Game Review - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

I’m sorry to disappoint those who may or may not come to be enlightened in the ways of the game through rant, but instead a game review. Yes I reviews games, this opinionated blogging feature is just an add-on that I rather enjoy. So I figure I combine the two and save time. That is until I get my website up (sooner or later). Anyway this game is the latest Smash Bros sequel - Brawl. Trust me; it’s a Nintendo fan boys dream come true. When it comes to this series there’s not much of a story to be had here (not that fans of the series care much), the closest we got was a watered down adventure mode in Melee. This time around though they actually put some effort in and made it actually passable mode of play. Most the characters from the first two games plus some new entries must now due battle with creatures from subspace. These creatures (which look a lot like the heartless from Kingdom Hearts) are being led by the usual assortment of Nintendo villains and the leader du jour the ‘Ancient Minister’. Mario and gang don’t know why they’re bring the noise; but in order to save their amalgamated world they must show them the painful back side of their hands.

Now the playstyle of this series has always been difficult to classify, close to a fighter genre but not a pure one. For those you don’t know, it works on a modified ‘King of the Hill’ system. Instead of a health bar each character has percent counter. Each time an character receives damage two things will happen; the counter will go up, and the character will be knock back. The higher the percent the more damage will effect the character and the farther it will get knocked back. The stages of each battle are only so big, outside each stage are unseen by the players and are considered out of balance. If their characters go too far (or more commonly knocked back) into that area then they lose. Not the whole game mind you (although it can be set to sudden death in other modes) just a loss of point (the rival CPU/player gains that point if they cause the defeat) or a stocked life. Players keep this up until either time runs out or there’s only one survivor. It’s sound, simple system; so much so that some people dare call this a button masher. This is simple not true; it takes a great deal of strategy and skill to master this game. First, each character is different from another (pallet swaps included); from standard attacks, strong attacks, and finish blows to the four special attacks that can save your character’s rear, are just the basic one should know right of the ‘Home Run Bat’. Even the weight of the characters factor how offensively or defensibly one should play.

Then you have to figure the outside elements that drop into the field; namely items. Classic ones like the ‘Beam Sword’ and ‘Ray Gun’ return in this 3^rd installment game; while new toys like the ‘Mortar Launcher’ or the ‘Smoke Bomb’ add new trickery to the field. Like the character themselves, some items take some planning to use while others only require you to aim and pull the trigger. Of course pure skill won’t mean much if players/CPU gets a hold of a Pokeball, Assist Trophy, or a Final Smash Ball. Even one of these bad boys can turn defeat into victory in no time, despite the fact they have their limits too. So to say playing this game need ‘no-effort’ is about the same as saying that democrats have a poor shot of winning the next election here in the states. Now to truly play a button masher might I suggest ‘Tekken’ or ‘Soul Caliber’. They maybe high-end games but they require low I.Q.s to play. Let’s talk about the nuts & bolts of the game, starting with the looks. Most other reviews would poo-poo the graphics, saying that they would look like Nintendo Gamecube graphics. Well that maybe true but there wasn’t much wrong with the GC’s graphic anyway. Plus since we’re working with the power of the Wii everything is nice and detailed; pause the game and see your character and background up close, pretty cool ay?

Also don’t get me started with the music in this title; it’s like they took the best tunes of Nintendo, Kirby, and Sonic; jammed it in the game; and for the sheer awesomeness remixed most of it as a nod to the fans. So, yeah, the music is good. Controls are a non-issue as well; this game allows using all four control styles available for the Wii (The Wii Remote, The Wii Remote with Kunchuk, The Classic Controller, or the Gamecube Controller). Another good move for Nintendo, because even though most people would be conformable with the GC controller (I know I am) that not true for everyone; it’s good to have options. That 3 for 3 and not even the best part; the best part is that the online play is excellent! No, really, excellent! As I mentioned in a past post Nintendo is not known for their online capabilities but Brawl does it like a pro; well better than the pros because I’m still having lag issues with Team Fortress 2 (Valve please get with that, it’s really bad when Nintendo shows you up in the online arena).

I can’t say enough good things about Brawl, but any bad? Well I would say their bad things more like annoying quirks. Such as unbalanced characters abilities and characters with similar abilities to another. The biggest drawback is the limited online options; players can’t even select a higher match time than 2 minutes for random matches. For a guy who lives off random matches this is a serious downer. Oh well, you have more control if you make online matches for your friends. Super Smash Bros Brawl is ‘the’ game for the Wii. I very much doubt you’ll find a game as fun, addicting, and lag free this year. Halo 3, Team Fortress 2, and World of Warcraft; all games I have, all games I own and play from time to time. They’re all enjoyable in their own way, but sooner and later I get bored. WoW is the worst of them all; despite their 1 million + users worldwide you can only grind so many quests before you lose your mind. No won’t have that problem with Brawl, I guarantee it. This game get’s my elite rating: Platinum. If you have a Wii but not this game, what’s taking you? Get it A.S.A.P.