Super Mario Strikers is the latest in Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. sports lineup and it's actually a lot more addictive than the previous title, Mario Baseball. But like that game, Strikers is only good if you play against other people, a shame since developer Next Level Games managed to really give soccer a good kick in the pants.

Similar to Sega Soccer Slam, Super Mario Strikers is an extreme take on the sport of soccer that allows you to completely bend the rules in what are truly no holds barred affairs. Selecting a team captain from a pool consisting of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Wario, Waluigi, and Donkey Kong, you take to the field alongside a few stock characters and annihilate anyone that gets in your way. Not only are you able to tackle someone from behind, but you can also toss various weapons onto the field such as green, red, and blue shells, banana peels, and chain chomps, so the game has a very Mario Kart-ish feel. It's also quite humorous because of the funny and sometimes totally rude gestures that the characters make, though most of the fun comes from tossing a bomb at someone as he or she is dashing across the field. In fact, things become so hectic, with smoke billowing and wood splintering that you'll often lose track of the ball. But weapons and slide tackles aren't the only bad things that you'll need to worry about. There's no out of bounds and the walls are electrified, so as you're going for a loose ball an opponent may slide tackle you into them, which produces a funny animation of your character jiggling about. Of course, you can use these walls to your advantage as well.

Strikers is one of the more addictive GameCube titles that I've played in months. It's extremely easy to play, matches are for the most part frenzied and close, and the presentation is just marvelous. In fact, the game just has a fun and very positive feel that just draws people to it, but with that being said, it's also sort of a let down because its single player component isn't very entertaining. You can participate in various cup battles and unlock new characters and arenas but that's pretty much all you can do. There are no mini games or side quests, and this is in stark contrast to the recently released GBA title Mario Power Tennis, which actually comes with an action RPG single player mode. So Strikers is great times when friends are visiting but not worth playing if you're all alone. And it really all comes back to Nintendo's erroneous decision to not make its GameCube titles online playable. If there was no one around I would just hop online and find an opponent, and if that happens, Super Mario Strikers is one of the must buy Nintendo games of the year. But without that support it's the game that gets resold a week after it's purchased.

Visually the game is just all right. Blurry textures and bland looking backgrounds keep it from sitting alongside the likes of Mario Kart Double Dash and even the aforementioned Mario Baseball, but it's still a good looking game that's full of all sorts of neat special effects.

If you don't have anyone to compete against don't bother buying Super Mario Strikers because there's not enough to warrant spending $49.99. But it's one of 2005's most electrifying party games, so consider at least renting it if you play with others.