The title begins with an absolutely stunning pre-rendered intro showcasing characters like Mario and Peach battling it out on the soccer field against Waluigi and Bowser, and not only is the art and choreography beautiful, but there's no artifacting whatsoever - the video couldn't possibly be cleaner. Take, for instance, the game's crisp, detailed and wholly stylized visual presentation, which actually made us wonder if the experience could be duplicated on GameCube probably not, we think. Wii hasn't even been out a year and we've seen too many of these careless releases to count, so it is incredibly refreshing to behold an effort that looks and plays like it was created specifically for Nintendo's new system and not rushed to it, and for that Next Level Games has earned our respect. These lazy undertakings aren't official ports, but they always have that same air about them - that they might have started out as GCN or PS2 projects until someone got wind of Wii sales and decided to go with a quick, no-fuss port instead. Just take what worked for GameCube and do it again. So many developers have taken the easy route when it comes to creating software for Wii. Charged still has some shortcomings, and yet it's a definite improvement over its predecessor in every facet and ultimately one of the best multiplayer offerings available for Wii, period. It's also spruced up the overall graphical presentation and added a full-blown online mode - the first one on Nintendo's new console worth mentioning. Thankfully, for the official Wii sequel, Mario Strikers Charged, many of these criticisms have been addressed, but Next Level Games hasn't stopped there. And the selection of characters and stadiums seemed as light as the CPU-controlled artificial intelligence. Special moves called megastrikes practically guaranteed goals. Gamers could select their team captains, but they couldn't pick their sidekicks. As a single-player outing, however, it lacked depth. Nobody had any idea what to expect from the endeavor, but it proved to be surprisingly enjoyable, particularly as a multiplayer affair. JTwo years ago Nintendo and development studio Next Level Games released Super Mario Strikers - a title that married a very untraditional approach to the sport of soccer with the lovable characters from the Mushroom Kingdom - for GameCube. Does Nintendo score a goal with its online-ready soccer-fest sequel? Find out inside.
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