Monday, October 23, 2000

Super Smash Bros. Brawl review

SI wasn't much of a console gamer for a long time after the N64, but one game that stood out on it was Super Smash Bros. Fast forward to 2008 and I broke down and got a Wii for the party-gaming potential. I have not been disappointed. Yesterday, this game arrived.

Oh boy. This is a heck of a lot of fun. The number of things to do is incredible. You can even practice your character's moves against your choice of inert or active opponents. Nintendo seems to have intended this game to be epic as they not only include an in-game retrospective of the entire line of Nintendo gaming products going back all the way to the NES, they include time-limited trial versions of the classic games.

Wifi works wonderfully. Online matches are frantic and fun.

One odd thing is that the wireless pointer feature of your wii controller is completely inert once you load the game. This is one area where they shouldn't have stuck to their roots- it feels silly to move a token with the analog joystick when I could theoretically just point at the character I want to use. But you get used to it.

If you have a kid, he will spend months getting all the unlocks (there are lots). If you have a kid inside you, you will rediscover some console joy.

The maps are pretty amusing/crazy. They touch on many themes/ideas from previous Nintendo works. Put it this way: There is a Pictochat map. The terrain is drawn as you play... Many maps have destructible terrain or areas you cannot jump up through, which adds a strategic element.

The characters are varied and seem very well-balanced against each other. (Aside: I love how the announcer says "KING DEDEDE" so seriously.)

If you are completely new to the game, you still have a pretty good shot at winning by button-mashing, which I consider a good feature. If you have mastered the combos and moves however, you still have the advantage.

I haven't played the adventure mode much but it is also fun.

You pretty much have to buy this game if you own a Wii. This is as much a Wii-defining game as Super Mario Galaxy or Wii Sports is.

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