Generally speaking, the gamers that will be interested in Bakugan: Battle Brawlers for the Wii will know precisely what they're after. They want a game that is solid, well-polished, strategic, but ultimately faithful to its origins - in this case, the wildly popular table-top battle card game. For that gamer, Bakugan delivers. For the gamer looking for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, they will wonder where the "brawl" enters into the mix, and will long for action that isn't the point of this style of game.

I am definitely not the target audience for this particular title - the world of anime-based card battle games is a bit much for this gamer. However my 10 year-old son, Alex, was absolutely onboard . He loves the show, loves the collectible toys, and the game itself. For me, I'm not going to find something novel or anything revolutionary to pull me in. But for Alex, it delivers in spades - a game that he feels is better than the afore-mentioned Smash Bros. (a game he also loves), and one he feels holds its own against the wildly popular Pokemon titles on the various Nintendo platforms.

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers plays out the formula of the table-top card game very well. You create a custom character that you then use to collect your Bakugan (a small metal ball that unfolds into a robot), and your cards to use in battle. Battle consists of throwing out a card in a strategic spot on the game field (which may contain power-up spots or obstacles), and then "rolling" your Bakugan-ball onto the card, where it unfurls and takes on its opponent using a somewhat complex calculation based on other cards played, your own stats, and a power-up minigame played before each battle.

The Wii-ness of the game comes into play (and deviates a bit from the physical card game) both as you enter a battle, and as you roll your Bakugan on the field. When you enter battle, you'll go head-to-head against your opponent (either a computer player or shoulder-to-shoulder with a real friend) in a minigame. These games are typical Wii minigame fare - activities like out-shaking your opponent's Wii remote, a "Duck Hunt" style shooting gallery, or a timed rhythmic button-press competition. The winner receives some plus-ups in the upcoming battle. Then, when rolling your Bakugan out to reach your cards on the battlefield, you try to steer and roll over power-ups, avoiding obstacles as you go. Your opponent tries to block your progress and steer you away from the power-ups. Once in position, you pick your attribute card, the Wii makes the calculations with a bit of eye candy, and the battle is resolved.

After battles, you earn points to use for upgrades such as new Bakugan attributes and Bakugan robots. There seemed to be somewhat of a small selection of these upgrades, and it's not immediately clear what the advantages of each attribute are when combined with each robot. That said, Alex had no trouble here, and was able to plot a long-term strategy for his character.

This gameplay repeats as you play along against better and better opponents, working your way towards the championship match. There's a very loose story tying the matches together, just to provide a framework for your opponents and the different fields on which you'll play. It's not meant to carry the game, by any means, but the cut-scenes were definitely enjoyed by my Bakugan-loving son.

As for the graphics and audio, it's what you'd expect for a title based around a colorful, anime-inspired TV show. Everything is clean, cel-shaded, colorful, and smoothly animated. The audio is fine - music and voice-over dialog are all solid, if not exceptional. Alex commented that some of his favorite musical themes from the show were missing, but again he was happy with what was there.

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers is available for practically every home gaming console under the sun, although my experience was limited to playing the Nintendo Wii version.  By all accounts the game is relatively the same across the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 consoles, minus the built-in waggle controls for Nintendo's platform.  So chances are good that if its a little Baku-action you're craving, you've already got a console that can play it.

For me, the middle aged, cranky, old-school gamer, the "that was fun, let's do it again!" gameplay wore thin quickly. But again, I'm not really the target audience. For Alex, he quickly found his groove, began to formulate his long term strategy, and he dug in for the long haul. He found a lot to like in this game. One weakness of note is that he didn't really care for the minigames and commented they quickly grew repetitive. However, he really enjoyed the battles, the planning, and the overall table-top to Wii translation of the original game. Alex thinks this title will hold him for a nice, long time, and it's one he's quick to recommend to his fellow Bakugan buddies.

If you think this will be the game to pull you into a new gaming genre, it's not. But provided you're a fan of the genre and have memorized the popular show and card game its based on, Bakugan: Battle Brawlers is a definite winner.

Available for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2.