The folks over at Nintendo were kind enough to send us an advance copy of their new Wii sports game, Mario Strikers Charged. I’ve always been a big fan of all Mario sports games over the years, whether it’s golf, tennis or soccer. Strikers signals the debut of Mario sports games for the Wii and proves that the Mario Sports franchise is as strong as ever. If you’re feeling a bit hesitant about making this purchase, don’t be. Strikers utilizes the Wii Remote and Nunchuk perfectly, allowing for very intuitive gameplay and ridiculously fun times.

Let’s start with the Wii controller setup. Sports gamers like myself were initially turned off to the idea of the Wii’s controller mixing with sports games. But Wii Sports and Mario Strikers are proving the naysayers wrong. Players use the joystick on the nunchuk to move their character, while using the Wii Remote’s buttons for the essentials: Shoot and pass. However, there’s far more than that. The motion-sensing capabilities on the controller are used as a hit stick. By flicking the remote, you can control some bone-crushing tackles not normally found on a soccer field. Games of Mario Strikers resemble a hockey game more than soccer with the amount of hits you can lay on people. Using Donkey Kong? You’ll be able to physically dominate most games.

There’s a few noticeable upgrades in Mario Strikers Charged when compared to its Gamecube predecessor, Super Mario Strikers. Unlike the Gamecube version, which required you to play with a team of generic characters alongside your captain, Mario Strikers Charged allows you to choose your entire team, similar to Mario Baseball (Note to Nintendo: PLEASE release Mario Baseball on the Wii.) After choosing your team captain, you’re able to choose three “sidekicks” to play with him. Whether you’re looking for playmaking (Boo and Toad), balance (Koopa and Shy Guy), defense (Dry Bones) or power (Birdo and Monty Mole), you’ll be able to build your team. However, your goalie will still be a Kremling from the Donkey Kong Country series.

Hint: We’ve found that one of the strongest lineups to take is a Monty Mole in defense with a Boo and a Hammer Bro on the front lines. The Monty Mole demolishes anyone trying to get near the goal, and Boo makes up for weak scoring with ridiculous speed. Hammer Bro also has an awesome specialty goal where he’ll throw multiple hammers to knock down the goalie and slip in an easy goal.

For the first time, you’ll be able to take your team and play them online, using Nintendo Wi-Fi. Early reports say that online play is lag-free. And besides, what’s better than taking your crew and beating down a bunch of people 1000 miles away? If you choose to stay offline and play, you can play to a certain number of goals or a set time limit. For you beginners, play at the highest difficulty and see how long you last. Skill Level 5, or Megastriker, may be the hardest difficulty ever created on a video game. You can also play in a cup mode, which begins as a round robin tournament between six different teams. If you finish in the top four of the group, you qualify for the knockout stages, with the opportunity to unlock Diddy Kong, Petey Piranha, or Bowser Jr.

As was the case in the original Mario Strikers, player celebrations are incredibly entertaining. The theme, once again, appears to be wrestling taunts. Instead of Waluigi telling you to suck it, you’re now treated to the signature Randy Orton pose. If you’re playing with Peach or Daisy, she’ll score before gyrating her ass like a stripper. It’s something you don’t usually expect in a Nintendo title, which is why it’s so amusing.

All in all, Mario Strikers Charged appears to be a definite winner. They’ve kept the dominant gameplay from the Gamecube version and gotten very creative with the Wii’s new technology. The game will be released on July 30th. Get to a store and you’ll be winning trophies in no time.