Super Smash Bros. Brawl hands-on

Let me start out by saying this. We did not have nearly enough time to play Brawl to form any kind of true opinions. What I can tell you is that the game is exactly what you want from a Smash Bros. game. It is absolutely hectic, and that’s just the way we want it. We are going to play more Smash tomorrow to get a better handle on the game. There are a lot of fine details to look into like controls, items, character movements and more. Today we only had short sessions of playtime. They were keeping everyone limited to 2 minute timed matches. You picked your character, level, and you were off. I didn’t focus on beating my opponent, I was just busy getting a feel for the game via the Wiimote.

Playing with the Wiimote isn’t how I pictured myself playing at my home. I was ready to either use the Wiimote/Nunchuk or Cube controller. I felt that way up until last week when the impressions rolled in from Nintendo’s media summit. Not only were the impressions favorable for Wiimote controls, a lot of people preferred them over the Classic controller. Having heard all that, I was ready to jump in and experience it for myself.

Now that I have had playtime, I really do feel that Wiimote only could be the way to go for me. I feel like the Cube controller is kind of a cop-out. I want to try something new, and Wiimote only was the way to do that. While the control scheme is new, the ideas behind it are very old school. I was having a conversation with some of Nintendo’s treehouse about these controls, and we all started drawing the some conclusions. Playing Smash with the Wiimote brings you back to the days of the NES. If you want to perform certain moves, you have to do multiple button presses. If you want to run in a direction, you have to double tap that way. Playing like this feels very familiar…very nostalgic. It makes you feel comfortable while you are moving into something completely new. There is a lot more playtime needed to get a full feel of the controls, but so far I was very impressed.

I decided on trying out Meta Knight for the day. I wanted to give a new character a chance. I really did want to see what Link and Samus were like, but I felt that would be better suited for when I actually have the game. We all want to learn more about the new characters, and he seemed like the one to go with. Meta Knight is instantly impressive. His move set is pretty devastating all around. There are multiple sword slashes, big sword drops, and a great range. One move in particular is a sort of spinning drill move where he sticks his sword out in front of him. You even have control over where he goes while in the air. On top of all that, he is a quick little guy too. While I don’t see myself sticking with Meta Knight as my main smasher, I” definitely toy around with him from time to time.

I got to play on the Yoshi’s Island stage, which should be pretty familiar to everyone. It’s a great little map to provide action, especially when it is just one on one. You and your opponent don’t have anyone in the way to distract you from beating the crap out of each other. Surprisingly enough, the level offered a lot of variety due to the ShyGuy drop-ins, and moving ghost platforms. A few months back we talked about level variety in Brawl. Even with the simple layouts that a good majority of the levels have, there is enough in the way of variety that keeps things fresh. I found Yoshi’s Island to be a great level…one that always kept me on my toes.

One thing that is clear with Brawl is that the game is more hectic than ever. With all the new assist trophies, matches move along at a breakneck pace. Not only do you have to worry about your opponent, these assist trophies can make or break a game. I was so busy enjoying the assist trophies that I would end up getting the crap beat out of me by them. I didn’t see anything in the way of new items, it all seemed to be stuff that we had learned about at the Dojo, or that came out last week.

Continuing on with the hectic flow, the Smash Ball makes crazy fights go even more insane. Once one of those pop up on screen, it is a mad dash to try and get to it. Everyone is moving as fast as they can, throwing punches, kicks, and items in a frenzy to try and break open the ball. Once you hit it enough times, you will gain the power inside and be able to perform a final smash. My crowning achievement today came via a battle for a Smash Ball. My opponent and I were going after it, and he managed to pick it up. I actually beat him up just as he finally had it in his possession, and I knocked it out of him! I got to steal the final smash power, but time ran out in the match before I got to use it.

There is no way in hell I am going to be able to get a truly in-depth experience with Brawl. They just don’t give you enough times to play, and you can only wrap around the line so many times. We are definitely going to play more tomorrow to see what we can get out of it. I absolutely can’t wait. Rest assured that this game will suck away years of your life. The only problem is waiting for the game to come out!

By the way, Nintendo had a Brawl stadium set up for people to come in and watch. How rad is that?!