Xbox 360
The Smash Bros. series is often described as a fighting game for lunatics, with a scrappy fighting system requiring next to no skill. However, if you play enough, the game pulls you in. In time, you start to understand the nuances of the fighting system. The game splits opinions, but you, the readers have voted it as the ninth best game of the year. We thought we'd gather round the Wii and discuss what makes this game so special, or why it falls short of the mark. Check out our official review from earlier in the year here.
(Disclaimer..the games on our top ten list are from the start of November 2007 to November 10 2008)
Dave: At number nine, we have the the mighty, and frankly amazing Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Round one, FIGHT!
Graeme: Crap, total unplayable crap.
Craig: Best multiplayer experience out there
Kieran: I didn't like it either. It's crazy, confusing, and idiotic.
Johnathan: Super Smash Bros. Melee is one of my favourite games ever, but I was frankly disappointed with Brawl.
Si: I agree with Johnathan, the one-player game was awful for starters.
Graeme: It's not a beat-em up, it's a button-mashing wagglefest.
Joel: Yeah, but so is something like Soul Calibur and that's ace!
Josh: It's good.
Johnathan: I mean, what the hell did they do to the online mode?
Craig: The online mode was poor, but it's more fun with real people anyway. The connection problems were Nintendo's fault anyway, not a problem with Super Smash Bros. itself.
Tony: Not everyone plays multiplayer though. I remember Smash Bros. Melee being a great game for single player too. Brawl seems too forgettable at times.
Josh: It's only a multiplayer game I reckon.
Dave: It's definitely fun when you're playing with your mates, but do we feel this delivered total fan service or did it do too much we've seen before?
Si: The game is way too long and it made unlocking content a total chore, rather than a joy.
Joel: Well, what about the concession to the fans with the different console schemes, how did that work out?
Johnathan: Not well, without a Wavebird controller, you're going to lose.
Craig: Meh, Gamecube controller is best.
Dave: I liked that feature, because many players cant get around playing it without a Gamecube controller. It offered players the choice other games don't.
Graeme: The only way to get good at the controls is to sink about 100 hours into it, and then you're still just that guy who beats everyone else at it and no-one else wants to play with you.
Dave: Did anyone feel that the characters and move sets were too familiar? I didn't but I've heard some complaints.
Craig: Nah, a complete amature can sometimes pull of a victory.
Joel: Unlocking things is the single biggest chore for multiplayer console games. You get a new title for your mates, but to make it fair you have to unlock all the different types so every one can essentially play the same character and by that point you're so uber good you're mates hate it and you.
Johnathan: Smash Bros. is the only game I'm legitimately good at, and as such I've sunk an unbelievable amount of time into the series.
Dave: The Smash Bros. control method reminds me of Pro Evolution Soccer. You have players who are meh, ok, then it leaps to ridiculously good. Some folk moan about the scrappy fighting in Brawl but if you really put time in you can figure out the nuances.
Si: Yup
Neil: In many ways, it's the ultimate Wii title. You play it with a few friends for a few hours, waggle the controls around for a while and generally have a laugh, then put it away for months on end and never think about it again.
Craig: Yeah, I agree with both Dave and Neil. But the game had better items and more characters...what else where they going to do? You'd all be moaning about them changing it too much if they had. Plus, you know...'Falcon Punch!'.
Dave: Haha...Neil, I hate these terms but it's a 'casual' game for the 'hardcore' audience.
Joel: Aye, perfect analysis Dave.
Dave: It embodies the group play ethos, but it's done the way Nintendo used to.
Si: Brawl is just, I dunno...They tried to make it bigger and better but just made it more cumbersome. Oh, and online play was buggy as hell too.
Dave: Online was dross...
Tony: It IS shiny though!
Dave: Noted...Okay, last point then we'll move onto the next game of the top ten. Who's the best Super Smash Bros. Brawl character? I'm going to go for Marth.
Craig: Captain Falcon. Marth? Haha...fail...
Check back soon to find out what made number eight in our top ten of the best games from 2008 and to read more insightful ranting from the team...