Mario Strikers Charged is another game in the sports franchise that Nintendo has built up, but now they take on Soccer or better known throughout the rest of the world, football. The usual suspects from the Mushroom Kingdom are all on hand, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, etc. to get a 5 on 5 soccer match going. Mario Strikers is also one of the first titles on the Wii that includes online play, which many gamers are foaming at the mouth for.

Presentation and Graphics: Visually this game is on par with everything else on this system, no overpowering displays of graphics here but the Mario characters all look good and capture their trademark sounds well. The cutscenes during the Mega Strike shots are cool to watch for the first few times and then you just wish you could skip through them. 3.5 of 5

Sound and Music: This game has a decent sound and incorporates the different classic Mario sounds into the game. The in-game music is nothing to write home about and if you have an iPod just turn that on and get your Mario Strikers on. 3 of 5

Gameplay: Mario Strikers boils down to a 5 on 5 soccer match played on a much smaller soccer field to increase the tempo of the game. You begin by choosing your team captain, then three supporting characters and unfortunately you are always stuck with the same goalie. (the crocodile from Donkey Kong country) The supporting characters that are on your team have different characteristics as well as the different captains; based on speed, defense and offense, so you have to choose the mix wisely depending on the type of team you want. You then start up and play a regular soccer match minus the red and yellow cards.The gameplay takes a bit to get used to since you are utilizing both the Nunchuk and the Wiimote and there are a lot of buttons to get used to. The Wiimote controls the shots and passing while the Nunchuk controls the player’s movement. The Wiimote really plays a much bigger role when you are on defense and take control of the goalie during a Mega Strike. The Mega Strike is a charge up shot that any player captain can use to score some quick points. The Mega Strike when pulled off sends your team captain into a cut scene where you need to time pressing the button in order to get off up to 5 soccer balls to go flying toward the goalie. If you are on the defensive side you take control of you crocodile goalie and have to use the Wiimote to block the different shots coming at you, this is fun for the first few times you do it and then gets a bit repetitive.Games can be either timed or to a desired score, I prefer the latter as it makes games quicker especially during blowouts where one team continues to abuse the Mega Strike and the score becomes lop-sided. The usual power ups are available like the giant chain that attacks players, banana peels, mushrooms etc. You can also play and beat the different cup in order to unlock more captains for you to use. All in all it is solid. 4.5 of 5

Online: The online play is pretty basic and boils down to straight versus matches that are ranked. You choose a Mii from your stable to represent you as your online icon and then search for a match. The game is identical online as the offline version and is good fun with little lag to be seen anywhere. My main complaint is trying to find matches and the lobbies are none existent with no voice chat options to talk to your opponent. 3 of 5

Lasting Appeal: Most people will love this game to play with buddies in a multiplayer game and the online will keep you playing a bit extra, but the Mario fun only takes you so far. The game will get repetitive and the abusive nature of the Mega Strike will get on your nerves after a while. 3 of 5

Final Word: Mario Strikers Charged offers a good time via another Mario flavored sports title, but don’t look to play this long term. It is one of the first titles to use the Wii’s online play, but still needs some work to bring Nintendo’s online service up to par with the rest of the services out there. The gameplay is what makes this game shine everything is just filler, it is a must play for any soccer or Mario enthusiast or anyone with a Wii and nothing to play.

Overall: 3.5 of 5

1 = Not worth the bandwidth.2= Demo is enough, not worth your money.

3= Game is good, depending on the price, seriously consider picking it up.

4= Worth your money. Should provide some good times for quite awhile.

5= Buy the game. Lock your door. Pick up a case of beer. This could take all night.