Metareview: Mario Super Sluggers
by David Hinkle 
{ Aug 27th 2008 at 11:50AM }
- GameDaily (80/100) thinks the positives outweigh the negatives: "Overall, the game plays great. The controls work perfectly, whether you're an avid baseball fan or a newcomer picking up the game for the first time. And if you're a n00b, several tutorials are available to help you out. Only two things hold Mario Super Sluggers back from diamond domination. First, despite having a terrific control scheme and lots of options, it's really just another Mario-licensed sports game. If you're looking for something past that, try MLB Power Pros 2008 instead. Second, there are no online options. It would've been great to form a league with your friends through the Wi-Fi Connection, but you'll have to settle for offline play."
- Nintendo Power (75/100) says it can be a bit clunky: "This baseball diamond loses some of its luster with occasionally confusing or clunky play (it's too easy to accidentally pitch or swing prematurely), but the game's simplified approach is great for sports-curious gamers looking to avoid the complexities of a real simulation." [Oct 2008, p.87]
- 1UP (B) found the game to be easy to pick up and play: "Super Sluggers succeeds and fails as most Mario sports games do. Its quick, arcade-style action is easy to get into and plenty fun, coming at the expense of the nuances -- and balance -- you'll find in a sim."
- IGN (74/100) thought Nintendo and Namco cut too many corners: "It's a shame Nintendo and Namco didn't go farther with this one overall, though. No online play? No major gameplay renovations, new modes, or improved style over three year old Superstar Baseball? With only Animal Crossing as current first party online offerings in the near future, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to cut corners with Sluggers."
- GameInformer (55/100) was quick to trash the game: "Go do something fun with your buddies rather than wasting an afternoon with this crap."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sketchampm@gmail.com @ Aug 27th 2008 12:00PM
Once again, GameInformer is extremely harsh on a first-party Nintendo game. You could easily put together an article proving how biased GI is against Nintendo.
CJLopez @ Aug 27th 2008 1:50PM
No surprise here, they are just a bunch of 360 fanboys with a mind of 13 yo kids. Just look at they rates over xbox and 360 games (except for too human :P)
Mr Khan @ Aug 27th 2008 4:12PM
Oh, aye. I read the more recent GI (the one with Arkham Asylum on the cover), and the hate was barely contained within the pages
Of course, Western gamers' media has already written the Wii off as a joke, so its not surprising
Hamster @ Aug 27th 2008 6:24PM
I don't know about that. If I remember correctly GameInformer gave Twilight Princess a perfect score. Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 and Brawl got almost perfect scores. They even gave the incredibly divisive Mario Kart Wii a high score.
Mr Khan @ Aug 27th 2008 12:05PM
I figured as much. Superstar Baseball was the odd child out of the otherwise exceptional Mario Sports bunch, and i didn't think that Super Sluggers would surpass that mediocrity
Really waiting for Tennis/Golf for Wii, though
il_duce620 @ Aug 27th 2008 12:45PM
Not too promising, it seems...
Synthex @ Aug 27th 2008 1:33PM
Buuuu, Game Informer, buu !
BlackDogAssault @ Aug 27th 2008 3:05PM
Actually, the game is better than those reviews make it seem like. It's actually kinda cool building teams around affinities, you can get all sorts of results. It's a feature I'd like to see more out there.
I'd just like for batting to be more like Wii Sports batting. Maybe we can get something better with WiiMotion, tho'.
And Toy Stadium mode is great for a local multiplayer quick fun.
This could be called a casual version of MLB Power Pros. If you're in doubt, try renting it before buying. For me, it's good enough.
MuckyMann @ Aug 27th 2008 3:39PM
I simply can not understand why there wouldn't be Wii sport's style batting. Just to start a conspiracy, it's like they are purposely leaving out features that can be accomplished with the standalone wiimote so that they can release WiiMotion games that do the exact same thing that Wii Sports has already done. e
Moose @ Aug 27th 2008 4:25PM
No online = No way in hell I'll buy this game.
CM @ Aug 27th 2008 4:43PM
So you can't bat in the same fashion as Wii Sports baseball? For some reason, I thought I'd read that you could. But you can pitch like Wii Sports?
How do you bat, then?
I'd like to pick up this game, but I'm sitting on the fence. I think I might go after Tiger Woods '09 instead if I make a new purchase.
BlackDogAssault @ Aug 28th 2008 3:16PM
Basically, to pitch you raise the controller to start winding up and swing it down with timing.
Batting is like this too.
You can curve your pitch horizontally and you can move sideways on the mound and in the batter's box too.
And I played it some more. Special abilities really add up to team making, meaning the team choices can add more depth to the game I originally thought.