Hands On With: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Games
Hands On With: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
By Michael Sokolowski
February 15, 2008 - 08:30

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.