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.

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