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« on: September 14, 2007, 12:31:06 PM »
My application review
Nintendo Made An Online Game, Really?
Yes Nintendo made a sequel to Gamecube’s Super Mario Strikers and is it better, I would say so. At first glance it seems like a re-make of the original with a few new tricks, but entirely different gameplay is added when you pick up the Wii-Mote and Nunchuck. Not to mention a full fledged online mode.
Players will find themselves in the middle of a battlefield once that whistle blows beginning the match. Except for scoring in the opposite goal all rules were thrown out. You can hit other players and touch the ball with your hands. If you want you can even eat the ball. There are no fouls or penalty’s it is just you and the other team fighting to win.
Most of the fields in Mario Strikers Charged are surrounded by an electric fence that when touched by a player you are electrocuted, this makes you unable to use that character for a short time. Other fields simply do not have a fence and just empty into nothingness. If your character falls off the stage on one of these fields you will be unable to use that character for an even longer period of time then the electric fence. Most fields also have other interactive things going on. For instance lightening may strike the ball and whoever is kicking it at anytime during play.
One of the additions to the game that made it hugely difficult was a megastrike. During a megastrike you charge up and are able to launch at most six balls at a time towards the opponents’ goal. One of the others is your sidekicks’ special moves. Each sidekick has the ability to charge and launch a powerful kick towards the net. But be careful if you are interrupted during the charging process you will have to try again.
Mario Strikers Charged has a short seeming one player mode, but it is not as short as it may seem. It has only 3 cups but they are very challenging. You choose from one of the 9 available captains (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser, DK, Peach, Daisy, Waluigi, Wario), and also choose three of the 8 partners (Toad, Shyguy, Monty Mole, Drybones, Koopa, Hammer Bros, Boo, and Birdo). I advise that you play the game in multiplayer mode a few times before choosing your 1 person team. In the cups you go through qualifying and elimination rounds before facing the cup’s champion.
Multiplayer mode opens up different ways that you can play. You can set certain rules for how long you play or how many goals you must score to win. Also you are able to pick from a list of stages that you have unlocked.
Challenge mode is just another one player feature giving you more to do. In this mode you play as one of the characters and complete that characters challenge. For Instance as Mario you may be asked to win a match starting two points behind. There is a challenge for every single character.
Mario Strikers Charged also has Nintendo’s first real online game. Although you can use friend codes it is not necessary, you can choose to play a random person internationally. By playing online you earn points which go towards your season score. There are many different ranking pages which you are able to score upon, (Friends only, Daily, Season ranking) to name a few. Each season only lasts a week, so at that time all of your points will be lost, but your win and lose ratio will remain in place.
Score:
Graphics Sound Control Gameplay Lastability Final
8.5 8.0 9.0 9.5 9.0 9.0
Why did I give these scores see page 2
Graphics: 8.5
The graphics are by far high quality, they may not be a Metroid or Galaxy but they are definitely better then average. This is one of the first few games that they made look like a Wii game not a Gamecube.
Sound: 8.0
The music doesn’t sound like a classic Mario game so a difference is nice. But like any game music needs to be improved. It felt at certain times that the music was misplayed and it deserved to be in a different area.
Control: 9.0
Control works great with both the Wii-Mote and Nunchuck. It senses you motion a simple swing to tackle your opponent. All of the buttons feel like they were mapped correctly and motion control was added in the right place. Although the motion control wasn’t used much it still felt like a great game.
Gameplay: 9.5
With so many different choices it makes the game so much fun. Stage interaction makes it not just a background but a great environment. Multiplayer mode also makes the game very enjoyable.
Lastability: 9.0
With a challenging challenge mode and a difficult one person mode this game will keep you occupied for a long time, Plus multiplayer mode which always has something new for you to try.
Final: 9.0
Overall it is a great game that is definitely worth a buy. If you don’t have the money I would entirely suggest a rental. Labels Nintendo’s first multiplayer game that actually is decent is why it gets its 9.0