The latest game to take advantage of this formula is Super Mario Strikers from Next Level Games. Diehard GameCube owners might recognize the developer as the same studio that brought us Soccer Slam a few years ago. That was a solid effort with a lot of good ideas, but it was also an incredible bomb -- according to data, approximately three people bought it. Strikers in many ways feels like Soccer Slam. It's designed so that it's immediately accessible. It's what we like to call "arcadey," which means that it plays fast and friendly, but lacks on options and depth. And the two games even share a similar visual presentation. They unfortunately also share most of the same technical shortcomings. As a result, Strikers -- like Soccer Slam before it -- proves to be a fun and enjoyable multiplayer title, but kicks a little short of the goal where the single-player mode is concerned.
It's Go Time
We like Next Level Games' style. The studio has avoided the Nintendo template where Super Mario Strikers' presentation is concerned. There's no filler storyline to set up the action that follows. You in contrast simply choose the mode you want to play, define a couple of match options and you're off. However, this is not to suggest that the game is also void of personality. Actually, the software house deserves a pat on the back for aspiring to give Nintendo's trademark characters a visual edge that appropriately gels with the sometimes brutal sport of soccer. Classic mascots such as Mario, Luigi and even Yoshi look just a little bit meaner. Meanwhile, Nintendo prudes will probably find themselves taken aback with Peach's outfit, which shows more of the character than we've ever seen before. In another game, especially were guns involved, we might find these makeovers to be forced, but they fit in the Strikers universe, particularly when you find yourself slamming an opponent into a wall.
The gameplay modes in Strikes are self explanatory and disappointingly slim. The meat and potatoes of the game are its Cup and (later unlocked) Super Cup Battles -- the equivalent of tournaments in other sports titles. You can also set up a quick Grudge Match against a friend or an AI-controlled opponent. There's a Custom Battles option, which more or less enables you the freedom to design a no-frills Cup Battle. There's a tutorial mode and there's a trophy section. That's it. You can to the game's credit define skill levels, match times, and whether various power ups can be used in matches, but even so, none of the aforementioned modes comes anywhere close to a franchise offering in other titles.
Worse is the underwhelming selection of characters and the manner in which teams must be designed. When creating a team, you must first pick a captain, which is always a major mascot -- and there are only nine featured in the game. The big ones are covered, at least. You get everybody from Mario, Peach and Daisy to Kong, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi. The problem is that you can't choose multiple captains per team. Instead, you're forced to populate the rest of your group with one sidekick character, and there are only a paltry four to choose from. So, for example, if you choose Waluigi as your team captain and Birdo as your sidekick, your four-character team will be Waluigi plus three Birdos. Given that Strikers is a Mario sports title, we expected both more Mushroom Kingdom characters to choose from and more flexibility in the manner in which we assign said mascots.
Finally, the game's selection of stadiums is equally lackluster. There are only seven and many of them look very similar. The differences between the stadiums in Strikers are purely aesthetic, which is in direct contrast to Mario Superstar Baseball, whose various venues presented unique challenges and obstacles. As a result, you might find yourself growing tired of the backgrounds before too long.
Of course, if you're looking at Strikers solely for the core game experience, then you can disregard the last three paragraphs and keep reading. You'll be pleased to know that, although not without flaws, this is one of the most addictive multiplayer titles to hit GameCube in quite some time. With two or more people, it is transformed into one of those games that you just can't stop playing. We're unable to count how many times we said, "All right, just one more match," as we tested the title with co-workers. And, you know, the single-player mode is fun, too, but to a lesser extent.
Strikers is so fun with friends because it has the necessary ingredients for heated matches and lots of smack talking -- namely, tight control, a quick pace, and truly brutal moves. The basics are all in place. You can run or sprint with the ball, pass or lob to teammates, deke and even charge up shots for cinematically satisfying results. If you time your shots just right, your captain will leap into the air and an impressive bullet-time-like scene will show him or her booting the ball (often with fireball and all) into the goal. Playing offense is therefore highly entertaining.
But what separates Strikers from any competitor is that playing defense is every bit as enjoyable, if not more so. This is because you can be a really mean bastard and slam any opposing player into an electrified wall, upon which they will drop control of the ball and scream out in exaggerated pain. You can also unleash a host of special moves to aid your cause. For instance, tapping the X button will send everything from slippery bananas to explosive Bob-ombs at any competing character in your path.
Everything gels incredibly well together for a gaming experience that is both frantic, but not without strategy. Novice players will be able to hold their own and have fun. But pros will learn all of the intricacies, from timing power shots to one-touch passes and one-timer shots.
Complementing the action is the fact that the game supports for players simultaneously. You and a friend can play on the same team against two other people for some truly heated matches. Our only gripe in this regard is that you'll often be competing with your teammate to be in control of the team captain, as he or she is the only one able to execute the bigger charge moves.
Unfortunately, in our experience the single-player mode is not quite as enjoyable as the multiplayer one in the same way that playing against AI in a fighting game is not as rewarding as squaring off against a friend. Strikers' mechanics are so fundamentally perfect for multiplayer matches and lots of trash talk. It's when you put a friend in a wall and they cry out in surprise that the game is at its best. You just don't get that with a computer player and without it, it becomes much easier to dwell on the title's repeating stadiums and characters.
We like Next Level Games' art style, yes, but the company technical ability could be improved. Strikers suffers from a number of unfortunate graphic shortcomings, including blurry textures, uninspired stadium designs, and almost incomprehensibly a sometimes sluggish framerate. The game, however, does at least run in both progressive-scan mode and 16x9 widescreen.
