A jab of the Wiimote in the direction towards an opposing player and you punch an opposing play knocking them and the ball off in the direction of the punch. Now that’s more like the soccer I remember playing from middle school.

Let me start off by saying that I hate the sports games of today. They are becoming less and less about game play and more about micro-managing your someday Enron-sized sports corporation that is all about the money. Do I really care how much I am charging my fans for a fricking hotdog with no stadium sauce—hell no.

So thank the gods that Nintendo and its Wii are putting the “sports” back into sports games. “Wii Sport” greatly showcased how the system can really be like real sports games. “Mario Strikers: Charged” is a really great hybrid of old directional-controlled button-based games and Wii action elements.

The characters’ movements are controlled by the thumbstick on the nunchuk, while the Wiimote is used for shooting, passing and stealing the ball. These actions are all controlled by simple buttons. So where are the Wii’s “move your arms” features?

Say slide tackling is a little too wussy for your playing style. Well, a jab of the Wiimote in the direction towards an opposing player and you punch, knocking them and the ball off in the direction of the punch. Now that’s more like the soccer I remember playing from middle school. If you can’t get the ball, punch the kid in the face.

Overall the game is very simple and it reminds me of the original NES game “Soccer.” It’s a five-on-five soccer game played in variable length games.

There are the standard Mario game additions of usable items like mushrooms, chomp-chomps and everyone’s favorite red turtle shells. You choose your team captain and choose their sidekicks from a group of Nintendo regular supporting cast of goombas, koopas, shy guys and others.

But what really makes this game different is the whole charged aspect. Players can now charge their kick at the goal. Team Captains like Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser are able to charge up a Mega Strike kick which can shoot 3-6 balls at the opponent’s goal at variable speeds.

This aspect makes the game insane to play against another person, and even more insane against the computer. Nothing infuriated me more than that stupid machine getting the best of me in the closing seconds of a match with a perfectly timed Mega Strike goal at the fastest speed.

Then there are the sidekicks who are able to perform their own charged kicks called skill shots. I found these shots much more reliable seeing that they are easier to get off. Plus, they keep the game from becoming a score fest.

Adding to the Mega Strikes, team captains also have their own unique items that give players the temporary advantage to get off a Mega Strike. Unique move items are all custom and no two are alike—wait—Nintendo yet again stiffed Luigi and gave him the same special move as Mario, bitches. When, oh when are they going to be fair to him?

The stadiums in the game also add some interesting moments when a large cow or tractor caught in a hurricane strength wind sweeps across the field knocking players into the deep blue sea surrounding it, causing a two-on-five situations that can either elate or enrage.

“Mario Strikers: Charged” is a great game for Nintendo fan boys and causal players alike. Mario sports games bring the fun that Mario Kart brought to racing games, to the monotony of today’s sports games.

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