Mario Strikers Charged

Mario Strikers Charged Mario Strikers Charged Football
North American box art
Developer(s)	Next Level Games
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Series	Mario Strikers
Platform(s)	Wii
Release date(s)	EU May 25, 2007[1] AUS June 7, 2007[2] NA July 30, 2007[3] JP September 20, 2007[4]
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer, online

Mario Strikers Charged, known in Europe and Australia as Mario Strikers Charged Football,^[5] is a sports video game developed by Canadian developer Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Wii. This game was announced at the 2006 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany as the sequel to Super Mario Strikers for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released on May 25, 2007 in Europe, June 7, 2007 in Australia and July 30, 2007 in North America.

The game supports the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, through which players can participate in online matches and tournaments. Upon its European release, it became the first Wii online game to be available outside of Japan. It was also the first Mario game released on the Wii and the first Mario game to be given a rating higher than E by the ESRB.^{[citation needed]}

Gameplay

A match between Mario and Wario with the score tied.

The gameplay of Mario Strikers Charged is similar to that of the original game, with characters fighting for possession of a metallic ball played on several pitches. As well as differing aesthetically, most pitches feature physical elements that affect play; players must use precision and accurate timing to overcome them. The most powerful shot possible is the "Mega Strike", which only the captain can perform and accounts for a varying number of points ranging from three to six. In addition, sidekicks are able to perform a special shot—known as a "Skillshot"—that occurs if sufficiently charged and results in the character releasing a shot that is either able to paralyze or bypass the goalkeeper. Defensively, characters not in possession can hit others with or without the ball, although doing so to others without it will give the opposing team an item.

The power-up system returns from other Mario sports titles. The player can use these items—red shells, bananas, etc.—to impede the opponent and gain an advantage. Some power-ups aid the player by immobilising and hindering the opponent, while others grant temporary invulnerability and allow the user to score a goal more easily. A "Super Ability" item has been implemented into the game, which only the captain can use and grants unique abilities; notably, some like Mario and Luigi will grow to immense size, while others such as Donkey Kong will impede other characters in a large radius.

Strikers features multiple gameplay modes, such as the "Domination Mode", in which the player faces an opponent of the player's choosing. They can also adjust match settings to limit or expand the match time or number of goals which are necessary for victory. The player can also play through "Striker Challenges", where they select a session with certain obstructions, such as missing characters or a susceptible goalkeeper. If they are successful in passing, they are given further adjustments called "cheats", that can render shooting easier and turn off physical elements of the fields in the game. Training sessions appear in the form of "Strikers 101", where the player can practice individual aspects such as shooting and tackling. "Road to the Striker Cup" allows the player to compete in matches against the computer to gain rewards. The player can also partake in online matches with others around the world.^[6][7]

Characters

There are a total of twelve captains and eight sidekicks to choose from to form a five-player team, which consists of a captain, three sidekicks, and a goalie. All characters, except for the goalies, are separated into five categories: Balanced (balanced in all areas), Playmaker (speedy with good passing ability), Power (good shooting and defensive ability), Offensive (good shooting and passing ability), and Defensive (speedy with good defensive ability). A team may consist of any combination of different sidekicks (e.g. two Koopa Troopas and a Shy Guy). Kritters appear as goalies and can be controlled to stop the opponent's Mega Strike.

Reception

Currently, reviews of the game have been generally positive with an average critic score of 79.43% at Game Rankings^[8] and 79/100 at Metacritic.^[9] Official Nintendo Magazine praised the pick-up and play feel of the game, giving the game a 91%. Eurogamer also favored the added strategy and feel to game, giving it an 8/10.^[10] UK magazine NGamer criticized the game for its low amount of game modes, but overall felt that it was a definite improvement over the Nintendo GameCube original, giving it a 78%. Edge magazine was concerned about the overwhelming power of the Mega Strike feature, also citing "The eventful, minute-long matches and frantic to-and-fro make Mario Strikers a suitable curtain-raiser for online gaming on the Wii, but a balanced and deep extreme sports game this is not.", giving it 6/10. IGN UK gave the game an 8.7 out of 10 and an editor's choice award.^[11] UK based website Mansized scored Mario Strikers Charged a full 5 out of 5 stars, particularly praising the game's enjoyable multiplayer options. GameSpot gave the game a score of 7.5 out 10.^[12] Hyper's Rico Shavez commends the game for its "great net code and immediately fun". However, he criticises it for its "lack of options, being shallow and its lightweight single player".^[13]

GameTap stated "The reason why it’s not fun at times isn’t because it doesn’t replicate the craziness--but rather that the AI becomes so incredibly cheap in the later tournaments and that there really isn’t much to the overall game aside from just beating the crap out of everyone to make way for a shot on goal", giving the game 7/10.^[14]

GamingTarget gave the game 7/10, citing: "To sum things up, Mario Strikers Charged is a fun, yet brutal anti-soccer game for all ages, but unfortunately the graphics leave something to be desired".

GameTrailers gave the game 7.4/10 citing the game was the first great Wi-fi game for Wii in America.

Nintendo Power gave the US edition 8.5 out of 10, criticizing the limited single player modes while praising its online and offline multiplayer capabilities.

GamePro gave Mario Strikers Charged 5 out of 5, praising the great online support, lots of game modes, and its fun battles.^[15]

As of March 31, 2008, 1.77 million copies of the game have been sold worldwide, with 240,000 being sold in Japan.^[16]

See also

Book: Mario video games

• List of Wii Wi-Fi Connection games

References

External links

• Mario Strikers Charged Football at Official European Site
• Mario Strikers Charged page at www.nintendo.com
• Mario Strikers Charged at Metacritic
• Mario Strikers Charged at GameSpot