Mario steps up to bat on the Wii and ... well, doesn't strike out, but doesn't hit a home run, either. That's the consensus (minus the baseball terminology) on the latest mascot-ified sports title from Nintendo, Mario Super Sluggers. Mario Strikers Charged was the last, and scored (both a gaming and sports term) a bit better overall. We're just excited to finally see the Wii Sports baseball mini-game fleshed out into something that will (we'd hope) have us playing for more than, oh, two minutes.

• 1UP (B): "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."
• GameDaily (80/100): "What it lacks in innovation and online play, Mario Super Sluggers makes up for with its robust modes, fun controls and multiplayer options. If you're a fan of either the characters or the sport, you owe it to yourself to round these bases."
• Game Informer (55/100): "Multiplayer is amusing in that hanging out with your friends is fun anyway, but the single-player content is truly terrible. A series of boring one-off challenges punctuated by simplistic exploration and the occasional full game makes up Mario's quest to foil Bowser Jr. via baseball. Yes, it's as insipid as it sounds."
• IGN (74/100): "We wouldn't go as far as to say this is Nintendo-made shovelware, but there's very little that has changed in the three years between Mario Superstar Baseball on GCN, and Mario Super Sluggers on Wii.

Well, at least grammy's pleased with Nintendo's first party lineup... (Plus: If you've got a longer attention span than Nintendo, we've got shots of two overlooked titles after the break!)

With E3 just around the corner, we've begun to brace ourselves for the deluge of new game announcements that always accompany the annual event, the latest of which has come from Nintendo. This morning the company announced a trio of new titles set to be shown during next month's conference, including Wario Land: Shake It! for the Wii, as well as Kirby Super Star Ultra and Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir, both for the company's touchable portable.

As previously announced for both Japan and Europe, Nintendo describes Wario Land: Shake It! as a "classic side-scroller," and notes that the game will have players controlling Mario's portly nemesis with the Wii remote turned sideways on September 25. Kirby Super Star Ultra, on the other hand, will re-imagine the SNES classic platformer starring everyone's favorite perpetually-hungry cream puff when it debuts four days later on September 29. Finally, Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir brings Big Fish Games' line of casual PC puzzlers to the DS earlier in the month on September 8. The games join the previously announced Mario Super Sluggers, giving us an early look at what Nintendo will have on tap at the LA Convention Center in a few short weeks.

Mario's baseball-oriented outing hasn't exactly been as hotly anticipated as his other platforming, racing, and fighting adventures. Perhaps that's the reason info on Mario Super Sluggers has been a bit slow since the first mild announcement last October. Those who do have a penchant for wacky sports titles will be elated at these few new details, courtesy of Siliconera.

According to their report, the game's cavalcade of Super Mario staples will each have their own unique batting and pitching powers. Mario swings away with a feisty fireball, while Yoshi pitches in an arching rainbow.

Tiny screens also reveal a number of less-than-obvious character additions, like the residents of Delfino Island, Dixie Kong, and... Goombas. If anyone knows how the armless baddies of Mushroom Kingdom are expected to either bat, throw, or catch, please let us know.

Previously revealed as "Super Mario Stadium Baseball" last October, and now apparently dubbed, Mario Super Sluggers, the Wii sequel to Mario Superstar Baseball has been confirmed for US release, likely later this year. Nintendo briefly demonstrated the game today at a media summit in San Francisco, IGN reports. As expected, the majority of gameplay is controlled by flicks and waggles (think: Wii Sports' baseball with shaky fielding), but some of the demonstrator's motions were "unrecognized by the game," IGN observed. "Not a very good sign."

In addition to the known cast of playable characters, IGN confirms that Sluggers will feature Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Waluigi, Toad, Toadette, and Boo.

Update: There's been some confusion about the game's title. Is it Super Mario Sluggers? Or Mario Super Sluggers? We're going with the latter for now. It's Mario Super Sluggers -- for sure!

[Note: Image is a previously released screenshot of "Super Mario Stadium Baseball."]