Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii)

...history such as the original Super Mario Bros. songs or great tunes from the Pokemon series, and some songs from games which do not have any other representation in game. For example you can choose the Tetris theme, or the song from Wii Sports, or perhaps you'd prefer something original from the Smash Bros. series? There is some great music here, and the huge soundtrack, over 200 songs, just shows you the magnitude of this game.

==Difficulty ...
...funnest experiences I've had from any game. It builds upon it's predecessor in many ways to create a simply fun and amazing game. All the modes are fun to play with and there's always something to do.

My favourite way to play is with a few friends. Even if they have no idea what they're doing they can pick up and start playing straight away. Despite this there is definitely a depth to it and while it is easy to learn it can be difficult ... more

Ever wondered whether Mario could beat Link in a fight? Or perhaps you've been dying to see the little pink blob known as Kirby face up against Pikachu in a battle to the end? Well then now is as good as time as any to be introduced to the Smash Bros series with the third installment in this great Nintendo franchise with the most jam packed game yet.

The basic concept is simple: up to four Nintendo fighters are pitted against each other, hoping to knock the other competitors off the various recognisable locations, and hence being crowned the victor. And if that isn't enough this game is filled with so much content you'll find it hard to be bored.

Gameplay

The amount of modes and sections of gameplay in this game in this game is so vast I will find it hard to cover it all. That itself says a lot about the game. I hope to cover as much about the game as possible, but you really can't experience it all without buying the game.

Brawl Mode

The main reason to buy this game is for the addictive Brawl mode, the core part of the Smash Bros. game, and a part that never gets boring. As stated above it's a fight to the death as you kick and punch your way to victory. With a roster of 35 characters (some which you must unlock), 39 including various transformations, you must choose your fighter and then fight until you are victorious. The fighters include all of Nintendo's big hitters, including Mario, Link, Pikachu, Samus and Donkey Kong as well as many more. It also includes retro characters such as the Ice Climbers or Pit for those who have been around since the NES days. And a first for the series it also includes two third party characters: Sonic and Solid Snake, both making great additions to the line up.

The fighting itself is diverse and interesting. With a large amount of characters to choose from it's always fun, and you'll soon find your favourites. On top of this there is a vast array of Nintendo themed worlds for you to battle upon such as Hyrule Temple or the classic Mario level, World 1-1, as well as the ability to make your own stages in the Stage Creator. (While the stage creator is limited, it adds more possible levels for those who want them.) And to help you in this fight there are also plenty of items to help you including many you'll recognise from other games. One of the best items is the Assist Trophy. Activating this item will unleash another Nintendo character to help (or hinder) your progress. These help represent even more characters that were perhaps not quite worthy enough of being in the main roster.

The options for each match are vast. You can toggle all the items, the type of match (such as timed, stock. team or coin) and the level of the computers. There's also options to have special matches such as where all players are shrank to a fraction of their size, or where a player is rendered invisible throughout the match. These are just some of the options available and you'll have much fun playing different combinations.

Single Player

Aside from this there is also a comprehensive single player mode... a single player mode you can now play with a friend! I know, it doesn't make much sense but it truely adds to the enjoyment.

The main draw here is the Subspace Emmissary. An indepth and unique story mode featuring all 35 characters battle through various worlds, fighting new enemies. The gameplay in this mode is not as diverse and exciting as the Brawl mode, but it makes a nice addition to the game, offers a great way to unlock new characters and offers a story played out in stunning cut scenes.

On top of this there many, many, many more ways to play this game. This includes a classic mode to battle through computer controlled enemies or All Star where you battle through all the characters in turn, a fun target test where you must destroy targets as quickly as possible, the home run contest where you must hit a sandbag as far as possible, events where you must fill specific conditions to win and modes where you must beat as many enemies as possible. There are also online modes where you can battle strangers or your friends over the internet.

That's Not All

One thing worth noting is the different ways to control the game. You can choose one of four methods, picking the one that suits you best. There is the Nunchuck combo, the classic controller, the remote on it's side or a Gamecube controller.

To go along with this there is a lot of cool little features included. One of these are small demos are various Nintendo games. While they are probably only there to encourage you to buy the full versions from the Wii's Wii Shop, it offers an extra insight into Nintendo's great history. On top of this there are also trophies and stickers to collect and unlock via challenges and through out the gameplay, and also a huge amount of songs to add to the soundtrack. One way to collect trophies and stickets is a game in itself. The coin launcher uses coins you win throughout game play to launch at trophies and 'ships' to earn yourself extra stickers and of course new trophies.

Graphics and Presentation

This game is one of those really show off what the Wii can do when pushed. All the fights look great with all the environments presented in great graphics, and the cut scenes in the Subspace Emissary look stunning, especially one involving a large ship... I won't spoil it but it looks great.

A truely wonderful thing about this game is the soundtrack. From the moment you here the main theme you know the soundtrack will be wonderful. As with previous games it is made up of many well known songs from all their games, though in this game they've out done thereselves. Where as before they had one or two songs for each stage, both from the game the stage represents, this one gives each stage several songs, all great songs from Nintendo's history such as the original Super Mario Bros. songs or great tunes from the Pokemon series, and some songs from games which do not have any other representation in game. For example you can choose the Tetris theme, or the song from Wii Sports, or perhaps you'd prefer something original from the Smash Bros. series? There is some great music here, and the huge soundtrack, over 200 songs, just shows you the magnitude of this game.

Difficulty and Fun

Basically it's one of the funnest experiences I've had from any game. It builds upon it's predecessor in many ways to create a simply fun and amazing game. All the modes are fun to play with and there's always something to do.

My favourite way to play is with a few friends. Even if they have no idea what they're doing they can pick up and start playing straight away. Despite this there is definitely a depth to it and while it is easy to learn it can be difficult to master! But many a times have a bunch of friends and me gathered round a console to battle away with Nintendo's best loved characters.

All the modes have difficulty levels so if you think you're good then why not crank up the difficulty level to give yourself a new challenge?

Summary

What can I say about this game that I haven't already said? This game isn't perfect, I'd find it hard to believe any game could be, but it is one of the best games I've played, definitely one of the must haves for the Wii. It has little bad about it, and the things that are bad are basically nit picking. It has so many modes, and so much fun all crammed onto one disc, so many things to do I kept forgetting things and had to go back to add them, and I'm sure there's more things I haven't even mentioned. It has a great soundtrack, great visuals and gameplay with a touch of nostalgia for all those Nintendo veterans but a fun game even if you've never touched a Nintendo game. It has loads of replayability whether with friends, or to master the game, or to collect all the trophies, stickers and songs.

This game is vast, and so is this review. I whole heartedly recommend this game for anyone who owns a Wii, anyone who is a fan of Nintendo... and even if you don't own a Wii I'd recommend finding someone who does. It's worth playing.

It's a game you'll keep coming back to, even if just the odd match now and then. It has such a draw, and the vast amount of features means it's one of my favourites and will be a key part of my gaming life for a long time to come. 

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