There’s
really only one word that can describe playing
Super
Smash Bros. Brawl
at an exclusive Nintendo event, especially after all the hype and
anticipation that’s been building up about it these past few
months.
Absolutely
phenomenal.
You
may wonder why I used two words instead of one. That’s because
Brawl
delivered so highly above expectations that it only seemed fair.
The
main appeal of the game is the multitude of new characters and new
features Nintendo has introduced into this installment of the
Super
Smash Bros.
franchise. Along with the core
Super
Smash Bros.
gameplay that has defined the franchise as a whole, many different
game modes and extra features have been added.
In
the past the single player campaign mode of
Super
Smash
Bros.
was a simple interactive adventure that pitted you against predefined
battles and missions through certain stages, leading up to a final
boss at the end. That mode still exists, now renamed “Classic” in
the menu.
Brawl’s
new storyline campaign – called The Subspace Emissary – follows
the characters of the game around as they battle a new group of
enemies from subspace in an enthralling series of events complete
with unique battles and beautiful cutscenes.
Of
course it just wouldn’t be
Super
Smash Bros.
without a bunch of new characters introduced into the game. This time
Nintendo boasts an extremely impressive array of characters,
featuring at least 20 playable Nintendo characters alone. Other then
those 20, some special notable characters include Sonic the Hedgehog,
Solid Snake from the
Metal
Gear
franchise, Pit from
Kid
Icarus
,
Zero Suit Samus, Meta Knight, Wario, and many, many more. Many of the
regulars from the last games have also returned for their chance to
shine in Brawl. Some have even hinted there are even more characters
to unlock later on as you play through the game. You’ll just have
to play to find out!
Without
a doubt, one of the most talked about features of
Super
Smash Bros. Brawl
is the new Smash Ball item. Basically this is a brightly glowing,
colourful ball that can appear on the screen sometime during a match.
If a player manages to get a hold of it and use its power, their
character will unleash a massively devastating super-move that deals
tremendous damage to their opponents! These are the most powerful
(and often flashy) moves in the game. The fight to grab one of these
rare and powerful items can often make a match that much more
chaotic.
Grabbing
those Smash Balls is a tricky thing, and you might be wondering how
to control and maneuver your character well enough to be able to do
it. Luckily Nintendo has another feature up their sleeves, and this
time it’s in the controller. Or should I say,
controllers.
That’s because Brawl can be played with any one of FOUR different
controllers. You can use any of the following: The Wii Remote (turned
sideways), the Wii Remote connected to the Nunchuk, the Classic
Controller, or even a Gamecube controller. You’re not even limited
to just one; you could use just the Wii Remote while a friend sitting
next to you uses a Gamecube controller. It’s all in personal
preference. If you can, I recommend playing a bit with all of the
different styles to see what you feel most comfortable with.
The
game was extremely impressive and polished; there wasn’t much that
we thought could be improved on. One thing that I remember though,
was that the load time was a lot longer than the previous
Super
Smash Bros.
games.
At times there were noticeable waits due to loading. However, as the
Nintendo representatives pointed out, there is a heck of a lot of
quality content in there to load. Another practical concern is memory
space, as
Brawl
lets players take screenshots and record video footage for up to 3
minutes of fights. For this we were told that they had saved many
things to their system’s storage already, and weren’t anywhere
near the limits. Later on down the line consumers have a variety of
options for saving and backing up data, such as SD cards and other
options to gain more memory storage.
There
are so many additional features of
Brawl
,
so many new things that have been added, it would take forever to
cover them all. The evolution of the game from the original on the
N64 to the detailed and robust Wii version has been one of various
improvements, additions, and new characters to enjoy. There are
highly detailed new maps that have been created for the new
generation of combat fields, which include features like destructible
terrain and maps that actually change the longer the fight goes on or
after hitting certain areas on the screen. Also of note are the
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection capabilities of
Brawl
,
allowing online play against other players. You don’t have to wait
for that party at your place to play against your friends anymore,
now you can play directly over the Internet against other people, or
with friends using Friends Codes. This functionality holds lots of
potential, and depending on what Nintendo decides to do we might even
end up seeing things like online tournaments sometime in the future.
All
in all, playing
Super
Smash Bros. Brawl
was extremely enjoyable. It’s a different experience reading about
it on a website then playing it in person. All I can say in closing
is to try and pick up a copy when it finally hits release date. You
won’t be disappointed.
Super
Smash Bros. Brawl
is
scheduled to release for Wii in North America on March 9
th
and is rated T for Teen.