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After a few delays, and with at least one known technical glitch, the Nintendo fighter has finally been released for the Wii.
At its core, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is still a 2D fighter with plenty of crazy effects. This latest incarnation, however, has taken some evolutionary cues from its GameCube predecessor (Super Smash Bros. Melee) and includes even more playable characters, more battlegrounds, more pickups and more features.
Gameplay – 9/10
Brawl is a low combo fighter with only a few basic moves for each character: jump, move, attack, smash attack, special move, shield, crouch, taunt and grab. There are no crazy 10-button combos to memorize and no deep secrets for playing any character. Press the buttons as quickly as you can in the right way and smack your opponent off the screen long enough to win. Although the moves might be basically the same, each character has a unique way of performing it, which requires some learned timing.
It sounds easy but play against any experienced Smash Bros. gamer and you’ll have your pixels handed to you in seconds. Winning requires quick actions and reactions, piggy-backed attacks and wisely using pickups.
During battles, items are randomly dropped that can be picked up and used against opponents including a helper character, damage recovery, turtle shells to toss and even small firearms.
While the real purpose of the game is multiplayer action, you can still play alone in a story-based mission mode. This 2D platformer lets you use key characters to get through the various levels, acquiring stickers that act as powerups in other modes. You can also enjoy the solo practice mode so you can perfect the timing for each character.
As for multipalyer modes, there’s a basic offline battle mode and tournaments and online you have a few options for playing against 1-3 opponents as well as friends of strangers.
There is also a level editor, a match replay mode and game photos which can all be stored in an SD memory card.
Design – 9/10
Considering all of the wacky particle effects, colored outfits and other frenzied activities, the Wii does a lawless job keeping up with the framerate. The graphics look better than any other Wii game and the cutscenes are even more impressive. In Wii fashion, cute features pop up such as a charter all from the WiiMote mini speaker when selected in the menu.
Battling is clearly the best part of the game, both online and off. The story mode is a 2D platformer that may be a silly excuse of a story to incorporate all of the playable characters, but it also a great way to practice using all of the controls. Sure, you can practice your button combos in either the practice mode or in the button settings area, but it’s far more fun to earn points crushing baddies than punching dumb opponents. The platforming nature of the Adventure mode does rely a bit heavily on jumping, which seems to accentuate this as the weakest move for all characters.
If you are looking to play as Sonic or Snake when you slide in the disc, forget it. Those and others need to be unlocked by playing through the story mode or after competing a certain number of matches. Don’t be too pissy, though, since many (21) are available from the start and useful objects - including a friggin’ lightsaber - are randomly dropped for use throughout each game.
Each avatar has his/her own variation on each type of attack, which are highlighted in the game manual. Some are even a tag team of two or more playable characters, including Charizard, Squirtle and Nysaur for the Pokemon Trainer. Samus of Metroid fame loses the metallic outfit so she can fight like a true lady.
Game controls can also be tweaked to your heart’s content, so if you have preferred fingering for the old game you can implement it here, too.
Features – 10/10
This game is packed with goodness, from battles and you can record and save to an SD card to a stage builder that you can save and share with other gamers.
Nintendo wisely lets gamers use any Wii or GameCube controller they want: the WiiMote with the Nunchuck attachment, the WiiMote alone, the Classic Nintendo Wii controller or any GameCube controller. You can even mix and match, although you’ll faire much better launching the system and game with a WiiMote. The beauty is that long-time fans of the series can use their favorite controller and, since they already know the control scheme, get right into pummeling opponents. Of course, that is one element that makes this game a bit overwhelming for newcomers.
The ability to use any type of Wii or GameCube controller is especially nice since it means most fans won’t need to run out an get more gear for their friends to jump in. I had some issues getting my GameCube wireless Wavebird controllers to connect, but it only took a minute of switch flipping to get it recognized.
The online mode was also incredibly smooth (which is especially incredible for me since I still have problems connecting many of my DS games online). Since I primarily played prior to launch, finding opponents was a little slow, but post launch it certain sped up. The only issue is that Nintendo still does the matching for you instead of a game lobby like the other systems and PCs employ. That means waiting for your slots to fill before starting - of course you can start before they all fill, allowing you some solo practice time. Opponents get added later.
As for unlocking characters, you’ll just need to keep playing (of be a cheat and look online). The disk also includes a few of the videos Nintendo released to promote the game, so you can relive the silliness of Snake hiding in a box to spy on Mario over and over.
Then you factor in the rules editor and level editor and your have a whole new level of fan interactivity. You can turn off individual pickups, deactivate the tension meter or give all the characters ginormous heads. You can also create a level with some basic components, save it to a SD card and share on other Wiis.
The game’s fun factor is incalculable. It is easy enough for most novices to pick up and play in a matter of minutes and filled with enough familiar moves and bombastic particle effects to keep long-time fans happy. Just let them play by themselves for a while, otherwise the constant pummeling might scare them away from future enjoyment forever.
Overall – 9.5/10
The unique moves for each character, the many pickups, additional modes, smooth online fights and frenzied action make this a thoroughly enjoyable game. My only issues (other than some Wiis cannot play the game) are that the story mode brings out the sluggishness of the jump command and that there is so much to do - and happening on the screen - that newcomers will be reduced to a twitching mass in the corner. Have pity on the noobs, my fellow SSBBrawlers. They just want to play this great game, too.
If you do not already have it, save your pennies, trade in those crappy old games, shovel a few extra driveways and go get Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Site [Smash Bros.]
Editor’s Note: The overall score is not necessarily an average. Sections might have been weighted to reflect the importance of some features over others.
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