Rating: 3.5 Pulses

ESRB Rating: E

Mario sports games have always been crazy fun with unique power-ups and special abilities that take ordinary (and sometimes boring) sports to chaotic levels. Mario Strikers Charged is no different and charges up soccer to the next level.

Just like the original Super Mario Strikers on the Gamecube, Mario Strikers Charged takes soccer and puts the Nintendo spin on it. The idea of Strikers is to make up a team with a captain (i.e. Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Wario, etc.) and then three sidekicks (i.e. Toad, Shy Guy, Koopa, Hammer Bros., etc.) and then go head-to-head against your opponent with a similar lineup.

During the game there are many different ways to get an advantage over your opponent including: power-up items, the Megastrike and using a Super ability. Various power-up items will appear during a match, including many different Shells that knock players down, the Banana Peel that makes players slip and the Star that makes you invincible for a moment.

The Megastrike is a shot that can only be used by the team captain. Once you’re in the clear, hold the B button and a meter will appear to show how strong and accurate you will hit the ball. The ball will then divide into multiple balls and each ball that gets past the goalie will count for a goal.

Captains have a different Super Ability that allows them to gain a better scoring chance against their opponent. For example, Mario’s Super Ability lets him grow and stomp on his opponents and Donkey Kong slams the floor with his fists and any opponent in the way goes flying.

The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection allows players to get online and play. This is actually one the few games on the Wii that has an online mode and is my first Wii online experience. I hopped online and enjoyed many lag-free games, even though I got my ass handed to me in few of those matches. Each player online has their own Friend Code and to become friends with another player you’ll have to get their code.

The Road to the Striker Cup is a “campaign mode” in which you take your team to battle for the cup in a tournament. While advancing, you’ll unlock new players and new stadiums.

Mario Strikers Charged is a pretty fun game, but for just awhile. The power-ups, Megastrike and Super Abilities are nice additions and add a sense of strategy to an already unique soccer game. The game tends to get a little repetitive, especially once you’ve completed the Road to the Striker Cup mode. The online mode gives the game some replay value, but I’m not a big fan of Nintendo’s Friend Codes service. Nintendo has a lot of catching up to do with their online service and they need to take a page out of Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, for real.