Title: Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Format: Wii
Price: 50 USD or 35 GBP
Wi-Fi: YES
Players: 4
Release Date: NTSC: 3/9/08 PAL: 6/6/08
PEGI rating: I would guess 12+
Controls: Wiimote+Nunchuck, Wiimote on side, Classic Controller, Gamecube Controller
Since you guys wont be getting this until June, I thought I would do my first (and probably only) review about this amazing game.
GRAPHICS
I was expecting good graphics from this game since it is one of the wii's trump cards over PS3 and 360, but I was amazed. The graphics are amazing. I would best compare this to Super Mario Galaxy at least. I believe this game really uses the Wii's graphics to their full potential. I am not usually that persuaded by the graphics of a game as long as you aren't a pixel chasing another pixel. I think that this game could have easily passed as a low graphical quality game. The graphics are amazing, and there are some moments when you just get blown away by them.
9/10
AUDIO
This game has greatly expanded on the soundtrack from the previous game. First of all, every stage has its own music that corresponds to the stages theme. Then there is even more music you can unlock. The music was composed by many legendary composers. To just name a few, there is Koji Kondo from Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda and Yoko Shimomura from Kingdom Hearts, but to see the full list, you can look
here. Basically, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a soundtrack for this game.
10/10
GAMEPLAY
There are 2 main different modes, and since it would be wrong to compare them as the same thing, I will explain them separately.
First there is the basic brawl. This is almost exactly what it has been throughout the entire series. Frantic button smashing trying to land blows on your opponent.While it seems like the damage increases much faster, the basic game play is the same, but the new line up of items brings some exciting new twists. First of which is what everyone knows about. The Final Smash. These moves can be the difference between making it and breaking it. These are not as easy as they seem to pull off. First there is the frantic rush for the smash ball. Basically keep attacking the ball until you bust it, and the person who does the final hit gets the smash. This power can be knocked out, however, if you take enough damage while in “Final Smash Mode.” To activate your Final Smash, just hit your special attack button once. While this may seem easy, you have to consider how your final smash works and who you want it to affect the most. These moves may not do much if your opponent only has 10% damage, but if they are heavily damaged, then it will finish them. Then there are also the Dragoon parts. The Dragoon is a ship that falls in 3 parts. You can knock the parts off of the person that has them, but when you get all 3, you go into a target screen and you shoot towards your opponent, and if you hit them close enough, then it is an instant K.O.
Next there is the story mode, which is called the Subspace Emissary. This is like adventure mode in melee, but much longer. I am not sure of the main antagonist of this mode, but it involves you in the beginning being able to pick from just 2 people, but as the story progresses, you have access to more people to play the stages. This mode has a very good storyline, and will keep you playing. This mode will keep you entertained for hours, I mean literally. I have been playing for about 5 hours and only 50% of the way through! Not to mention you can unlock every character through this instead of the Brawls or various tasks. You can also play this with a friend, because it is 2 players, and trust me; it is a lot easier with someone else helping you.
Finally, there are the miscellaneous modes. The first of which is target practice. It seems like they completely scraped this and only kept the idea of smashing targets. Now you can have more than one person in the arena, but that is because instead of each character having their own stage, there is only 5 stages total. Then there is home run contest, and this is just like melee except you can have a partner to help you, allowing you to get much greater distance.
So, I will give game play a 10/10, because not only have they made it more multiplayer, but it is the same great game play we have and will always love
INNOVATION
This is where it starts to fall. It is basically Melee with better graphics when it comes to basic Brawl. Even the characters move sets are practically identical to Melee, but don’t worry, they do get some of those points back. The story mode is simply amazing, and you could have just slightly expanded on it alone and made a budget title. Then it also has made the story mode multiplayer, which is something you don’t see very often. They have also added, like I said, the Final Smashes and Dragoon, not to mention all of the new items.
It gets a 7/10 in this category, because although it does have a lot of new features, the battle system which you probably buy the game for is the same
REPLAY VALUE
I just had to give this game a replay value. Like I said, the story mode alone will take you about 10 hours, then there is the event matches and unlocking all the stages will take you a lot longer. So this game has the replay value of maybe 5 games put together.
15/10
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This game is nothing less than amazing, and if you can find a copy, then I would highly recommend you get it. I believe this to be the best game released for the Wii so far, and the replay value is astronomical. This game may give you the same amount of game play as maybe 2 or 3 games, and if you are a Nintendo fan, here is your chance to put all of your favorite characters against each other in a fight to the death.
SUMMARY
GRAPHICS: 9
AUDIO: 10
GAMEPLAY: 10
INNOVATION: 7
REPLAY VALUE:10
OVERALL RATING: 9/10
If you can get a copy, then I highly reccomend you picking it up.