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I don't usually play sports games — mostly because they take themselves too seriously. I do enjoy Mario-themed sports games, because in the end, it's not really about the sport, it's about abusing as many power-ups as you can to win. Mario Strikers Charged is no different. It is so chaotic that you'll find yourself yelling at the opposing team not for scoring, but for hindering your play with some insane power-up. But that is what makes this game of football (aka soccer) fun.

The multiplayer aspect might have something to do with the fun factor. This game supports up to four players, online and offline. Sports games are never all that exciting to play alone. Beating the computer only means you can brag to yourself as no one else cares. There are several modes of play, which gives you the opportunity to unlock cheats so that you can change the gameplay in Domination mode — essentially a free-for-all match.

Road to Striker Cup has you playing against each team, round-robin style, so that you can win a nice trophy for your Hall of Fame. Challenges mode throws you into situations in which you need to meet the goals they give you. Some challenges will require you to win by a certain number of goals, or some might require you make sure the other team doesn't score. Regardless, these challenges go up in difficulty, and after awhile, you'll find that the computer can be much too hard.

When you choose your team, you'll have to choose your captain (unless it's already assigned). There are 12 captains in total, and each has their own statistics. Your captain is also the only one that can pull an incredibly cheese megastrike shot in which they can fire up to six shots at the goalie, and it's up to a player, or the computer, to block those shots. When you charge your shot and release, a meter pops up with a fast-moving line that will determine how many shots you're going to fire. Then you need to try and stop that line within a certain area on the meter to determine how difficult your shots are going to be to block. If you're the one getting shot at, you need to use the Wii-mote to block those shots. If the opposing team lined its meter correctly, those balls will be coming in fast.

Other team members have different megastrike shots. For example, Hammer Brother will take out the goalie with his hammers before trying to take a shot, and Shy Guy will ride a bullet into the goalie. However, it is extremely difficult to score using this method. At least, it's much more difficult than doing the captain's cheapshot. Using the D-pad will let you slide into opponents, and this is the best way to interrupt captains who are about to pull off their megastrike. Power-ups can be used as soon as they show up at the top of your screen.

Each stadium also has its own quirks. Some are hard to run on, some have electric bolts all over the place, and some even have lava and fireballs coming at you. Some stadiums make it hard to see your team players. This is part of the challenge of Mario Strikers Charged, and you'll have to adjust your strategy accordingly.

The graphics for Mario Strikers Charged is good, although the megastrike animations are repetitive, and eventually, you'll find yourself avoiding them in the interest of not wasting real-life minutes. There isn't much going on for dialogue except for a few lines here and there, and the music doesn't really get your heart rate up.

Mario Strikers Charged is really about the gameplay, and it does a great job of keeping things hectic and fun. Some might find it a bit of the mess and hard to get into because everything is moving, and turtle shells are flying. You'll find that the game is definitely worth playing with friends, but if they're not up for it, you may want to pass on this one and save it for a rental.