It's been a long time coming, but the Wii's first online-enabled sports game, Mario Strikers: Charged, is getting on towards completion. French gaming mega-site JeuxFrance sat down with the developers at Next Level Games to get some details on how online gameplay will work on the Wii. Among the interesting features:
Ranked matches will pair players based on win-loss records, but those records will reset at the end of three month "seasons."
Unranked matches will make use Mii-specific friend lists, so multiple users on one system can have different friends.
The player that earns the most ranking points every day will have their Mii featured on the log-in screen as the "player of the day." Ranking points are earned based on wins and number of goals. Disconnects will be punished with negative ranking points.
Online matches can have four players at most (no four-on-four networked play). Ranked matches can be one-on-one or two-on-two, with each team sharing a system. Three-on-one and two-on-one matches are available in unranked games.
The full interview also reveals many new characters and features for the sequel, including a new mega-shot that can be worth up to six points. Six points in one play? Sounds like somebody confused American football and European football again.