Mario Strikers Charged

Mario Strikers Charged (Mario Strikers Charged Football in Europe) for Nintendo Wii is the second game in the Mario Strikers franchise, preceded by the Nintendo GameCube title Super Mario Strikers. Charged is to soccer as Mario Kart is to racing: while the basic rules are intact, many additions and modifications to them are in place. The game is currently planned to utilize Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for online multiplayer.

Rules of Strikers
As mentioned above, Strikers is loosely based off of soccer. However, the sport played is much more physical. Each team is headed by a captain, supported by three offensive/defensive sidekicks and one goalie. Two teams face each other with the aim of scored the most points. Points are scored by shooting the ball past the goalie and into the goal. The use of hands by any player except for the goalie is prohibited. However, if a player normally uses his or her hands for walking, such as Donkey Kong, an exception is made. Additional exceptions are made for Boos, who have no legs.

When making a pass or a shot, players may either send a normal shot or a charged shot. Charged shots take longer to perform but are faster and more likely to be successful. The Mega Strike, a special offensive maneuver only available to team captains, is performed by charging up, launching oneself into the air through an unknown method and performing a personalized technique in the air that splits the ball into more than one and fires the balls towards the goal. The exact number of balls varies. Goalies must then attempt to block as many as possible, smashing any balls that are stopped.

When a goal is made, play is stopped and the ball is returned to the center of the field. The captain of the team scored upon then performs a kick-off, usually to one of his or her players.

Players are allowed to attack each other within reason. For example, a player may body check another, but he or she is not allowed to punch or kick the player while he or she is down. The use of items, such as those seen in the Mario Kart series, is also permitted. Players may earn these by charging up their shots or by being fouled against, or being attacked while not in possession of the ball. On a side note, the amount of protective equipment players wear has increased.

Stadiums used are often dangerous, which is something players often take advantage of. For example, in stadiums where an electric fence protects the audience from the players and items, it is not uncommon that an offensive player will be slammed into it, temporarily incapacitating him or her.

On a side note, the balls used in Charged are different from the soccer ball-inspired design of Super Mario Strikers. The new balls are metallic and give off light, making them more visible to audiences.

Game Play
In order to play Strikers, one must attach the Nunchuk controller to the main Wii Remote. One character is controlled by each player at a time. Movement is handled with the Control Stick on the Nunchuk as the GameCube Control Sick did the previous title. The A Button passes the ball when in possession and changes the character controlled when not. When in possession of the ball, players cannot change characters. The B Button is used for shooting the ball. By shaking or swinging the Remote, your character can attack another. Holding the Nunchuk’s Z Button while passing or shooting the ball turns the shot into a lob. Gamespy.com reports that a “special attack” is performed if a player presses the C Button. Details on this are slim, although in one of IGN.com’s videos for the game, Donkey Kong can be seen knocking away opponents by pounding on his chest without using an item. Bowser can be seen in a screenshot breathing fire. There is an item with a flame as its icon in his inventory, although according to various videos, as soon as an item is used, it disappears from one’s inventory.

To perform a Mega Strike, players must first activate the shot by holding the B Button. A meter with a scrolling line inside then appears over the captain. Using timed presses of a button, players should attempt to highlight the colored parts of the meter, it this determines the number of points a Mega Strike can be worth. After the captain jumps into the air, the offensive team’s work is over. One player controlling the defensive team is automatically given control of their goalie in a first-person perspective. By moving the Wii Remote, players move the goalie’s hands, and by pressing the A Button, players block the balls. Each ball that gets past the goalie is worth one point, unlike Super Strike goals in Super Mario Strikers, which were worth two. The highest number of balls sent at the goalie seems to be five, although it has not been confirmed.

Up to four players the game at once, although only two teams will ever face one another at any given time. However, more than one player can control each team.

Confirmed Characters
As this game has not been releases, readers should not be alarmed if their favorite character is not confirmed here. The complete roster is unconfirmed and only several characters have been confirmed.

Captains
A captain is the leading player on each team and the only member who can perform a Mega Strike. The confirmed captains are:
 * Mario: Introduced as he falls from the sky by a short electric guitar tune, Mario’s team has only been seen wearing red. His Mega Strike appears turns him into metal before he hits the ball.
 * Peach: With a seductive, electric theme song, Peach struts onto the field in a suggestive manner. Her team color has only been pink.  Princess Peach sprouts.
 * Donkey Kong: Like Mario, Donkey Kong lands onto the field from the sky, but his theme song is a drum piece reminiscent of the jungle. For his special shot, he charges up electricity in his arms and claps them together on the ball.  DK has been seen performing a special attack where he pounds his chest, using the shockwaves to push players aside.
 * Wario: Little is known about Wario, but his team color appears to be yellow.
 * Waluigi: He has not appeared in any screenshots or videos.
 * Bowser: Seen in a yellow and more recently a red shell, Bowser may also breathe fire. It is unknown if this is a special attack or is brought on by the effects of an item.  In either case, Bowser appears to be able to walk around and burn multiply opponents, who run in agony, as seen in one screenshot.
 * Bowser Jr.: He has not appeared in any screenshots or videos.

