Nerd Mentality

Mario Strikers Charged is exactly the kind of sequel I was hoping for. It plays similarly to its predecessor, which means that it's got tight control and it moves at a quick, arcade-style pace. But it's also got a lot of mechanical and aesthetic enhancements, from new Wii gesture controls that feel great to truly polished graphics. There's added content. More characters to choose from than ever before. You can select sidekicks, who now come with special moves of their own. There are wealth of new interactive stages. And there are even some supplemental single-player modes. When you're done with Road to the Striker Cup, you can try out the Striker Challenges, which throw you into situations and test you to come out the victor; as you win, you'll unlock cheats that can be used in the offline multiplayer mode.

There are, though, some lingering issues. Despite the added depth, the single-player mode again takes a distant back seat to the multiplayer one, as the CPU-controlled characters just don't match up with human opponents. After awhile, you'll begin to notice the inevitable repetitive wave of matches. And there are also some issues with the online interface -- namely, that you still have to use unintuitive friend codes and that there's no way to communicate with each other while playing.

Despite these criticisms, whether you're playing against friends or in random ranked matches, the online mode is fast and -- if you've got a good connection -- lag free, successfully nurturing the high-action nature of the game. And since you can play four-players online -- two to a Wii -- Charged truly is one of the best multiplayer experiences that can be found on the system. I've connected every night since I first started playing and this game has me convinced that there is a very bright future for Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

If you thought the original Strikers was good, you haven't seen anything yet. And if you've never played these soccer games before, now is the time to start.

EDIT: Bleeper: Give it a rest already, the graphics are fine. The character models are nicely detailed upclose, and this game has the best looking crowd in any sport game ever. I still can't tell if they're very well done 2D or 3D. During actual gameplay the game is smooth and crisp and the effects are a nice addition, but then the graphics don't matter all that much anyway because the camera is pretty far from the action.
I don't really like the menus though, and the framerate slightly dips during replays.

I judge a game as looking good if i can honeslty believe that it could not have been done on the GC. I am sorry but if someone said that those graphics were next gen before i realised the Wii would have disappointing graphics, I would be disppointed. Plus my main beef was with the score, i always assumed an 8 on graphics shows that the developers put in a decent effort, nothing to blow you away but pretty looking and makes good use of the hardware. Now although the game is not ugly and it might be limited by art style, i don't think it's making good use of the hardware.

kinopio

Me too, I need a second nunchuck to play with the wife (she loved the first one on Gamecube [especially when I used to deliberately let her win]). Thankfully when I have friends over everyone brings their controllers and we always end up with like a dozen remotes and nunchucks .

Cool, I on the other hand alway play co-op with my bros against the computer. I don't trust the AI to position itself well so us three strategise together and whoop some serouis ass.

BTW, do you have NTSC in Saudi Arabia?

Yeah, my Wii is NTSC, although all formats and regions can be found here.

kinopio

Multiplayer truly is fantastic, an experience up there with the likes of Mariokart and Smash Bros...

...Online is a boring snorefest IMO. I've only played with random strangers though.

I'm with ya there in general terms. There is NOTHING like playing with real life friends in the same room. Soom beer, chips, and loud as gaming! Online gaming is cool but I just can't get too excited about it. I guess that's the old school in me.
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Hi.

Wazzupy

Wii Play maybe (how much is it, and does it come with anything extra? A Wiimote?), but I don't think Excite Truck warrants a purchase from me; I played it at the same friend's house that I played Strikers, and although it was fun while it lasted, I don't think it would get very much play time. :/

That last statement is madness. I still play Excite Truck now and I got it at launch. The game is awesome.

I'd just like to reiterate that Nintendo sucks ass for not making the online mode work across regions. Screw them.

You're fucking joking right? So does that mean i'd only be able to play people in the Pal region? Why is the Wii's online gaming so shit?

Mahatma Ghandi

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

Brawl- 2320-5856-7241

Rogue

I'd just like to reiterate that Nintendo sucks ass for not making the online mode work across regions. Screw them.

It is possible to play with other people in different regions with the Friend Codes. The ranked is region only but you can play people from NA if you have their friend code.

To be fair even with Xbox Live the connections with people in Europe and other areas isn't that strong either.

Paul Weller

Rented this game. Never played the original. It's fun, but it's not that great. I don't like the mega goal thing where you get like 3000 goals. It's easy to do after a while and gets cheap. It also gets boring defending against the balls.

Some of the power ups aren't balanced

Try playing on Wifi. You have a hard time getting those mega shots. And if you do have a good mega shot against you, you are scrambling to get those blocked.