'Brawl' a smashing good time
By Nick Knittel, Contributor
April 10, 2008 | noon
"Super Smash Bros. Brawl" is the kind of game that delivers on nearly every level, making it a core component to the Wii library and a required purchase for any owner.
"Super Smash Bros. Brawl" is the newest edition to the nearly 10-year-old "Smash Bros." series. For those who do not know, the "Super Smash Bros." series allows players to choose from a hodgepodge of famous Nintendo characters and to bring to life their deepest desires: beating the shit out of one another in massive, chaotic battles.
Yes, it is a fighting game, but the point is not to bludgeon the enemy into a bloody pulp a la Mortal Kombat but rather to launch them off the stage, Wile E. Coyote-style. Health meters are replaced with damage gages, a percentage-based system indicating the distance a character might travel with each consecutive hit. A character at 150 percent, for example, is going to fly a lot farther than one at 5 percent. It brings an interesting new mechanic to a tired formula.
Assisting the myriad of moves used by each character are items pulled straight from their respective games. Poké balls, Koopa shells and even the Nintendo Super Scope make an appearance, usually resulting in numerous deaths and general agitation.
The newest, and perhaps most controversial, item is the Smash Ball. Smash Balls float throughout the level, appear randomly and require the player to attack one until it breaks. When this happens, run.
Think of the Smash Ball as the finishing move. It grants the player access to a character-specific attack that is almost always a one-hit kill, ranging from bizarre to vicious. For example, Samus unleashes a blast from her arm cannon that covers half the screen, while Luigi turns the level into a trippy dance-off that makes it clear that the mushrooms in Super Mario are doing more than we once thought.
One complaint regarding the Smash Balls is that on certain levels they are so numerous and frequent they interfere with the game play, making the winner not the one who played the best but the one who was the luckiest.
As for characters, there are 36 to play, more than any other Smash game. All of the veterans from the previous games are here, from Link to Samus to Mario, as well as many more, including Wario, Snake from “Metal Gear Solid" and even Sonic the Hedgehog.
Compared to the previous installments, the characters in "Brawl" have been surprisingly rounded out. It is hard to pinpoint a completely weak character (though Jigglypuff, like usual, is a magnet for pain and disappointment).
The moves and speeds of each character have been altered from previous counterparts to provide more balanced game play. "Brawl" is aimed at new players as much as it is for old, and it allows even the most hapless players a decent chance at winning.
"Super Smash Bros. Brawl" is also a game heavily skewed toward the multi-player, but complementing the frenzied multi-man fights is the newly adjusted single player mode.
In other installments, single player consisted of a fairly easy series of one-on-one matches, an excuse for one to hone his or her skills without any real consequence. While that is still an available option, "Brawl" contains a mini-game, "The Subspace Emissaries," which is an old-school, adventure-style mode allowing players to smash through numerous levels with their favorite characters, all under the umbrella of a fairly elaborate plot involving space aliens.
"The Subspace Emissaries" is a longish mini-game that provides a way to unlock nearly every hidden character and most hidden items under the guise of somewhat decent storytelling. It is a welcome addition, however, and the beautiful cut scenes linking every level to the next are great to watch.
The real joy, though, is in the multi-player, where up to four people can participate in the carnage at one time. There is also the ability to use the Nintendo WiFi connection and play against others online.
The most standout feature of this game is not the wealth of options, the relentless number of hidden features and items or the disturbing array of detail packed into every level and character with the loving touch that geeks fawn over. What will be noticed most is the amount of time sucked away by this game.
The hours lost trying to unlock a character and the bleary-eyed, early morning battles with friends will surely lead to late classes and missed homework.
"Super Smash Bros. Brawl" is a fantastic game with a huge replay value. The sheer number of new features and perks (A level editor! Stickers! 500+ trophies!) can not be laid out in a simple review, but "Brawl" delivers on so many levels it doesn’t really matter.
A must-buy.
---
Title: "Super Smash Bros. Brawl"
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Fighting/Adventure
Console: Wii
Number of Players: 1-4
Rating: T for Teen
Speakeasy Rating: A