If you don?t recognise the name, this is the sequel to Mario Smash Football on the GameCube (the name will likely change for the UK release). The original was one of the hidden gems on Nintendo?s previous console, but this new game is not planning to be quite so coy. For a start it will be one of, if not the, first Wii games to be fully playable online, as Mario and his usual company of heroes and villains take to the pitch for some truly bizarre 5-a-side action. Although the basic rules of football are observed this is no serious simulation, with special moves galore and lots of Mario Kart style power-ups to pick up along the way.The game uses the analogue stick on the nunchuck to move, with the Wii remote itself being used to tackle by gesturing in the appropriate direction. There?s no such thing as a foul in this game so not only do you take possession via a range of painful looking barges but you can also try and push an opposing player off the side of the pitch and into an electrified fence. Other elements not usually featured in the beautiful game include the "mega strike", which is a special move unique to each captain and which creates an automatic shot on goal which the other player has to save with the Wii remote. With football games becoming ever more serious and complicated this should please both sports fans and those simply looking for the next big multiplayer hit.
HARRISON DENT