The game is far from finished but I was able to put it through its paces at E3. Among the several modes of play (Battle Mode, Super Battle Mode, Grudge, Spoils, and Custom Battle), only Grudge was open. Just like in the upcoming Mario Baseball, you select a team captain from a wide list of popular Nintendo characters (which includes Mario, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Wario, and Princess Peach), and then join a team of stock characters, so you may wind up leading a bunch of Mushroom people or even Koopa Troopas. I certainly would've preferred to simply create my own squad by hand picking whomever I wanted, but that's probably what Custom Battle is for.

Unsurprisingly the game feels and plays very much like Sega's Soccer Slam but with a sprinkle of Nintendo magic (I'm fully aware of how corny that sounds). You're basically just running about the field either slide tackling opponents to steal the ball or going on the offensive to score your next goal, and if your threatening there are a few different ways to get that all important edge. At any time you can power up a kick by pressing the B button, whereupon which these red rings begin to build around your character, during which you can kick the ball at any time, but you'll obviously want to wait until your maxed out so you can really knock the enemy on its butt. When a special kick is executed (which produces some snazzy special effects), you're not guaranteed a goal, but you will leave the goalie dazed and confused if he/she manages to repel your attack. The upside to this is you may be able to capitalize using a second scoring opportunity (like having Toad right near the opposing goal so he can just tap the ball into the net). However, while holding B you're leaving that particular character wide open to attack. If you're on the defensive pressing B will steal the ball, so if you see someone powering up, it would be wise to interrupt them.

The rest of the controls are just as easy to learn and don't feel awkward in any way. You move around with the analog stick, pass with A, hit with Y, perform a volley by pressing L, and activate turbo by holding R.

Much like in Mario Kart Double Dash, all of the characters can acquire power ups and hold up to three of these attacks. They include, but are certainly not limited to, red and green turtle shells (perfect for braining a player on his or her way to your goal) and a Chain Chomp that bounces about knocking players every which way (and of course, chomping on them). Hopefully Nintendo will include many more, as I would love to toss banana peels onto the field.

Lastly, I hope there are a plethora of mini games to check out. Mario Tennis has a host of cool things you can do (coloring the picture by smacking the ball against the wall is one of my favorites), so I'm expecting another batch of interesting challenges.

Bright and colorful graphics are the pedigree of any Mario game and Strikers is no different. If you've played Mario Golf or Mario Tennis then you already have an idea of what this game looks like. Nintendo basically took those characters and dropped them onto a soccer field. It's certainly impressive looking, in particular when special kicks are executed. The stadium (I've only seen one thus far) is also highly detailed, featuring a crowd of Mushroom Kingdom-ites. Unfortunately, the arena on display was rather bland looking, but I'm expecting to see tons of famous Mario Bros. locales in the final version such as Isle Delfino and inside Bowser's castle.

All of Mario's sports titles rock so I'm eagerly anticipating Super Mario Strikers. The E3 demo was a lot of fun and I expect the retail version to be just as thrilling if not more so. The only bummer is Nintendo hasn't officially announced a release date, but I'm expecting to see the game sometime this holiday season or in the first quarter of 2006. Now all I need are Mario volleyball, basketball, and hockey.