Baseball Shouldn't Hurt This Much

by Tommy Skaggs

(note from Jim: Tommy is one of my co-workers here at KIRO. Since he works on a different floor, I'm not entirely sure what he does. I think he deals with the scheduling of commericials. Though I'm positive he's a hard worker and asset to the company. Anyhoo, he's a great guy and a true video gamer.)

Mario and his pals hit the mound in Nintendo’s newest title, Mario Super Sluggers. This game features exhibition play, a mission-mode, and a handful of mini-games.

Now, this isn’t the first time the gang came together to play some ball. In 2005, Nintendo released Mario Superstar Baseball for the Gamecube. It’s almost eerie how similar the two games are. The game play, special moves, and graphics are almost all copied. The only real difference is the wrist-action associated with the Wii Remote. It is even odd how the games’ cover art resembles each other.

In Story Mode the player must acquire teammates to take down Bowser. This is accomplished by moving throughout each themed stadium, and performing tasks for a variety of characters. If they approve, they will join your team! Some of the tasks will ask the player to find something or solve a puzzle, while most will require a successful baseball challenge.

Many Wii owners are weary when it comes to purchasing sports games. “Why buy a bowling, golf, or baseball game when it’s already available on Wii Sports?” Mario Super Sluggers offers many options not available on Wii Sports. Change of lineup, team members and items are just to name a few. You are even able to control the fielders. Unlike Wii Sports, the batting and pitching are a little more difficult. When I played the game with my wife, she did not like the “charge” stances for pitcher and batter. The controller was less responsive in Sluggers than in Wii Sports.

There are only a few disadvantages in this game. First, it requires tons and tons of wrist-flicking. Each pitch, throw and swing equals a quick flip of the wrist. Even when running the bases, the player must shake the remote from left to right rapidly to make the runner move faster. After one night of playing, my arm was sore from my elbow to my hand. Second, the game is REALLY short. In less than 8 hours, I unlocked and beat the game. There’s some replay value though… but, only in the multi-player. Third, many of the challenges become repetitive.

The bottom line: This is a light-hearted, straight-forward game… There’s nothing too spectacular, ground breaking or new…. But, if it’s sitting around in a your apartment, pick it up, pop it in, and have fun playing a couple of exhibition games with a few buddies.