Mario Strikers Battle League is a sports action game and the latest in the Mario Strikers series. Like the previous games, it offers a five-on-five battle sport that combines football and ice hockey with Nintendo characters. It looks chaotic and like a kid's game, but actually, it's a highly competitive experience that requires cunning, skill and quick reactions to win.
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While many sporting events injected with Nintendo-ness fare less well, this game came to life with clever play mechanics and surprisingly deep levels of skill required. Each of the characters has special abilities that need to be used intelligently, and you can also specify different tactical locations for each of your team members.
Although themed around football, the game feels more like ice hockey as players whip, curl, and smack the ball to each other. Also, you are allowed to tackle, attack and knock out your opposing team's players.
To this is added the ability to charge up the ball as you pass it from player to player and make it easier to score. You also get Mario Kart-style power-ups that offer special abilities. Finally, you can go for a Hyper Strike that enables you to score multiple goals in one go.
This latest iteration provides greater customisation of your team by equipping them with gear that changes not only their appearance, but also their stats like speed, strength, and pass accuracy. The game also expands how many players can compete with up to 8 players battling in two teams of 4.
