It’s a bit surprising that with all of the success and all of the hype the Wii has garnered, Nintendo has used Mario much more sparingly than in the past. While the GameCube days saw Mario and buddies popping onto the system in a new game what seemed like once a month, so far only Super Paper Mario and Mario Party 8 have seen release for the Wii, more than six months after its release. Most of the system’s early lineup has been made up of Mii-encrusted minigame compilations, surprisingly solid third-party support, and Zelda. Of course, Mario’s big release on the Wii comes later this year with Super Mario Galaxy, but until then, Nintendo hasn’t forgotten its mustachioed mascot.

The Mario Sports series returns this summer, but instead of Mario’s Wii athletics debut being a sequel to one of his stalwart racing, golfing, or tennis excursions, Mario will instead be heading back onto the pitch with Mario Strikers Charged, the sequel to 2005’s sleeper hit Super Mario Strikers. The original was highly praised for its fast-paced take on a usually mind-numbingly boring sport (no offense to any soccer fans out there), and thanks to some new features (and a much welcomed online addition), Charged may turn out to be a game that blows away its already-awesome predecessor.

In Mario Strikers Charged, players control teams of four players. First, you’ll choose a team captain from one of the luminaries of the Mario universe, including Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, and, playable for the first time, Bowser and Diddy Kong. Each captain now has a new special ability exclusive to that character, such as Peach’s Freeze Frame attack, and DK’s Thunder Wham.

Next, you can choose 3 sidekick characters from a variety of races around the Mushroom Kingdom, including Toads, Boos, Birdos, and Hammer Brothers. Unlike Strikers, Strikers Charged will actually allow players to mix and match their sidekicks to take advantage of each sidekick’s special abilities, such as Boo’s ability to phase through opponents, or Toad’s Fire Meteor kick, allowing him to set the ball (and the goalie’s hands) aflame. No matter who you choose, a Kremling (from Donkey Kong Country) returns as the game’s permanent goalkeeper.

He's gonna get punched in the face if he keeps acting like a dick

From there, the 5-on-5 soccer insanity begins (“soccer” used only in the loosest sense of the term), as Charged promises to bring back all the high-impact tackles, shots, and electric fences from the first game, with some new additions. The game features some new hazards and power-ups, including standards like the Super Mushroom, and new stadiums (17, up from 10 in Strikers), which now feature stadium-specific hazards and pitfalls, whereas the fields in Strikers just featured different terrain with no variations in gameplay.

The biggest gameplay change is, of course, the Wii Remote and the new control possibilities it offers. Interestingly enough, the Remote’s pointer functionality is seldom used in the game, with the exception of the new Mega Strike attacks. As upgraded versions of the Super Strikes from Strikers, Mega Strikers are mighty kicks that split the ball into six pieces, sending them hurtling towards the goal. This begins a minigame where the opposing player takes control of the goalie, and must shoot the pieces as they fall from the sky. A player can potentially score – or give up – six goals in these situations, depending on the skill of the goalkeeper.

Lastly, the biggest addition to Mario Strikers Charged is an online mode, allowing players to use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and compete in matches with friends over the Internet. Games can have up to four players (two per Wii console), and feature two types of matches; random ranked matches, and friendly matches (which require the ever-popular friend codes). Ranked matches will allow players to battle those of similar skill levels to improve their own rank, while trying to achieve the “Striker of the Day”, which is whomever earns the most points during one season.

"Okay, pass it! I'm big!" "Why are you big?" "I DON'T KNOW!"

As is the case with most Wii sequels to GameCube titles, Mario Strikers Charged doesn’t look much different from its predecessor. Lighting and polygons seem to have been given a bump to go alongside some cool-looking effects, so it isn’t a total bust. The game will also feature plenty of unlockables, including new captains, sidekicks, and stadiums.

While Super Mario Strikers was a fun soccer experience in its own right, Mario Strikers Charged looks to put the series on full-throttle with some cool new gameplay elements, new characters, and of course, online play. We’ll see if Charged scores or gets the red card when it is released on June 30th.

Eric Jones