Cheat Index - Super Mario Strikers GameCube Review

There's a simple truth: sports games don't sell as well on GameCube as they do on PlayStation 2 or Xbox. Take, for example, the relative performance of EA's Madden NFL franchise across the three platforms. The title sells best on PlayStation 2, which has the biggest installed base so it makes sense. But surprisingly, Xbox figures aren't too far off. Easily and without question the biggest gap lies with GameCube numbers, which are always disappointing by comparison. So really, what is Nintendo to do? The answer, it seems, is to slap Mario and friends on the covers of these sports games. Big N fans may not line up to play a GameCube baseball title, but they might spend their money on a baseball effort with characters from the Mushroom Kingdom. Hence, we've seen Mario, Luigi and Peach cameo in everything from the SSX to NBA Street franchises. It's a dirty strategy, but it's also one that works. As much as we're loath to admit it, we oftentimes find ourselves increasingly drawn to these sports entries after we learn that Nintendo's trademark characters will star in them.

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.

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