Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Nintendo's punch-drunk love letter

by Tom Chick, 3/9/2008 12:00 AM

What's Hot: Variety of characters and levels; Simple and accessible party game gameplay; Generous amount of content

What's Not: Limited online options; Not much changed since the GameCube version

Crispy Gamer Says:

Buy It!
(Page 2 of 3)

There is also new online play, which works every bit as smoothly as it did in Mario Kart for the DS. You can jump into games with your friends once you've exchanged friend codes, or you can play with strangers minus any actual interaction. The online play is a bit confined, as you'd expect. But Brawl would have definitely benefited from some of the crazy game variations that makes Halo 3 online such an exceptional experience.

Instead, Brawl was primarily built for a group of friends in the same living room. There isn't a wilder party game available. The sheer flexibility means there's something for everyone, and the amount of content means everyone will be at it all night. Brawl might seem like a great game for playing a quick match or two, but try telling that to everyone after they've been playing for five hours and still won't leave.

Once upon a ... huh?

There's a lot more than just brawling in here. One of the biggest new features is a campaign mode called Subspace Emissary, which tells some sort of incomprehensible story. Here you fight through a series of side-scrolling levels and bosses to get to the elaborate CG cut scenes. It even has its own collecting and RPG system, whereby you find stickers and apply them to the base of a given character to improve his fighting ability. You have to make sure stickers don't overlap, so there's a crazy inventory Tetris type of sub-game going on.

You can play through the storyline cooperatively, which is a great way to learn the characters in a more forgiving environment than by going directly into brawls. It's an open enough world to encourage exploration, although the impetus to do so is mainly to find trophies. This is no more contrived a goal than attaining Achievements in an Xbox 360 game. Watching the windows pop open on the wall of achievements is like getting candy from an Advent calendar.

Beyond this, Brawl is full of challenges and puzzles and mini-games and trophy viewers and achievements and sticker albums. It's like a big, messy toy box that defies organization because it's brimming with sheer fun. Upon closer scrutiny, it's a bit too messy. It would be nice to have a clearer picture of what it takes to unlock goodies, and the personal records feel like an afterthought (note to developers: pay attention to the way Valve tracks player performance in Team Fortress 2!). It's also a shame that there are no unlockables or accomplishments associated with online play.

A view to a punch

The options to save and trade screenshots and replays will be great for kids and Super Smash Bros. fetishists who want to capture stills of Princess Peach in mid-pummel. There's a level builder, and Nintendo has promised new downloadable levels every week. You can even exchange levels online with your friends.

If there's a more generous game for the Wii that captures so completely the broad and historical appeal of Nintendo, I have yet to see it. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a cross between a shrine, a love letter and blatant promotion. It's not just a great game spanning solo play, party play and online gaming; think of it as the definitive pitcher of Nintendo Kool-Aid -- and, boy, is it refreshing and delicious. Won't you have a sip?

« Prev  1  2  3  Next »  

Comments

  • Jxe
    Jxe

    Sep 14 2008 1:48PM

    This is the best game in the history of nintendo!

  • schutsy
    schutsy

    Aug 17 2008 2:46AM

    It is impossible to hate this game it is the number 1 game in the univers there are so many upgrades that a whole page wood fill it up by saying them. good review

  • Super_Smasher
    Super_Smasher

    Jul 24 2008 8:22AM

    ITS AWESOME FIGHTING ACTION THERES MORE WEAPONS POWERUPS AND NEW CHARACTERS THIS GAME IS A COMBINATION OF A LOT OF FUN EXCITING FIGHTING GAMES AND THATS WHY ITS SO GOOD

  • Katorian
    Katorian

    Jul 22 2008 9:48PM

    SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL AND SUPER SMASH BROS. MELEE ARE THE BEST GAMES IN THE WHOLE WIDE UNIVIRSE.

  • meta_knight14
    meta_knight14

    Jul 16 2008 11:27AM

    brawl is the most antcipted game of 2008 and everybody likes the game because snake is in it asnd sonic online fighting

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to comment. Log In or Register now!
Filed Under: Masahiro Sakurai, Kazushige Nojima, fighting, platformer, crossover, Mario, Yoshi, Ike, Wario, Link, Fox, Samus, Zero Suit Samus, Pikachu, Pit, Kirby, Meta Knight, Diddy KongSolid Snake, Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Bookmark It:
  • Add This Page to Digg
  • Add This Page to Del.ico.us
  • Add This Page to StumbleUpon
  • Add This Page to Technorati
  • Add This Page to Slashdot

» The Game Trust » Reviews RSS Feed

Game Action

Most Active Groups

  • WTF DO We Do Now? (390 Topics)

    452 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    WTF DO We Do Now? If you are not sure what group to be in and don't like heavy r...
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl (220 Topics)

    343 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    A forum for discussion of the game to end all games, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. T...
  • .;~*] gamer girls [*~:. (109 Topics)

    198 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    we are all out there. lets get to know each other (now more moderated than befo...
  • Graveyard Shift (50 Topics)

    75 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    For those of us more active at night,to talk about whatever .
  • Ryches trivia corner (22 Topics)

    23 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    Answer questions for fun.You get the answer right you get to ask the next questi...

© Crispy Gamer, Inc. All rights reserved.

By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.