Nintendo took a risk using the untested Miis with Wii Sports rather than Mario and friends. That risk ended up paying off, as people have embraced Miis with open arms. But where does that leave Mario? Don't fear, he's still got some game left as is evident in his first sports game for the Wii - Mario Strikers Charged (MSC).
More Than a Facelift
Super Mario Strikers for the Gamecube came out only a bit over a year ago, leaving many skeptical whether or not Mario Strikers Charged would be nothing more than a minor graphical improvement. Luckily those worries are largely misplaced as Charged adds just enough to the gameplay to keep it feeling fresh.
With the ability to select different sidekicks (non captain teammates), each with their own strenghts, weaknesses, skillshots, and dekes, the game adds some much needed depth to the franchise. Skillshots and dekes, though a simple concept, bring all sorts of strategy to the game that is surprisingly well balanced. Some characters have defensive dekes that allow them to easily navigate around the opposition while others have dekes that will actually knock back oncoming enemies - perhaps setting up a fully charged skillshot that will have an incredibly high chance of scoring. It's the risk vs reward factor that keeps you on your toes. Do you try and create enough space to pull off your character's skillshot, do you try a tricky score using a fast character's deke, or do you simply try charging up the ball enough with passes to give a powershooter a good chance of blasting into the goal?
Just Enough Waggle
The developers of MSC didn't go overboard with the control scheme. You don't have to strap the remote onto a foot and perform dribbles and kicking motions - that's all taken care of with the nunchuck's control stick and simple button presses. The only time you'll be using the motion control is when you want to hit your opponent - which is done with a simple flick of the Wii remote. The controls work beautifully as they give you perfect control and never have you wondering whether or not it was you that messed up or the motion detection.
The only other Wii-requiring functionality is the pointing capabilities which comes into play when defending an opponent's megastrike kicks. Megastrike kicks are kicks that captains can pull off that will send between 3 and 6 balls at your goalie. To block them, you'll be aiming a pair of hands at the screen, timing button presses as the balls approach. It's a simple mechanic that works great in bring you a little extra immersion.
Online Good, Strikers Online Bad
Nintendo seems to finally be getting on the online bandwagon, but unfortunately they still have some significant shortcomings to overcome. The first problem is that a game specific friend code system is in place for MSC that will have you trying to type in yet another code into your Wii for every friend you want to play with. The second problem is the limited options for online play. You can either play random ranked games or you can play against your friends using the friend codes. There is no lobby system and there is no option to choose arenas or skill-based matching. You are able to play cooperatively with a friend against another pair online though, so that's a nice little bonus.
Perhaps the worst part of the online system is the ranking system combined with disconnection penality handling. Basically, you play a best 2 out of 3 match against a random opponent on a random stage. You get 10 points for each win and 1 point for each loss. You then get 1 point for each goal you score up to 10. So, you can get a maximum of 20 points in a game and a minimum of 1. If you disconnect on an opponent, you get a loss and lose 5 points and your opponent gets nothing. This penalty does little to discourage disconnects. It's a rampant problem online that nearly ruins the whole experience. I find myself forced to allow opponents to stay withing a couple points or else the odds are they will disconnect, leaving me without 10 points and without an opponent. Also, the fact that you get the same amount of points for beating the number 1 ranked player as you do the number 50,000 ranked player means that your actual rank means nothing more than how much free time you have to play.
Broken Offline and Where's the Extras?
While the online system is lacking, it's still better than nothing - which is just about what you get in terms of extras. You're options include playing online, playing the offline cups, playing challenges, or playing a practice game. The meat of the game is the offline cups. You'll take a team on the road to try and win all 3 striker cups. The problem is that whatever team you choose is the team you're stuck with for the entire game. This means you'll be playing as the same captain and the same sidekicks until you beat the game. So, if you find yourself on the last cup wishing you had a different sidekick or captain, you're only option is to restart the entire single player game, starting at the first cup. Once you beat the game you'd think you'd be able to pick whichever cup you want and play right? Wrong, again you have to start at the beginning and play from there. The system the developers put in place for the offline campaign is almost laughably rediculous.
Luckily there's some fun to be had in the challenges right? Wrong. There's a total of 12 challenges, one for each captain and they are little more than beating an opponent at a single game with fairly uncreative restrictions. For instance, you may have to play coming from behind with a 2 goal deficit and only a minute left in the game. There's only one or two challenges that actually have some interesting twists (like not being allowed to use items).
Gameplay Good, Everything Else Bad
So really you're looking at a fairly broken offline experience with a very limited amount of extra content. Luckily the offline campaign is fairly difficult so it's at least a rewarding experience to beat. Online has some major issues but it does give the game some legs if you have the patience to beat the offline campaign. It's all so sad too because the core gameplay is incredibly good and fairly deep. The seemingly infinite strategic possibilities and multiple options for teambuilding provide the perfect foundation for a great overall experience. Unfortunately the game comes up a bit short everywhere else and is really only worth a purchase if you have some friends to play with either offline or online.