Super Smash Bros. BrawlI'm not sure why I constantly buy into the hype surrounding this series. After playing the original on the N64 and failing to understand why so many people invest so much time into "mastering" this game, I later went and purchased the Gamecube version, Super Smash Bros. Melee. After several hours of frivolity, I subsequently put the game on the shelf never to play it again. Well, that didn't stop me from buying Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii when it came out. And like a gambler who realizes that he'll never win in the long-run, yet constantly comes back for more....I too admit that I'm addicted to games, notably those that are reviewed well...and will readily hand over my hard-earned money to play the most popular ones, despite my affection for them.
And it's not that these games are sub-par or lacking in any particular way. They're just aimed for a specific crowd, ie; those people (namely children I assume) who enjoy mashing on the buttons and unlocking an innumerable amount of collectibles in the form of trophies, medals, characters, etc. And you can claim all you want that Super Smash Bros requires skill, but I will always completely disagree with you. The blocking is so unintuitive (no matter what button you map the technique to) that it's oftentimes useless. And the play control, if you can call it that, feels floaty and imprecise. These games are fighters where you attempt to knock your opponent out of the ring by any move you can pull off and with any item that happens to fall down from the sky. Most of the time, when you do manage to win, it's more by pure luck than any real skill. The characters are utterly imbalanced, and even Super Smash Bros. junkies will concede to that. They may claim, however, that that's the point. But I really can't find much enjoyment out of getting destroyed by a towering King Bowser while I play as a Pokemon whose powers consist of repeating the word Squirtle like a parrot ad nauseum. I think his name may have been Squirtle, but I'm not certain because this isn't 2001, and I'm not 7.
The fact that the single player "story" mode is 50+ hours doesn't do much to stymie the endless flood of monotony that is the combat within this game. I hear multiplayer provides an incredible amount of fun, but I wouldn't know because I don't enjoy the basic underlying game mechanics enough to try using them against a living player.
This may all seem like an unmitigated amount of criticism for a game that truly doesn't deserve much either in the way of praise or asperity. It's an unremarkable, albeit occasionally fun, way to spend/waste your time.
Rating: C
The song I'm going to play isn't from the game, which consists of a lot of familiar remixes. Instead, I'm going to play a bit from the Final Countdown, a song which I feel embodies the spirit of this competitive fighter quite fittingly.