bit-tech Shopping: Nintendo Mario Strikers Charged (Wii)

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3

Strengths: Great online WiFi play, expanded single player game

Weaknesses: Not very elaborate single player

Summary: Mario Strikers Charged is the best online Wii game without a doubt (at the moment). This is such an improvement from the GameCube version in so many ways. Your teams are much more customizable instead of having just one "helper." Single player has been greatly expanded to include progressively difficult cups that have decent unlockables. This isn't a very good game to showcase the Wii controller as it lacks anything as far as motion control goes besides the goalie mini game and tackling opponents, but it's a decent showcase of online WiFi play. Although Nintendo still refuses to allow any sort of communication between players and utilizes the friend code system, online matches are more enjoyable than your single player AI battles. Overall a decent game topped off with a very enjoyable multiplayer experience.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: Same crazy gameplay from the original, now with online

Weaknesses: As with most online games of this type, there are exploits

Summary: Mario Strikers was a great arcade soccer game for the Cube. It was somewhat underappreciated, coming near the end of the Cube's lifecycle, which is probably the motivation for this enhanced and online follow-up. Not much has changed, graphically or with the core gameplay. Added environmental variables and the ability to choose your wingmen individually are nice touches. Online is the big draw as we all know. The online works well, with little lag, but you tend to run into people who play simply to exploit any flaws in the balance of the game, tending to kill the fun for all involved.At this stage of the game, you may not want to buy it if you're in simply for the online play, but single player and local multiplayer is as hectic and enjoyable as ever.

Rating: 8

Time with product:

Strengths: Takes the very fun Super Mario Strikers game and adds bells and whistles (including online play)!

Weaknesses: Single-player gets very difficult and frustrating, online can have lag issues

Summary: Super Mario Strikers was one of the greatest 2-4 player Gamecube games. The arcade-style soccer game was a blast to play with friends and offered a nice, though shallow, single-player experience. Mario Strikers Charged, the sequel for the new Wii system, improves on many elements of the first game: the graphics are a bit better, the new fields have environmental effects which adds some variety to the game, and there is basic online play. The single-player "Strikers Cup" is, unfortunately, very unbalanced and frustrating. As a Super Mario Strikers vet, I had no problem breezing through the first Cup in Strikers Charged. But the second (of three) proved nearly impossible to beat. I could get through the ten qualifying matches with little problem. Then you play a semi-final and final against the other top computer players. Finally, you earn the chance to challenge the "champion" of the cup (Bowser Jr in this case). You play 2 out of 3 and he is extremely difficult to beat. That would be fine if you could replay the match, but you are required to go through ALL TEN qualifiers and the playoffs again before getting a rematch. This takes 1-2 hours and after 4 or 5 attempts I gave up on this as it was too time consuming. I have yet to go back to the single-player game. This is unfortunate as I am unable to unlock the last two characters and some of the arenas for use in local multiplayer with my kids. As a multiplayer game, however, this is an excellent title. You can play with up to 4 people locally and against a random person or someone from your friend's list online. You can also play 2-on-2 matches with 2 people on each system (2 in your house, 2 somewhere else). The online play generally works very well except for one inexplicable instance. Lag (delays) in online gaming are to be expected, but when they happen on the Megashots - where you control a set of hands with the Wii remote pointer functionality to block 3-6 incoming shots the lag becomes unacceptable. Since this is running entirely on your system (once the other player gets off the Megashot by charging their character's shot they do not control the actual 3-6 shots) it is inexcusable for there to be lag here. Many online players exploit this by getting off very quick megashots (the 3 or 4 shot variety) that in the single-player game or in local multiplayer would be a breeze to block, but with the online lag can be quite challenging. Despite the two big issues I mentioned above, Mario Strikers Charged is still by far the best Wii sports game and has a decent online implementation (not all games have lag so that isn't always an issue) which is always welcome in Nintendo games. If you are a big fan of the Gamecube Strikers or new to the series this is a good choice for some multiplayer action.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Fun, frantic gameplay.

Weaknesses: Cruel single-elimination Striker Cup mode.

Summary: Mario Strikers Charged is not exactly a soccer game. However, it is a typically fun and accessible Mario sports title with several improvements over its predecessor, including a WiFi mode, more sidekicks, and more wacky violence. A highly enjoyable romp for several players, and a pretty fun game for one player.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Great graphics, lots of creativity, and tons of fun

Weaknesses: Gameplay can become quite chaotic at time. Megashots are repetitive (you expect at least 3 or 4 specialty for your leader instead of just 1).

Summary: I have not try the online multiplayer mode for this yet so I cannot comment on it. However, I try single player mode and vs mode and it does get tiring sometimes. The learning curve seemed easy but it's not, there are lot of tricks and tips one need to gather before one could completely master this game. The gameplay is quite fast and furious, and sometimes tracking down your player is a difficult task. Overall a decent mario track, but far from being one of the best.