Mario Super Sluggers is yet another title in the Mario sports series of games. It was originally released as Mario Superstar Baseball for the Gamceube. Mario Super Sluggers was released for the Wii in 2008, while the original was released in 2005. Opinions on Mario sports games vary from person to person, as far as I can see. Is this sports game worth checking out, or is it just a crappy remake that adds nothing new and turns out to be a complete waste of your time? Let’s find out.

Graphics - 8
The graphics in Mario Super Sluggers seem to be a huge step up from the original. I haven’t really played the original at all, but from what I can tell, the graphics seem to be better to an extent, since this is on a console from a generation ahead of the original. There are a few instances when I think they could have tried a bit harder to make the game look better, but those instances happen to be very few throughout the game.

Sound - 6
The sound in Mario Super Sluggers is ok at best. I can think of a ton of sounds that just annoy the crap out of me for no reason other than they sound annoying. At the same time, the sound the bat makes when you get a really good hit is extremely satisfying, as it should be with games like this. The music in this game is mediocre, if I’m going to be honest. It seems bland at times, and while there are good tracks in the game, I cannot seem to remember any of them.

Addictiveness - 8
To my surprise, I actually enjoy playing this game. I think the reason that a lot of Mario sports games have even made it this far and have still managed to stay alive up to this point tells us something. People find them entertaining, otherwise making these games would be a huge waste of money. I find this game to be most enjoyable when played with a friend. I remember back when I was allowed at dad’s house that I was always looking forward to playing this game with my step-brother. He always ended up beating me, but I still enjoyed playing it with him nonetheless.

Story - 7
Believe it or not, there’s actually an Adventure mode to this game that actually features a story. I prefer when games like this have stories rather than just having a game with no explanation as to why anything is happening, but that’s just me. The basic premise of the story is this: Bowser Jr./Bowser take over this island that is seemingly obsessed with baseball, and Mario and co. must save the day by beating them in baseball. Yes, it’s an odd story, and it’s not something I particularly like, but it works for what it is. This is a baseball game, after all.

Depth - 6
In addition to the story, I was also surprised by how much depth this game had. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t play much of this game other than the story mode and multiplayer mode. However, I saw that there were other game modes on the title screen. Also, there is a HUGE cast of characters to choose from that will help you make the perfect team. I’m giving this category a 6 purely because of the fact that there really isn’t that much past the character roster and story mode once you look past it. The reason I’m praising it so much though, is because that I don’t find many baseball games with this amount of depth to them. I have heard of and seen some other baseball games that have a lot more depth than this game, yes, but not very many.

Difficulty - 8
I probably just really suck at this game, but this game gets really difficult in the story mode after you have finished at least 2 areas. There are many difficult puzzles that I wasn’t able to solve on my own, and I eventually requested the help of my step-brother, since he knew more about the game than I did. Not only that, but actually playing baseball in the game can also be difficult depending on what part you’re at. Extra things added to baseball such as items and star powers make the game that much harder.

Gameplay - 7
Being a game about baseball and Mario, you can imagine that the gameplay would consist of playing baseball as Mario characters, with a few twists added into the game to make it more exciting. That’s exactly what the majority of the gameplay is, other than story mode when you’re currently doing a challenge. In story mode, you unlock characters by traveling around the various parks and completing challenges within those parks, as well as solving puzzles on the map. For the most part, the gameplay is kind of entertaining, other than the difficult puzzles that you need to think through sometimes.

Overall - 7.3
Overall, this game is decent. It’s not necessarily good, but it’s not bad either, despite all the things I have said about it. There’s really not much else that can be discussed about this game, it manages to be both bland and filled with content at the same time, somehow. I wouldn’t say that it’s a must own title, but if you like Mario sports games, then this game might be worth a try.