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Showing reviews 276-280 of 303
 Melee was better May 19, 2008
Philosophergamer
First off, I will acknowledge the awesome things about Brawl. It's character selection is simply amazing in the breadth of games covered - everything from R.O.B. to Earthbound to Fire Emblem. Secondly, it's very nice to be able to choose what music plays on a specific stage. Thirdly, playing online is very fun and helpful if nobody is avalible to play with offline. And fourthly, being able to build your own stages is very fun. HOWEVER!!! There are some, in my opinion, serious steps backward from SSBM. First of these is the sheer quantity of one-hit-kill items. Even with the items turned to low, you're still almost guarenteed to see more than one smash orb per battle. While the smash orb IS one of the main things this game is known for, the smash attacks should be either toned down a bit or the orbs should be a bit more scarce. I remember one battle I was in with my brother and there were nine smash orbs. NINE. On a five stock battle, this basically turned into whoever got the smash orbs won. While they can simply be turned off, this is also not an ideal opition. It would be better, in my opinion, if they were simply a bit less powerful or harder to hit with. Second is Classic mode. Far from the random battles experienced during Melee Classic mode, Brawl's Classic mode seems to conform to a set formula (e.g. Battle 1 is always vs. Zelda characters, Battle 2 is always vs. Donkey Kong, etc.) Classic mode also removed all the interstages apart from "Break the Targets," taking out "race to the finish" which was, in my opinion, one of the best. A quick tangent on the Break the Targets - the custom stages for every character has been replaced with one base stage for break the targets, taking a lot of the fun out of using each character's specific skills to reach a certain target. A Third, well, not exactly problem, but thing that I don't entirely appreciate is subspace emmisary. While no one buys a Super Smash Bros. game for the single player, I think I am safe in saying that everyone plays it. Subspace emmisary takes away one of the main proponents of Super Smash Bros. - actual fighting - and relegates it to returning once per level, if you're lucky! Subspace Emmisary is largely an extension of Adventure mode in SSBM, but with less normal battles. Some people may like this, but for me, it just dosen't do it. Also, playing through subspace emmisary, in my opinion, introduces characters too quickly, although this is probably just me. It seems like in Melee, players were actually expected to do something in order to unlock characters (e.g. Mr. Game and Watch - Complete all characters target tests, or Falco - Complete 100 man Melee) In Brawl, you simply have to play through Subspace Emissary once to unlock all but three characters. While these faults are not enough for me to reccomend to someone not to buy the game, I think they do detract from the overall experience. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I think Melee was better.
 Back To Brawl! May 23, 2008
GameraRocks (Gillsville, GA USA)
If you liked the previous titles in the series, then you will like this too. I was a little disappointed that the game doesn't use the motion sensors to play, it is just the basic button pushing just like the previous two games. The graphics are a little better than they were on Gamecube, but the game is still really fun. Brawl has a nice choice of interesting new and classic characters. Overall, I really do recommend this game. I play it with someone else all of the time and it is always fun.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl June 12, 2008
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a great game with all your classical players like Mario,DonkyKong and Wario.The way you beat the game is you have to use each charactor in two different stages.I like it because it takes a while to beat the game and I don't like games were you can beat it in a day.I think everyone would like this game.
