Good, but not good enough. Not a massive amount of improvement compared to its prequel
Entertaining gaming fun, its online service is free!, new captains and sidekicks (I think there’s not enough though), more tactical than prequel which makes it more interesting choosing your characters to face your mate, mix & match different sidekicks, best of all multi-player mayhem fun, special laugh-out-loud sidekick moves
Bad:
Not the biggest graphical step ever from previous game, really only a party game, REALLY TOUGH (WHAT WERE YOU THINKING NEXT LEVEL) certainly next level the difficulty is though, its just too hard, almost like a typical 2-D Mario platformer, its frustrating at times e.g. you get to the semi-final after playing 10 very tough matches and you lose, guess what you have to start all over again
Mario Strikers Charged, the first online game for the Wii (Outside of Japan anyway). And the game delivers on most fronts, except some aren’t. You can’t help but feeling that the game is only a multi-player game. The single-player mode offers a sort of toned down career mode, which is called “Road to the Striker Cup”. Which, in truth is rather short too short in fact. There is also a Striker Challenge Mode. Twelve varied challenges at different difficulty levels. But in all its too difficult for 99.9% of players who will play Mario Strikers. Again its too short. There is also “Domination Mode” which primary job is for multi-player matches against the computer.
The game is well presented, you can feel some improvement over its prequel, not massively much, but there is some improvement since last time. There are new abilities this time, with sidekicks getting a new special ability each. It makes you think more carefully when picking your team, because certain teams with a certain mix of abilities can play well. For example, Birdo’s is an egg ability, charge up for a shot and an unstoppable egg will come out of her mouth, it will smash past the goalie, providing there is no enemy character in the way of the goal. Also new sidekicks: Dry Bones, Shy Guy, “fat” Monty Mole, Hammer Koopas. New captains too are, F
Diddy Kong Jr, Bowser Jr and Petey Piranha (I think, I haven’t unlocked him yet because the game is too hard). There are new characters, but possibly not enough in my view.
Graphically the game has some improvement, minimal though. There much more brightness and shading effects and the graphics are sharper. Very few less glitches where, for example the ball would go straight through the goalie’s arm after you hit a shot. There is some improvement, but not massively.
Gameplay wise, the game delivers for most part. There is an annoying tactic where people pass the ball in the air. From a defensive point of view the ball is impossible to get back, you’d have to really tackle them before they get the ball, thus then conceding what could be a vital match-winning weapon. Another is Dry Bones and Waluigi’s disappear trick, which is frankly cheating. You’ll understand when you see this “unfair” trick in action.
In audio terms the game uses a wide range of different genres of music. Normally each stadium has a different song each. Though some are distasteful and don’t match the way the game is being played. For example certain songs do not match the tempo of some games, there too cheery and quiet, yet on the pitch characters are tackling each other by headbutting. But overall most songs are decent and varied.
Advanced Tactics
Compared to Mario Smash Football, where you could only pick one type of sidekick, now you can mix and match characters to give your team a balanced, attacking, defensive or aggressive edge. Why wasn’t this concept introduced in Mario Smash Football? I just don’t know? But certainly it’s a better idea, and something to really ponder when choosing your team to play somebody else in the same room of another country.
Online Verdict
As its Nintendo’s proper online playing debut it’s only right we see if it’s any good. Of course people have been moaning about the lack of intuitive online features on the Wii from Nintendo. And they have a point.
However (depending on your internet connection power) you will get some lag at certain times when playing. And the server will break down occasionally. But overall it’s decent. I’m sure it will get improved over time. Even though you can’t quit when playing you can turn off the power or remove the connection to your Wii. But only sad people do that, and they do sadly. People also use deliberate tricks or tactics which can make you paranoid. It also makes sense why Nintendo have decided to make wi-fi matches region locked if you like. It’s clearly to do with a lag problem. The online service is fine, if not a bit annoying at times.