Publisher: Nintendo
Ages: six and up.
Parental
Advisory:
None
Mario has starred in some excellent sports titles-Mario Power Tennis and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour immediately come to mind. And Nintendo's Mario Superstar Baseball extends the franchise into the game of summer. The title is a fun arcade game, but it comes with a few rough edges.
For long-time Nintendo fans, the ultimate baseball team consists of Mario and his friends. And beyond simply starring the famous Nintendo characters, Mario Superstar Baseball offers a fun arcade baseball game with some truly wacky twists. The basics are here: hitting, fielding and pitching. But there are also whimsical power moves; crazy hazard-filled fields with chain-chomps, piranha plants, rolling barrels and other challenges and mini-games.
The game offers 50-plus characters that include: Mario, Luigi, Daisy, Shy Guy, Koopa Troopa, Peach, Boo, Toadsworth and Dry Bones. The speedster squad stars Yoshi, Diddy Kong, Baby Luigi and Paragoomba. And the power players include: Wario, Donkey Kong and Bowser, Blue Pianta and King Boo. As you would expect, the characters bring their own strengths and capabilities to the game.
The controls are intuitive and easy to learn. While the hitting, pitching and fielding are well done, base running is a bit clumsy. The game looks great and features excellent graphics. As a Mario title, the game is appropriate for families and lots of fun.
With Mario Superstar Baseball, Nintendo successfully brings Mario and his crew to the game of baseball. This outing is not as good as that for tennis and golf, but it's another worthy title.
9/20/05 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