Not perfect, but it's addictive and the ultimate fanservice for Nintendo fanatics June 21, 2008
MisterMusicFan
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
So going into my purchase of Brawl, I have to say my expectations were massively high-I was addicted to Super Smash Bros. Melee for a good 7 years (pretty much up to the point at which I heard Brawl was coming out), and just had this mindset that it was, hands down, one of the greatest games ever created. It was about as close as Nintendo could come to digital crack. So needless to say, if there was going to be a sequel, it better have been a rip-roarin' hell of a sequel if it wanted to top, or even equal, its predecessor. Well I'll say first off that Brawl definitely delivers and is an amazing game-if you loved Melee, you will very likely also play this game to death. On the other hand, however, like many Wii games, had it gone just a little further, had the developers made that smidgen of extra effort, it would have been an untouchable classic. So to start, if you're playing Brawl for the first time coming out of your Melee haze, expect a few wonky differences that may actually initially turn you off. The controls take getting used to, some of the characters handle differently, and in general, almost everything is a tad slower. The control schemes seem weird at first-this game is simply not meant to be played like an NES title, so needless to say just holding the Wii Remote sideways really doesn't feel right. The Wii Remote+Nunchuk scheme is alright, but quickly reveals that the Smash Bros. series was constructed to be compatible with a basic controller layout. Veterans and newbies alike will very likely feel most comfortable just reverting back to the Gamecube Controllers, which is both a relief in that you don`t have to shoehorn your controller comfort zone into something that just doesn`t fit, but also somewhat disappointing in that they couldn't think of anything more innovative in terms of new control schemes. Meanwhile, some trademark powerhouses and competitive favorites have been toned down power-wise and made generally weaker (Peach, Sheik, Link, Jigglypuff), while some not-so-popular others have been curiously and somewhat pointlessly powered *up* (Mr. Game & Watch, Zelda, Ness). The tradeoff would've been more logical if the toning down of unreasonably powerful moves from the previous game weren't followed up with other random characters who weren't particularly overpowered in Melee being so dramatically powered up for Brawl. Also, the slew of items is now devastating-get ready to defend against things like Final Smashes and the Dragoon, both of which can provide the user with potential multiple instant KO's. Some minor tweaks have been made that actually make things a little more convenient, and provide more strategy options-you can now grab items while running or in midair, and you can now move around while using attack items that required you to fire from a standstill in Melee. It's also slightly easier for most characters to grab the edges of platforms. As far as graphics and general aesthetics go, surprisingly, as where the Wii came somewhat short in some other games, Melee is actually quite visually impressive. The colors are far more vivid, and almost everything is slightly more elaborate and detailed-each character now has unique animations that occur as they're charging Smash Attacks, and every fighter in general is given more character and personality. One of the new items, the Superspicy Curry, causes the user to spout flames from their mouth, and each fighter does this in a manner individually befitting of their character. Also, each character now has three different taunts instead of just one. As far as the new character designs go, some of them are amazing while others take getting used to. Peach is gorgeous, looking the best she's ever looked in pretty much any previous title, Link and Zelda are modeled after their Twilight Princess designs so they both look great (and Zelda's color scheme is now brunette-purple instead of blonde-pink, which mimicked Peach a little too closely), Yoshi is a little less lanky-looking than he was in Melee, Donkey Kong now actually has fur, and the Ice Climbers are less blocky looking (their parkas now have texture to them). Ganondorf's new look (and new handling) takes some getting used to (although it's based off of his Twilight Princess design, like the other Zelda characters), and I initially found Fox a little too cartoony-looking for my taste. Both of these new looks ended up growing on me, however, and ultimately all of the characters are pretty satisfactory aesthetically. The 'clone' problem is also pretty much gone (Dr. Mario, Young Link and Pichu are no longer present, although Fox, Falco and Wolf are all a little too close for comfort at times); and for the first time in a Smash title, Luigi is now completely his own character (gasp). Now for the gameplay itself: everything's pretty much just as exciting as Melee, although some of the new quirks offer new possibilities for strategy, and the devastating items and introduction of Final Smashes can make things far more intense. The addition of the Smash Ball and Final Smash, which is basically a character's 'ultimate' attack, adds a very fresh and fun new flavor to the gameplay. Mad dashes for the Smash Ball always offer some awesomely intense gameplay or at least some laughs-and I have to say, it's incredibly satisfying finishing off your opponent with a well-timed Final Smash. The 1-player game modes simultaneously impress and disappoint-Classic Mode is pretty much the same, but it seems somewhat tired by this point, and feels in general more exhaustive and tedious than in previous titles. Adventure Mode comes in the form of the Subspace Emissary, a 1 or 2-player cinematic adventure mode that requires you to complete several tasks, fight boss battles and basically make your way through 'levels,' like an old-fashioned platformer. It is also ultimately a mixed bag. The cut scenes provided in between each level are really the motivation to play-fanboys and girls alike will probably giggle giddily watching their favorite Nintendo characters interact in sometimes funny, sometimes cool, sometimes just plain weird short movies. The story that ties these cut scenes together would be great if it were a little more focused-nothing's ever explained in