Mario Superstar Baseball

* Four-player zaniness on the wacky Toy Field

Players can try their hands at the single-player Challenge Mode, where they must wander the land clearing baseball-related trials. This mode gives you plenty of opportunities to nab special items and teammates by winning three-inning games, minigames and offbeat challenges from Boswer Jr.

It always deserves repeating how gorgeous Mario games are. Everything from Peach's dress to the closely cropped hedges veining the outfield of the Peach Garden stadium looks polished and professional.

Mario Superstar Baseball gives you a lot of flexibility in filling out your lineup card. The 50-plus available characters include all-arounders like Mario, Luigi, Daisy, Shy Guy and Koopa Troopa. Technical players include Peach, Boo, Toadsworth and Dry Bones (swinging a bone for a bat, Dry Bone makes his first appearance in a sports title). The speedster squad stars Yoshi, Diddy Kong, Baby Luigi (good field, lousy bat) and Paragoomba (a Goomba with itty-bitty wings). The roster of power players has expanded beyond the usual heavyweight suspects -- Wario, Donkey Kong and Bowser -- to include Blue Pianta (from Super Mario Sunshine) and King Boo.

The wacky fields are filled with hazards and power-ups that can kill or ignite a rally in the wink of an eye. Piranha Plants nab balls rolling in Yoshi's field. Dust devils play havoc with pop flies in Wario's desert park. Barrels roll across Donkey Kong's home field. Balls easily get lost in the carefully trimmed hedges of Peach's park.

The controls are simple and intuitive. Press Up on the Control Stick to upper-cut the ball. Hold A for a power swing. Be warned, though, that you are more likely to miss. Mario Superstar Baseball deftly handles base running via the Control Stick. For example, press Up and Y to have a player on first barrel into second. Press Y by itself to have all players advance.

Press down and hold the Control Stick to tie up a batter with a change-up. Guide the pitch in mid-air by manipulating the stick. Press R and A to unload a specialty pitch. For example, Yoshi tosses an egg that bounces crazily across the plate!

The minigames for one to four players enhance your power-hitting, bat-control, base running, pitching and pickoff skills, and are a lot of fun to boot. Especially wacky is the Toy Field, a free-for-all in which players hit balls at targets in the outfield to earn coins and other prizes.