Super Smash Brothers Brawl

The boys are back in town! Bring it! Lets get ready to ruuuummmmbbblle! Throw as many clichés as you want, its not going to encompass the anticipation that people have felt for this game. Super Smash Brothers Brawl [Sora Ltd.] is the game the Wii was made for. Well, that’s not true at all. In fact this game would work on any system if the characters were fare game for anyone to use. But their not and Nintendo is making the most of this system seller. People who were getting bored with some of the lack luster 3rd party titles, get ready to put your Wii straps back on!
This is truly Wii fighting at its best. There is no doubt that the series has a fierce following of people who play casually and professionally. This is a game that is simplistic; A is attack, B is Special Attack. That’s it. The difference between a beginner and a new comer is what each character will do with it. And one of the new additions to Super Smash Brothers Brawl is the final smash. This is, in most cases, the stage clearer. Killing almost everyone on the screen. This adds a new dynamic to the game, or more accurately, a “drop what your doing and sprint for it” type situation.
Was it mentioned that you are doing this with one of 35 different playable characters! This is only counting Poke’mon trainer, who uses one of 3 different pocket mosters at a time. Or characters like Zelda (who turns into Sheik) and Samus (who turns into Zero Suit Samus). Along with the usual suspects from previous games, some of the new characters include Pit (from Kid Icarus), Sonic the Hedgehog, and Meta Knight among the 14 new guys. No one really seems to mind that four characters didn’t make the cut; Dr. Mario, Mewto, Pichu and Roy… they sucked anyway.
Nintendo doesn’t “do” online. That is officially no longer true, but it still isn’t something they do well. It takes quite a bit of communication and WWII style code breaking in order to do something as simple as add someone to your friends list. But once this is done, playing with a friend online is fairly simple and smooth. Sometimes the Brawl with anyone mode is a little slow to connect but for the most part works very well. The only other complaint one might have with this title is that the final smash item is a little bit un-balanced. Some characters like Lucas (from Earthbound) is a garunteed killer, while others like Peach is pure terribleness! Yes, it’s a word! It drops fruit on the ground! What is that?! Thankfully, this, along with all the items can be turned off.
The Wii is knows for its first party games, and this is a prime example why. Another triple A title. The amount of time this game will consume is monsterous. 35 characters, hundreds of trophies, and unlimited online brawling await.

Gamers Divorce

The unthinkable has happened. Young gamers have grown up, but inexplicably still play games! Yes, it has finally happened. My brother and I, who have been playing games since the Sega Master System, have to enact order 66. The gamers divorce! What was once one of our greatest assets has now finally come home to roost. We are two separate people with a common interest. We have shared our games and consoles in order to obtain a larger collection. In childhood getting a combined gift from friends and family making a $40 game a more reasonable purchase (killing two covenant with one Spartan laser). And now in adulthood having a combined income, which Sony almost made necessary to purchase their latest venture. But now we are “adults” with responsibilities to people other than Simon Belmont and Sonic T. Hedgehog.
So what is the best way to split up such a collection? While it is nice to hang onto older systems, they are mostly just for nerd points. The real conflict is for the three current gen consoles, which only makes it more difficult that there is an odd number. Thankfully one of them is practically worthless! Yes, I am referring to the PS3. I don’t care what everyone is saying about how 2008 is the year that Sony takes the stick outta their asses and turns it around. I guess it’s a good sign that Blu-Ray is officially the winner of the FWII (Format War 2). But so far DVDs are just fine for me.
Now it’s the Wiis time to be judged. This little guy has gone from dust collector to superstar as of 3/9/08. Sure it was enjoyed from time to time before this date at the occasional party. People love bowling and tennis, plus everyone played Mario Galaxies at least once. However it does somewhat feel like cheating that my favorite Wii game is played with a Gamecube controller. Super Smash Brother Brawl is what retail persons call a “system seller”. The friend code thing still hurts this consoles potential for greatness; laziness is certainly a trait many gamers share.
As for the real point of contention, the Xbox 360 is the console of choice. Blockbuster games as far as the eye can see, an online arcade full of grade A games, and a friends list that has been with us for years. Bioshock- check. Halo- check. Madden- no thanks… but check. This one certainly has the most hours of use out of the three, but that partially has to do with it being the most expensive. I feel I have to get my moneys worth after two separate breakdowns, both of which were not covered by the “extended warranty”. That was something like $80 for the refurbishing. That combined with four wireless controllers and a large selection of games makes this the highest dollar amount invested.
Maybe we should just put it all on eBay and split the cash. Or perhaps just make one last combined purchase of a second Wii and 360, but that brings up more questions about who gets the new hotness and who gets old and busted. I dunno what the end result is going to be… sorry for the big let down. I apologize if you took the time out of your day to read this whole thing. I’ll try to let you know when I find out.