Smashing Again
Any way you slice it, Super Smash Bros. is one of the premier franchises in gaming today—and Brawl, with its measured adjustments to the formula and massive helpings of additional content, simply solidifies this enviable status. If you’re one of those people who has been playing Melee on a regular basis for the past six years, you will fall in love with Brawl. Or, if you’re just looking for a great game to play with your friends, you can’t go wrong with Brawl. True, people who aren’t very familiar with the world of Nintendo might struggle to find value in the unlockable features, but even for them there is plenty to love here.
The supreme amount of effort that went into nearly every area of this game is just mind-boggling. You will be amazed by the scope of the experience equally as much as you are by the little things—the terrific soundtrack, the trophy descriptions, the surreal trips through space dogfights and beautiful vistas through which the levels fly… for $50, it would be difficult to imagine a more complete package.
Apart from the disappointingly restrictive online experience and a few other minor complaints (the level editor is a bit of a letdown as well), Super Smash Bros. Brawl has this whole sequel thing absolutely nailed. It doesn’t take much to be able to say with confidence that, like Melee, this is another game that we will all still be playing years from now, even after this generation of games has come and gone. Sakurai has gone on record saying that he designed the game with that very type of rare long-term appeal in mind… and he has absolutely succeeded in that regard.