Smash Bros. Brawl kicks your, my ass

Today was a long day. I felt up a bit of the Milwaukee Japanese Anime Convention on campus, and met up with my old roommate who informed me of something quite intriguing.

At the convention, there was a room full of Wii, Gamecube, and a few other systems. Most were on regular TV sets, but at the far end of the room was a full on table, with a projector set up to display the Wii screen, the system surrounded by nunchuks, remotes, and Gamecube pads. It all meant nothing to me until it was noted that this system was *ahem* a modded system, and the disc was none other than Brawl.

So we threw down a few rounds, and I can't say I was impressed. It goes beyond that.

Brawl has a very familiar interface, yet manages to be more than "Melee 2" in its look. The character selection, even if you follow the dojo online as if you pray to it incessantly, is still surprising and very pleasing. I'm still left wanting more, if only just for a few Capcom characters (give me Phoenix Wright and X or Zero and I'd be content) but it still satisfies. I didn't get a chance to explore all of the characters, so I only played three: Link (my old standby from the N64 days,) Pit, and Cartoon Link, who plays much like Link, if not exactly the same.

The Links play how you would expect, swords flailing and tight jumping. Pit, however, felt very loose, and was able to use his wings to fly short distances. This started to feel a little unwieldy, and would only be recommended to more experienced players. His specials were alright, but I wouldn't go naming him my favorite. Cartoon Link, likely because I used him last and was the most used to the controls at this point, felt a little more precise than adult Link. I would go as far to say that he too felt a little more loose than adult Link, but I doubt it is a significant difference, if any.

Now, I've never been a huge Melee player, so playing with a gamecube pad seemed a little foreign at first, especially when trying to look at it as a complete newb to get a feel for the learning curve. I must say, it is impressive. By the second minute of play I was able to keep up with the other, experienced players.

We started out on the "old school" Mario Bros. stage, which demonstrates how interactive these stages are. Jumping and hitting the koopas walking along the level brought you back to the 8 bit days of old, giving that rustic touch to every koopa shell you utilize in pushing your opponent off screen. We also threw down on the Pictochat stage, which changes as you play, also very impressive. The amount of stages available in the game, in addition to the character selection, is impressive. I can't imagine being bored of this game.

Back to controls, the change from Melee allowing you to use a dedicated jump button was smart by the developers. It allows the beginners to easily understand the simple jump-move-hit buttons without being bombarded with special moves, grapples and throws and blocks. Though I didn't get to try it, I'm sure that the other options to play the game would suit any new players as well, including the sideways-remote style (which I'm sure my girlfriend will make great use of).

I got to see the makings of a few Final Smashes (and actually got to execute one) and it seemed to all happen before I really understood what was going on. Most beginning players won't even realize that they are flashing and should hit "B" since the action can be THAT engrossing. In fact, I didn't even realize it at first, and by that point, the Final Smash ball was sort of "knocked" out of my because I took too many hits. Needless to say, Final Smashes seem very epic, and come especially near the end of battles to further layer the chaos. At first glance, they almost seem like overkill, guaranteeing victory for the smash-ee. However, it really didn't seem to be the case in the end, as I found it well balanced and still very chaotic.

From what I've gathered, it is a game WELL put together. It is obvious that a lot of time was spent on it, and it has been packed with features. But what hits me the most, is that tonight I played at least 5 other games, drank, and feasted with friends, but all I've wanted to do was play more Brawl.

And that's my impression. Brawl doesn't just become your favorite game. It kicks other games out on the curb, and makes them find their own job to support themselves.

Full, concise review to come after the game's U.S. release. If you haven't preordered it already, do it now.