Press Pause 08.20.07: Mario Stikers Charged
Posted by Cory Moore on 08.20.2007
Does the first Mario sports outing on the Wii score the game winner, or does it choke in the clutch? Find out my opinion inside!
If you're a Wii gamer, there's a good chance you already own Mario Strikers Charged. If you don't, shame on you. I keed, I keed. Seriously, though. With all of the garbage ports and lack of first party titles, Mario Strikers Charged is one of the first games to really stand out in the pack. So today, I'm going to do a run down of the game. I won't be dishing out scores like a traditional review (I'll leave that duty to Morakoth Tang), but I will be providing you with enough analysis to let you decide if it's worth your time. Let's get to it!
Mario Strikers Charged Mario and company are done playing nice!
Super Mario Strikers vs. Mario Strikers Charged
If you need a prime example of why limiting the waggle function of the Wii's controls is a good thing, look no further than Mario Strikers Charged. The only motion it employs is jerking the Wii remote to tackle opponents and "catching" balls from being scored during Superstrikes. That's it. Simple and straightforward. The rest of the control scheme is just as nice, though it does require some practice. Player movements are still controlled with an analog stick (this time via the nunchuk) and A is still used for passing. The biggest confusion I had was with the B and Z/C buttons. Because the three are trigger buttons (B on the Wii remote, Z and C on the nunchuk), I routinely found myself firing off items when I really wanted to charge up my kick. Thankfully, this is easily remedied with just a few matches. Veterans of the Gamecube predecessor will obviously have a distinct advantage when coming into contests, especially against newcomers. My advice? Unlock the classic mode first – it's the first completion in the Striker Challenges –and train newbies with it. They'll thank you later.
The sidekicks have also seen a remarkable upgrade from Super Mario Strikers. In the Gamecube release, the companions were simply generic characters to eat up field space and would occasionally make your captain's job easier. In Mario Strikers Charged, however, the sidekicks play a significant role. There are five ability types: offensive, defensive, power, playmaker, and balanced. The key here is to form a team that compliments your captain. If you choose the balanced Luigi, you could get by surrounding him with three balanced sidekicks. But if you choose the powerful Donkey Kong, you might want to employ characters that make up for his weaknesses, specifically passing and speed. The real x-factor here is that sidekicks don't just play off the captain anymore; they're a threat in their own right. Some characters – Birdo and Hammer Brothers, for example – can score at will with their Superstrikes. So, while the captains are even more powerful than before, a match can realistically be won solely through sidekicks. Indeed, this is a new dynamic that adds a new level of unpredictability to the title.
Singleplayer vs. Multiplayer
One complaint about Super Mario Strikers was that the single-player experience was over before it really began. The Cups were a breeze to barrel through in just a few hours time, so the complaint was largely justified. Mario Strikers Charged somewhat remedies the shallow one-player action, but only to a point. You'll see what I mean in a second. There are two single-player modes in the game: Road to the Striker Cup and Striker Challenges. The former mode is much like the first game's tournament; you plow through the competition and unlock trophies, extra captains, and new stadiums along the way. Striker Challenges, meanwhile, is new to Charged. In this mode, you're placed into individual scenarios which mirror in-game situations (Luigi proving his worth by defeating Mario, for example). Once you complete a challenge, you unlock a new feature for the cheats menu. But – in all honesty – these "cheats" freshen up the multiplayer mode more than anything else. I'd have it no other way, but it still drives home the point that this title is not intended to provide a long-lasting single player experience.
Mario Strikers Charged – as you'd expect – shines in multiplayer battles, especially once everyone has a feel for the controls. The game is a tad faster than the previous installment, if you can believe it. The new arena environments – such as lightning strikes in The Wastelands – only add to the frantic action. 1-on-1 matches are the easiest to jump right into, but working cooperatively in 2-on-2 battles is arguably more rewarding thanks to the teamwork involved. Best yet, the expanded cheats menu allows for more variety in contests. In addition to classic features (the field tilting to the score leader's advantage), there are some new elements that are equally fun to experiment with (the electrical fence activating when getting too close to it).
Online Mode
Before the release of Mario Strikers Charged, the biggest question mark was how the Wii would pull off online battles in a fast-paced, free-for-all environment. On the front end, I'll tell you it's a mixed bag of good and bad. First, the good. As you log onto the server, you choose the Mii of your choice to keep your records. Once the personality is registered, you jump to the main screen. Compared to other online games, this menu is very basic, containing just four submenus. You have two options when it comes to battling: playing against a friend or playing in a randomly selected "ranked" battle. The other two submenus of the main menu display leaderboards: one that displays friends' progress, and another that shows nationwide statistics for "ranked" contests. Overall, the menus are simple, well-organized, and to the point.
As for the ranked matches (battles against a non-friend user), you are pitted against a gamer with a similar win-loss ratio to your own. You always compete in a best-of-3 series and the arena is randomly generated. You tally a point for each goal scored, plus an extra point if you lose or two points if you win. If you're a sore loser and cut off halfway into the match, however, you lose the accolades from that series. I really like the point distribution, because even if you lose a series, you are still awarded as you progress in skill. That way, a 10-9 loss doesn't sting as much.
Mario Strikers Charged is a not a pain-free online experience, not by a long shot. In my time playing, the processing times to find opponents have been swift and pain-free. Finding an opponent with a 4-star (the highest) connection, however, is a different story. If you get saddled with an opponent with a connection of 3 stars or lower, expect a lot of frustration. These matches experience a good 2-3 second delay, which can lead to severe consequences in this frantic style of play. I'm not sure if it is coincidence or not, but I encountered more problems when playing at night (typically after 11 PM CST) than in the afternoon/evening hours. Moreover, you can't even scream into an opponent's ear to get a better internet connection, because there is absolutely no way to communicate with him during a match. No chat, no message board, nothing. So, even if you've had a great contest and desire a rematch for competition's sake, you'll likely never match up with that person ever again. You don't even receive their friend codes! The ranked statistics reset every month, which allows for a fair shot at reaching the top of the mountain if you've been away for a while. Still, no record keeping, period, for all-time statistics? That's really lame. Perhaps the most disappointing of all, there's no cooperative multiplayer across systems. So, if you and a friend want to link up on separate systems and battle together against other online foes, you're out of luck. You and another person can battle online if you're on the same system (2 on one system, 2 on another), but the lack of team-ups on four separate system connections is a major letdown.
Overall, Mario Strikers Charged is a highly enjoyable experience. It's the first title that is really worth going out and buying four Wii-motes and Nunchuks for. Even if you're not a sports fan, you're bound to get some sort of entertainment out of this game. It does have its flaws – the single-player mode is still shallow and the online mode is too flawed too often – but its strengths more than make up for it.
Now, let's pause and reflect on today's topic…
• Most of the features found in Super Mario Strikers return bigger and better in Mario Strikers Charged.
• The game still works towards capturing attention through multiplayer…and rightfully so.
• Online mode is a nice addition, but a lot of work needs to be done with it to make future titles thoroughly enjoyable.
Feedback, questions, and comments are always welcome! I respond to everything I get, so don't be afraid to fire away with your opinions. Next week begins my look at wrestling games over the years, something I have already begun working on. Should be good stuff. Until next time, peace.
