Dodgeball. The schoolyard staple—the source of so much triumph and tribulation—seems like it would make for great video game fodder. And yet only a handful of titles have attempted it.

One of the classic video game simulations is Super Dodgeball. If you're into pixel and polygon counts and realistic graphics, this game is definitely not for you. It's an old-school port from the 8-bit Nintendo era. This game hails from a time when the now-extinct cartridges still roamed the earth.

But you won't need a cartridge to play this version. If you've got five bucks, a Wii, and an Internet connection, you'll be elbow-deep in some dodgeball goodness in no time.

The characters have that pudge-y, big-headed look that most game characters of that era had. And it also has that easy to learn but hard to master quality of those old-time games. Forget complex controls. To play this game, you'll need two buttons and the D-pad. That's it.

Using these simple controls, you can pass the ball to another member of your team, duck under an incoming ball, or get your hands ready to catch a ball being thrown at you. Get offensive, jump to gain some LeBron James-like air and reign elimination down upon your opponents. And finally, you can pull off some spectacular super moves that, if they manage to connect, really do damage to the guys on the other team.

The object of the game is simple: Take your team of six block-headed dudes on a world tour to defeat all the other dodgeball teams. You'll have three players on your side of the court, while the other three spread out behind your opponent's side of the line. To win the game, you'll need to take out the other team's guys before they can take out your guys. And you do this, of course, by sending high-speed dodgeballs straight at their abnormally large heads.

This is good, satisfying fun, especially if you and a friend decide to go head to head in the two-player game. But the old NES limitations rear their ugly heads here. Sprites still flicker like about-to-expire fluorescent bulbs. And the action, for anyone raised on Madden, will seem limited. But put your judgments aside, go in with an open mind, and you'll get to see an 8-bit classic in all of its glory.

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