It's time to get smashed. Nintendo has heard the cries of gamers and released the highly anticipated "Super Smash Bros. Brawl." In collaboration with Japanese game makers Game Arts and Sora Ltd., Nintendo has come up with yet another reason to buy a Wii (if you can find one). This game features an updated roster, improved fighting system, a bucket load of more content than its Nintendo 64 and GameCube predecessors and a fully-fleshed out single-player mode with online play.
Gamers and fans of the "Smash Bros." games who are worried about too much change in this game can rest assured; the game you loved on the 64 and GameCube is very much back but with a polished facelift and a lot more layers. The game looks and sounds like its predecessors, and yet it provides a completely different visual and audio experience.
The roster of fighters is one of the most hyped facets of the new game. There was a worldwide poll taken to decide which characters would make the roster. The new lineup of fighters includes the following: Pokemon Trainer, Solid Snake, Pikmin and Olimar, Metaknight, Ike, Sonic, just to name a few. There are some other choices made by the game's creators that just don't make a lot of sense. But after playing some of these characters, it all seems to flow together and makes for some serious challenges. One other thing that might make or break this game with the fans is control scheme. Fighting games still employ the same simplistic, yet intuitive, control functions - attack button, a special attack button, and the directional modifiers. The difference here is that "Brawl" isn't as frantic as "Melee." It still has the fast and furious action, but the tempo is more measured. The characters tend to move a little slower, and when in the air they seem to "float" slowly. In addition to the game being a bit slower, it's also missing the "Advanced Techniques" that formed a significant part of any competitive Smasher's arsenal; it's unfortunate that this feature didn't make it into this game.
"Brawl" lets you play up to four players or you can play online through Nintendo's Wi-Fi connection. Most of Nintendo's online games have had issues and "Brawl" is no exception. Keep in mind that the online feature is still pretty new for Nintendo, so this should improve over time. But with all that said, "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" is a blast to play competitively online with friends or just for something to do. It's just fun.
