In Mario Super Sluggers for the Nintendo Wii you have access to over 40 characters from the entire history of Mario games.  Fans will recognize everyone from Donkey Kong to King Ghost.  In addition, as with all Wii games, you can play as your Mii character in several of the modes.

The game itself has several modes.  In the Training mode you…uh, train.  It’s not a bad tutorial, but beyond the basics, a better way to learn the skills necessary to win is in the Challenge Mode.

In the Challenge Mode you compete in several mini games or “challenges” if you will.  The Sluggers in MARIO SUPER SLUGGERS won’t join just any team.  To get them to join your squad you must defeat them.  Along the way to building your All Star Team, you learn special skills and moves which will help you defeat Bowser and triumph in the one player mode.  This is also the quickest way to unlock characters and levels which are not available to you when you first begin the game.

In the Toy Field Mode, you can compete against the computer or up to three opponents.  These baseball themed games are fun, it’s true.  There are hitting and fielding options all played on, you guessed it, a toy field.  As a not quite baseball fan, however, I found these games not quite as fun as the other Mini Games in the regular Mini Games mode.  That said, both modes offer good clean fun, just as we’ve come to expect from the Wii.

 

The most fun you’ll have though, and perhaps the one that will leave your arm sore, is the exhibition mode.  In exhibition mode, you and your opponents choose a team of classic Mario characters and square off.  You have some standard options including number of innings-- up to five innings long, and whether or not you have a mercy rule.  And those familiar with a Wii will be familiar with the control options.  You swing for batting, and “toss” to pitch—rotating your wrist for curveball options.  As stated earlier, batting seems hard, but I was NEVER good at regular baseball, and even the best players only hit 3-4 out of ten pitches… Shaking the remote makes you run faster in the in and outfields.  Using just the remote allows for the players you’re not controlling to make more intuitive decisions—ie catching a fly for an out.  Players who wish for more control can use the nunchuk attachment.

If this aspect of Exhibition Mode all sounds pretty standard for the Wii, perhaps I should tell you about the parts of SUPER SLUGGERS that make it unique.  Every one of your Captains—including Donkey Kong, Mario, Peach, Luigi, and others have special pitching and hitting powers that allow for some powerful, and powerfully fun special moves.  Some are obvious—Mario throws a fireball pitch—others are just as entertaining if slightly surprising.  (Anyone wondering about where the bullet guys from SUPER MARIO BROS, need to check out Bowser’s special power pitch.)  In addition, certain characters can work co-operatively while fielding to do things like catch a sure fire home run—one of the best features of the game!  Every field has its own special features as well.  Donkey Kong’s Jungle forces you to dodge barrels in the outfield, while Wario’s world requires you to avoid manholes and water traps.

 

The one gripe I have with the game is the lack of an online play option.  Wii continues to trail behind both the 360 and PS3 with this game.  Those who were excited by the online options available in MARIO KART will be disappointed to se Nintendo return to turning its back on the Wii’s internet possibilities.  I hope that Nintendo eventually rectifies this.  Still, even without an internet option, MARIO SUPER SLUGGERS still offers plenty of game play to keep you, and up to four friends, occupied for endless hours of enjoyment.

My suggestion?  Fans of the Wii and baseball should pick up the game.  Fans of nostalgic 8-bit Mario characters in newer games should pick it up.  Fans of fun should pick it up.  Who shouldn’t pick up this game?  Communists.  And maybe Klingons.  I have to give MARIO SUPER SLUGGERS for the Wii an A .  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to do batting practice.

Finally, here’s a video of the game that Nintendo gave us…

 

Collider video or audio content ... very cool stuff