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Over the course of a recent weekend, I had an interesting experience with the Mario Super Sluggers title for the Wii. An old friend came into town, with his six-year-old boy in tow. I introduced them to the Wii console, which my friend found impressive and his son found to be, naturally, the Coolest Thing Ever in The History of Creation. At various points in the weekend, my friend and his son—plus my own five-year-old boy—ended up playing several hours of Mario Super Sluggers. The four of us had a great time, and after the kids went to bed, my friend and I had even more fun.
This is a testament to both the Super Mario title and the Wii aesthetic generally. The really well-designed, all-ages Wii games are simple enough for littler kids to enjoy, and sufficiently multivariate to keep adult gamers engaged, as well. Mario Super Sluggers is one such game, and has quickly rotated into my rack of Wii favorites. A direct descendent of the GameCube’s Mario Superstar Baseball, the Wii incarnation retains the loony, ‘toony charm of Nintendo-style baseball, and takes full advantage of the console’s motion-sensitive controls. This is the gift-to-get for any family living in the northern climates since it will fill the hours spent inside, cozy and sheltered from the snow and cold.
