Review: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Part 2

One of the main points when it comes to Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the multiplayer action within the game. Of course the new online brawls only add to the popularity of the game creating the possibility to battle with friends who could be on the opposite side of the country. Nintendo has gone out of their way this time to give us everything possibly imaginable when it comes to multiplayer and they've made it one of the more prominent features within the game.

Even if you don't have an online connection you can enjoy the many modes of multiplayer for you and your friends playing on the same Wii console. They range from just your basic brawl with differing rules like timed matches or matches with a set number of stocks to determine the winner. Of course you can play through any of the forty-one stages and play as any of the thirty-five fighters in the game. An interesting feature included within the game is the ability to add your name to a list of players on the game. This will allow you and your friends to add your names and create your own custom control scheme to fit your own personal preferences.

Want to get a little more technical with your battles then you might want to try adding some special rules. This isn't a completely new concept as it was present in melee. Giant or small battles should be familiar to those who played melee and they're back once again in Brawl adding another level of fun to the multiplayer action itself. Keep in mind that all these modes are playable with a single player playing against computer opponents at different skill level. This could be good practice for when you do get around to playing against your friends as well as skilled players over Wifi.

There are multiple other modes to keep you and your friends entertained including tournament mode which is a mode that allows up to thirty-two players compete against each other. Another very similar mode called rotation allows you to brawl with up to sixteen players rotating who plays in each brawl adding a bit more variety for when you have more then four players at one time.

Moving right on to the online portion of multiplayer. Utilizing the built in Wifi connection of the Nintendo Wii console in an attempt to bring us seamless gameplay with players across the country. However on opening day the online service was less then seamless due to the fact that the servers running the game couldn't handle the massive amount of players causing disconnections of all kinds. For the most of us we couldn't even get online operating properly until days after the release. Even now there are still quite a few flaws in connections over wifi which include disconnections and massive amount of lag even when it comes to players living right next door to each other.

With all these flaws aside online is made up of two basic modes. One allowing you to play with people you know by exchanging friend codes and entering them into each others friend list which will allow you to see when each other are online and when others are looking for games. Playing with friends includes basic brawls as well as some other modes which I'll go into a little more detail on in the final part of this review. The second mode included online is the ability to play against anyone who happens to be looking. You won't know the names of your challengers during this mode. There is no rating system or anything of the like in Brawl which is quite lacking leaving no real proof of any victories leaving the mode a little lacking.

Nintendo went through quite a bit of trouble to make the game comfortable for players of all kinds which is why they added in multiple control schemes. Including the original Gamecube controller which stuck to the same control scheme as was used in melee which makes the game easy for long time players of the previous installment to pick up and play without having to focus on learning the controls. Of course they've added the Wii Remote and Nunchuck as well as the Wii Remote on its own as new control schemes. The Wii Remote and Nunchuck seems to feel very similar to the Gamecube controls while the Wii Remote on its own forces you to hold it on its side which in fact is lacking on buttons. The last controller that can be used with the game is the Classic Controller used for Virtual Console games. With the large amount of buttons on the Classic Controller giving it a similar control scheme to the Gamecube controller as well.

During Brawls there are of course other returning elements like familiar items as well as all new items. There are of course the returning Pokeballs which summon a Pokemon helper to aid you in battle. There are another item similar to this call assist trophies which summon other characters from the game universe to aid you in battle. One of the newest and most helpful concepts in battle as the floating orb objects known as Smash Balls. By being the one to break these with a series of attacks you'll be able to unleash your fighters most powerful move, the Final Smash. Keep in mind that when these appear it will soon become all out war in an attempt to be the one to break the ball. Also keep in mind that even after breaking it that before using it the power of the Final Smash can be passed on by taking a large amount of damage making the ball fair game again. Every characters Final Smash is different meaning that you'll have to master each of them if you're to be able to utilize them properly in battle.

Multiplayer is one of the more prominent modes in the game yet in my personal opinion the online modes in the game could have used some work and weren't exactly ready to go live when the game was released. Either this or Nintendo wasn't prepared for the huge outcome of players to pick up the game on the first day. However it should have been expected by how much they were readying us for its release and just how much they made us wait. Even with the online mode a bit lacking the game still had plenty of offline multiplayer fun to be had and made the game work for close to anyone with the many control schemes.