Mario Strikers Charged - updated hands-on

Okay, we get the drill by now: Americans aren't as in love with soccer/football as the rest of the world. Maybe it's because we have the NFL, maybe it's because we have short attention spans so games that end with a score of 2-1 aren't that exciting. Maybe it's because we don't love that guy who shouts "GOAAAAAAALLL!" for such a long time that his face turns blue and his grandkids call 911. Or maybe, just maybe, it's because we couldn't set the goalie's hands on fire, knock opponents out with deadly flatulence, and send a giant egg the size of a volkswagon screeching into the net to clear a path for the ball.

We can't really help you with those first reasons, but is that last one is what's keeping you from declaring soccer to be truly beautiful, Mario Strikers Charged is the game for you. While the first title was adequate but not flashy, this Wii-powered sequel was developed with three major improvements in mind: create more depth for skilled players to dig into, make the characters more different from one another, and take the action online already. All three look to be here in spades.

Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.