Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Let’s get this straight; I loved Melee, Brawl's predecessor, which I have played near continuously since its release. You could maybe suggest that my expectations for Brawl were high, teased to an even more expectant extent by the long and harrowing series of delays the game faced so the coders could provide French language support for the Euro release (Phew, dodged a bullet there). So was it worth the wait? Damn straight it was! Brawl is without doubt the most fun you can have with three other friends in one room at the same time. Fact.

The core game play remains the same. You must guide your character, of whom there are 35 to be unlocked and chosen, across a small stage and use their unique abilities to grievously harm your opponents (racking up their health percentage as you go) until they are knocked far enough from the stage that they plummet to a timely demise at the behest of sinister gravity, only to be re-spawned to see the pain start again. It’s a hectic, visceral experience which will push your reaction times to the limit with what turns out to be a surprisingly deep yet intuitive control system. The mechanics in this feel fairer and heavier than Melee. You’re now less likely to tumble meaninglessly from a stage while hit detection feels more solid as characters jolt and fall over from nudging each other or turning too quickly.

Old favourites like Mario, Link and Captain Falcon return and are greeted with many welcome new additions such as the obese minion spawning King Dedede, the Pikmin breeding Olimar and the sword wielding Ike from Fire Emblem. The most famous additions are Sonic and Solid Snake. The latter is an ordinance heavy powerhouse who’ll reward anyone who takes the time to learn his unique style. Sonic however feels a little cheap, probably in an effort to appease Sega fan boys (I guess a few elderly ones still exist). The stages are better than ever and now cover as wide a range of locations as video game history could hope for, from a level based on the original Mario Bros to Shadow Moses Island complete with resident Metal Gears.

The sound is nigh on perfect, from the moronic pokémon rampantly screaming their names to Snake's gravelled tones. The music is also sublime. Each stage has several themes from different games that can play in the background, which together comprise one of the finest compilations of video game music ever provided. The graphics themselves are far form groundbreaking, but the style employed still provides some beautiful vistas as levels turn from day to night, summer to winter or dive from outer space into the atmosphere, catching fire in the process. They serve the gameplay and never get in the way, just as they should.

The single player game, often ignored, now benefits from a substantial campaign named the Subspace Emissary which is based on the early platforming heroics of the game's various characters. In between the levels, up to an hour of polished video cinematics help tell the simple, yet surprisingly engaging storyline. It’s not the finest element of the game, but it provides a quick bit of fun for you to drop in and out of when you can’t find any real friends.

I’ve not even had a chance to talk about this game's bulging set of extras, from customizable rules to a long list of co-op challenges and even a stage builder. There’s some online support, but Brawl's heart is in the home with friends, beers and lots of screaming at the TV. This game has flaws, but they drown under the sea of options and modes available. This is a game that anyone can play, its predecessor being responsible for getting more non-gamers I know involved than any other in recent memory. You need this in your life: Brawl is the home multiplayer game of 2008. Fact.