Super Smash Bros Brawl Review

Super Smash Bros Brawl(GameCube controller used)

Throughout the 90s, a single genre carried video game culture - the beat-em-up. Yet, a particular game within this category took the brutality of Mortal Kombat and combined it with the fluid controls of Street Fighter. And Instead of the obscure and vicious characters included into those two classics, Super Smash Brothers possessed the charm and cheek of everyone’s beloved Nintendo characters. Earlier this year, the second successor to the original was released, and like its predecessors, it didn't disappoint.

The music in this game is simply phenomenal. This game has one of the largest varieties of songs I have ever seen in a video game. If as a kid you were always humming the Super Mario theme at school lectures, then you’re bound to appreciate the music. One thing to remember when playing Brawl, keep the volume up at all times!

To label Smash Brothers as a “fighter” wouldn’t be quite right. The series is known for its less than fatal approach to combat, so instead of trying to kill your opponents; just knocking them out of the screen will suffice. The more hits an opponent takes the more vulnerable to attacks he will become, and easier to be knocked off the screen.

Any controller compatible with the Wii is also compatible with Brawl, though certain controllers will naturally take preference over others. I personally prefer the GameCube controller because the Wii-mote was said to be unreliable by some. The controls on the GameCube are sweet and simple. Three methods of attack are available, each assigned to a specific button. Your joystick is used to move around and the remaining buttons are used for jumping and defending. For those at the height of their game, beating around an opponent will be comparable to the likes of beating around a ragdoll - it'll prove incredibly easy, satisfying and fun, and that's not to mention the taunts individual to each character. Final Smash’s have also been added to the game. A Final Smash is a fatality, were you weaken or/and destroy your opponent. No, Pikachu doesn’t eat Mario’s head but he becomes a huge lightning ball that is fully controllable and dangerous. You can activate this move by getting a Smash Ball and pressing the Special attack button.

There are a total of 6 game modes (2 of them are unlockable). We have the Subspace Emissary, The Battle Mode, specific events and stadium events. The Subspace Emissary takes me back to the side scrolling action of the arcade beat-em-ups such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or The Simpson. The most outstanding thing about the Subspace Emissary is the beautifully rendered CGI cut-scenes but at the Emissary’s worst, it is repetitious and laborious by nature, and after several hours, becomes boring and largely uninteresting. The Subspace Emissary lasts for about 8 hours and is the easiest way to unlock hidden characters. What really made the series shine though was the fun you could have with a friend. The Battle Mode is what made the series so great, in this mode you and your friends can fight it out with a great level of customizability. The Event Mode is one of the wackiest things in brawl. Its imagination at its finest, this mode offers 41 extraordinary events that have specific rules on how to beat them.

Fans of the series have been waiting for online play since the release of the first game, even though at the time, that particular console lacked online capabilities – an inadequacy of that era. One of the main reasons you should purchase Brawl is the online play. Not everything is as nice as it sounds though, as when trying to search for a match with a random person, this requires patience as it takes quite some time to find opponents but when you do, there is no lag whatsoever. Friend Codes are here to save the day again, and work perfectly. Stage Builder is also a new feature. You can send the stages you created to your friends Nintendo picks the top stages and distribute them around the world.

The previous games of the Franchise had amazing cast of characters and this year is no different. In the game there is a total of 34 characters, each one with a unique move set and final smash. Die hard fans will probably want to try out all the characters and all their attacks. There are also 41 interactive stages. I say interactive because the environment acts as a Joker, he is not on either side but tries to eliminate both.

Although visual fidelity isn’t exactly a virtue afforded to the Wii’s hardware, Brawl makes a noble attempt to separate itself from the last generation graphics the Wii games tend to use and surpasses them.

Finally, I give this game a 9.5 because as we have seen Nintendo could go a bit more into detail on the graphics, and have amazing online server. This game is basically the franchise of franchises and it deserves a purchase.

This review was brought to you by,

The Radical Gamer