Whether Luigi, Yoshi, Daisy, and the Super Team will be playable is unconfirmed, although they were playable in Super Mario Strikers. Based on Nintendo’s tendency to bring back most of the characters from previous games in each sequel in a series, it is very likely that many of them will be in the game. Still, as seen in the transition from Mario Golf to Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, this is not always the case. There will be a total of twelve captains.

Sidekicks
Sidekicks make up the backbone of the team. Although they are simply nondescript members of a species, they are still capable. Each species has its own strengths and weaknesses. The confirmed sidekicks are:
 * Toad
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Birdo
 * Hammer Bro.
 * Boo
 * Dry Bones
 * Shy Guy

There will be eight total sidekicks, leaving one still to be revealed. He or she may be seen in some of the newer screenshots, although it isn’t clear who he or she is. In recent screenshots, a round sidekick appears, although it always seems as though his or her face is obscured. This may be one of the previously announced sidekicks or the new one. The best hypothesis is that this is Monty Mole.

Goalies
It is unknown whether or not players will be able to choose their goalies. So far, only one has been shown to the public: While the game has not been released yet, there has been no selection of goalies in the demo versions.
 * Kritter

Stadiums/Fields
Unlike Super Mario Strikers, the stadiums in Charged appear to be more than simple cosmetic changes. Four have been seen in demos and in screenshots.
 * The Vice: Resembling the grass stadiums in the previous game, this field features the famous electric fence that protects the audience from flying balls, items, rubble, and even players. Based off of this stadium, the sport appears to have grown in popularity, as there are countless thousands of players cramming themselves in and craning their necks to see the game.  The seating areas are metal themed, with structures resembling giant Warp Pipes.
 * Thunder Island: A dark, ominous course, Thunder Island is also one of the most dangerous. Located on the top of an island amid foggy waters, players who move or are pushed out of bounds are not stopped by an electric fence.  Instead, they tumble down the cliff and are transported back into the center of the field shortly after.  When the ball goes out of bounds, a new one reappears instantly in the center of the field.  Additionally, matches are played during thunder storms.  Lightning tends to hit this course, and although it is unconfirmed, seems to be attracted to the metallic ball, an added danger for the player in possession.  Audience members sit in seats attached to the cliff of a nearby island.  The field is made of stone and its difficulty is rated “Lethal” according to the Games Convention 2006 demo.
 * Unnamed Desert Course: Seen only in a screenshot, this course may feature a Whomp with spikes that rams down on the field, although this may simply be an item. There does not appear to be a stadium surrounding the field, although there are a series of pillars that can be seen.  The field is made of rock.
 * Unnamed Lava Course: Also seen only in a screenshot, this field is made of dark rock. Lava glows through holes in the field to act as field markings.  Surrounded by a pool of lava, this course does not appear to have a stadium.  There appear to be mechanical or castle pillars surrounding it.

Items
One of the most critical elements of a team’s strategy is its use of items. Regardless of which player earned an item, any member of that player’s team may use it. Based on a recent screenshot that revealed a lava course, some items may be character specific. Bowser appears to be breathing fire in this shot, and an item that appears as a flame in the item inventory is also seen in the shot.

Items from Super Mario Strikers
These items appeared in the original Strikers. While there exact use cannot be known until the game is released to the public, it is likely that they will have nearly the same effect in the sequel. Readers should note that this is an incomplete list.


 * Banana x3
 * Blue Shell
 * Blue Shell x3
 * Bob-omb
 * Green Shell x3
 * Mushroom
 * Red Shell
 * Red Shell x3
 * Spiny Shell x3

Unknown Items
There is little information regarding items specific to Charged, but some have been seen in demos for the game.


 * Camera Item: When used, a photograph is taken of the field, and all players who are in this photograph are frozen inside. However, very shortly after the user is released.  Other players must wait longer, giving the user more time to power up a shot.  This item has only been seen in Peach's inventory.
 * Flame Item (possibly a Bowser-specific item): Seen in Bowser’s inventory, this may be how players activate his flame breath, which sends burnt players running. However, the flame breath may be a special attack, similar to Donkey Kong’s chest pounding.
 * Thwomp: Seen crashing down unto the desert field, this may either a course element or an item.
 * Double "M" Emblem Item: Only seen in Mario's inventory, when this item appeared a trumpet blast played rather than the usual electronic ring. It has been spculated that by using this item, players are able to make Mario grow in size.  The effects would then be like the Mega Mushroom, wherein Mario is temporarily invincible and able to kick opponents out of his way.

It speculation is correct, then each player has a special item that cannot be earned by anyone else, as characters did in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Each of these items allows players to greatly deter opponents.