full and things end far too abruptly, once you've finally, FINALLY gotten to the final boss battle. Other than the lure of the guilty-pleasure cut scenes and the ability to play through an old-fashioned platformer with the Nintendo character of your choice, Subspace Emissary gets repetitive and tedious far too quickly. By the end of the first several levels you'll probably be bored, and it's far too time-consuming and exhausting to battle each and every boss not once but twice (which you will do if you want to reach the final boss). Admittedly, however, the cut scenes are a great little treat and will keep the average game-lover coming back for more (even if the story tying them together doesn't quite impress). All-Star Mode, which you won't unlock until relatively late in your Smash career, is equally exhaustive, since you need to battle all 35 characters (37, if you include the fact that you need to individually battle all 3 of the Pokemon Trainer's Pokemon) with only 3 recovery items. This makes trophy collecting a lot more tiring, but in this case it's somewhat worth it-the Final Smash trophies, which you receive for completing All-Star Mode with any character, look amazing-they include each character doing a unique, usually awesome pose surrounded by an example of their Final Smash. I'm glad Brawl brought back the addition of trophies to the list of game goodies, because it's really the only motivation to go through the 1-player modes. Also, you can now go through All-Star Mode with two players, which is great because you can collect two trophies at once. There are also, of course, several new features to the game. The Stage Builder allows you to build your own stages to battle on, which is great but not perfect. Don't expect to build anything too elaborate (you only have like 3 backgrounds to choose from), but it's pretty damn cool fighting on a stage you created. And surprisingly, the process is a lot less time-consuming and complicated than one might expect. One of the game's greatest new features is its compatibility with Nintendo's Wifi Connection. If you have Wireless in your home or wherever you're using your Wii, you can connect to Nintendo's Wifi and battle with friends or random players anywhere, anytime. Sounds amazing, right? It is for the most part, but there are some setbacks bogging this feature down-the lag can be horrible, especially if you yourself or the person you're battling has a weak wifi connection; at its worst, it feels like you're playing in slow motion. Also, if you're looking to play with random players, you may or may not be able to-the game can't always find competitors (it probably doesn't help that I think the Wifi only goes national, unlike Mario Kart Wii's worldwide capabilities), and sometimes you'll just be left standing in the practice stage for several minutes waiting for opponents who'll never show up or be reached through the connection. The time of day you log on also heavily contributes towards whether or not you'll be able to reach fellow competitors. And, finally, we can't go without discussing the slew of new characters. Meta Knight is my personal favorite among the new additions-he's speedy, fun to play, and can easily string together combos. He's in general a unique and cool new addition to the game. King Dedede and Snake (who's probably generated the most buzz, new character-wise) are both awesome but difficult to control-you probably won't be using them in competitive matches, unless you really practice with them. Zero Suit Samus, who frankly comes off as Nintendo's version of Lara Croft, is also a cool new character who has a bit of a learning curve but is an exciting, sleek new character once you learn how to use her. Wario's goofy and fun, as expected, and Sonic is great (and has an incredibly cheap Final Smash, so beware), but his normal attacks are somewhat weak, so until you learn to string together specific techniques of his, you'll be picking away at your foes. Toon Link is very similar to Link, but he has more personality and individuality than Melee's Young Link did. The addition of Pit from Kid Icarus is very cool; as far as pulling old characters from retro games go, he was a great choice (frankly, a better choice than the very random addition of the Ice Climbers in Melee). Lucas is a cute new character from Earthbound, and he frankly handles better and is more powerful than Ness, when used properly. Wolf is a great character, but he's a little too similar to Fox and Falco, and feels somewhat unnecessary. Of all the new characters, however, Pokemon Trainer and Olimar from the Pikmin series are the most unique. Playing as the Pokemon Trainer actually allows you to choose from playing as three different characters: Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard, while Olimar doesn't do much fighting himself but instead wields Pikmin like items to perform attacks. Both take a bit of getting used to, but they're very fun and original characters once you know your way around their moves. Ultimately, as you may be able to tell from my lengthy review, the game has a massive amount of content, so you probably won't be getting bored with it anytime soon. Not all of this content really completely clicks, and some of it just plain falls flat, but at the end of the day Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a thoroughly satisfying game. It really is, as the primary review states, a great celebration of Nintendo culture. If you own a Wii, you really should own this game.
 Great Four-Player Funness!!!!!!!! (Really) June 28, 2008
This game is fun and you can be lots of Nintendo characters, but you have to earn them first. There are two types of playing modes: group and solo. You play one or two players in the story mode. Up to four players can play in the group mode where teams battle, which is a lot of fun. My Mom doesn't like this game as much as Lego Star Wars Saga because she can relate to the story line and charaters in Star Wars unlike those random characters in Super Smash Brothers Brawl which do not have a real story line (or any Star Wars characters). Face it, the coolest role playing on earth is to be a Jedi Knight wielding a light saber, but I really like Smash Bros. anyways. I give my Mom a break because she is much older than me. If you like Nintendo characters, this game is great fun.
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