Platform: Gamecube

Released: 2005

Developer: Next Level Games

Genre: Sports

This Mario game has attitude. Everyone seems angry all the time, which is a nice change from all the happiness we usually see in Mario games. This is a Mario soccer game, although it's more like a combat game. Seriously, this is war! SMS is far more brutal than any soccer game you've ever seen, and it's a whole lot of fun. It's also a game that's easy to pick up and play, which is perfect when friends come over. 

Choose a team captain (includes Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, DK, Yoshi, Wario, and Waluigi) and then choose your team players (a group of koopas, hammer bros, toads, or birdos). While on the field, you can pass the ball, shoot, use items (if you have them), and slam opponents (which is easily the best part of the game). The field is surrounded by an electirc fence, so the ball never goes out, but this means you can slam an opponent into the fence for a jolt (again, really fun!). Occasionally Bowser will show up to try and wreck your game, which makes things more chaotic. And this one can get really intense if you find yourself in sudden death in order to settle a tie breaker. It's exciting! 

This is one of the best mulitplayer games on GCN, so if you've never played it, you're missing out. It received one sequel on the Wii: Mario Strikers Charged, which, while fun, wasn't as good as the original.