Super Smash Bros. Brawl Member Review for the Wii

Now I'm not a GR writer, so I don't have a witty introduction. I apologize.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl was one of the most anticipated games in recent memory, rivaling Halo 3. Most people are blinded by the hype, and say this game is the best ever made. Let's get real here, this isn't the best game. It is very good, but not the best ever.

Let me start by saying this: THE POSSIBILITIES A GAME LIKE THIS HAS IS ENDLESS. No one seems to realize this when they bash this game for not having their favourite character, or not including this or that. Take that into consideration, and realize Nintendo has done a fine job.

Characters
Since Melee, there has always been a character for everyone. This game does not change that. Before I dive into the roster, I will give a spoiler. If you do not want to read it, skip to the next paragraph. Brawl has removed 4 characters: Dr. Mario, Pichu, Roy and Mewtwo. Mario is now a sort of combination of himself and his medical counterpart. No one in their right mind used Pichu. He was completely useless. He was faster than Pikachu, but was so weak and light that you would die to quickly. Roy was sort of replaced by Ike, but more is written about that later. Mewtwo was unpopular, and was replaced by Lucario. Again, read more about that in the next paragraph.

Let Me talk about the clones. In Melee, they were almost direct copies of the originals. In Brawl, this isn't so much the case. First off, Ganondorf. He was always different that Falcon, but now he's even further away, but still should be considered a clone. Wario is nothing like Mario at all, but most people know that. Luigi is still the same though, so he would be another clone (but he is quite different). Ike is very different from Marth. Unlike Roy, his speed and power are very different from Marth's, and so are most of his moves. He is still built on the same foundation, but he is very different, so I would not consider him to be too much of a clone. Toon Link is pretty much Young Link but faster, enough said. Lucario is completely different from Mewtwo, with only their standard special move being the same (Lucario's does not move up and down like Mewtwo's though). Now for the Foxes. Falco's smashes have been changed up, and so has his reflector (he throws it in front of him). Wolf is almost entirely different. His up special move does not charge, and his side special move goes in a diagonal.

I say that Brawl has a great roster, with many original fighters. For all those people who think they could have put in this person or that person, think about the possibilities issue. They could have put in anyone, but they don't have that time or space on that disk. Judge who is here and not who could have been.

Gameplay
Let's start with the Subspace Emissary. Frankly, to sum it up, it is OK. There is nothing special about it. It lacks depth, and gets repetitive after awhile. But this is a fighting game, so I give Nintendo props for effort. It takes roughly 7 hours to complete, so it can eat up a day, but the good news is you'll earn most characters through doing it, so with one run through of the Subspace, you can start Brawling with almost everyone.

Most people are going their Gamecube controllers, and play away. People shouldn't immediately rush to this. Using the Wiimote is a fresh experience, and gives the game a new feel. Still, it is awkward, and in time you will resort to the Gamecube's great controls.

Nothing really needs to be said about the multiplayer. We all know it's great, and they added more items (including the Smash Ball and Assist trophies) to cause more mayhem. Smash balls add an extra dimension to gaming, and can really turn tables during matches; but you can turn it off. The game speed has been slowed slightly from Melee, but it is still quite fast, and most wouldn't notice the difference.

Classic Mode is almost the same, just tuned-up a bit. The final stage before Master Hand is now a free-for-all brawl, which is pretty cool. The stadium had a makeover as well. The Homerun contest was made so that everyone can get over 1000. Seriously. You can hit the sandbag with a full swing and it will bounce off the invisible glass, which disappears after a little bit. Also, there are no more customized target tests, just 5 different ones that everyone does. The multi-man brawl is now harder than it was in Melee. Before, I got 15 kills in Cruel Melee. Now, I can't get one.

For a single player game, it is just average, but with friends, this will keep you entertained for a long time.

Misc.
The sounds and graphics are simply updated from Melee. The songs in the game are amazing, and with Sound Test, you can listen to them whenever. Also, with My Music, you can customize the music for the stages. The stickers are more or less a waste, and are just like trophies. The coin launcher (the new way to get trophies and stickers) is involving, but I think it is worse because it does not tell you if you can get any new trophies. The stage builder is a very cool feature, and the possibilities are vast.

Overall, this is a very good game. It supplies all the fan service, while making a darn good fighting game in the process. This is a must-get for the Wii. There are many unlockables, and it will keep you enntertained for awhile.