Strikers Charged is called Striker Challenges. There are twelve different matches that each give you a different goal to complete, like coming back and winning when you are already down by three. While the challenges in this mode seem essentially like regular matches, they are still enjoyable to do, and I like unlocking the different character artwork after beating each one.

The main reason why anyone should purchase Mario Strikers Charged is the multiplayer. It provides terrific fun. However, only one of the two multiplayer modes (online and offline) is worth playing. Which one, then, is not worth the attention? Sadly, it is the highly anticipated online option. Initially, I was impressed with it. The set-up is nice, including a variety of different leaderboards, such as daily ones and Season ones. The Season leaderboards show the top player for a given week. This is nice because it gives everyone a chance to climb to the top.

However, the online starts to suffer when you get to actually playing a match. There is just too much lag. I'll admit, sometimes there will be a match with no lag at all. However, the majority of the time there is at least some lag. This doesn't prevent the game from being enjoyable, but it is still unwelcome. What is even more unwelcome is when the lag makes the game absolutely unplayable.

While the lag is very annoying and dumb, the main reason that the online isn't very fun is because you don't have any sort of human interaction. Offline multiplayer is a blast because you can laugh at your opponent when he doesn't block six MegaStrikes in a row. It is a blast because you can grin to no end as you smash your friends into the wall. Without this sort of human interaction, the online play is basically like playing against a computer.

However, despite the disappointing Nintendo Wi-Fi mode, Mario Strikers Charged is still a great Wii game and an even greater sequel to its predecessor. It has more depth, more characters, more fields, more everything. Also, the game shows how motion controls can work with traditional genres. They all feel very natural and are not gimmicky at all. While the graphics suffer from being bland and boring, the varied, zany audio is exactly the opposite. Also, MSC has lots of staying power with its two single-player options and the offline multiplayer. Overall, Mario Strikers Charged does not disappoint. If you liked the original, you will love this one!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/17/07

Game Release: Mario Strikers Charged (US, 07/30/07)