1UP Preview: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Eight things you need to know before Brawl's release.
Fans are sure to know this already, but it bears repeating: Nintendo's long-awaited Wii fighter,
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, is exactly a month away. It's been over a year since we first started hearing concrete news about the game, and a lot has happened since then. Between 24 confirmed characters, over 20 stages, and a steady trickle of information coming from
Smash bros. DOJO, the game's official website, the series faithful have had plenty of tidbits to pick over and keep up with. For those of you just catching up now -- or wanting a quick refresher course before February 10th -- we've compiled a list of some of Brawl's landmark moments.
#1 -- Solid Snake's Smash Bros. Debut: In June of 2006, Nintendo surprised fans with the announcement that Konami's special-ops badass, Solid Snake, will be joining Mario and the gang, bringing his close-quarter-combat moves and trademark box-hiding skills to the Smash Bros. battlegrounds. Watch the
video for a glimpse of Snake's stage and some of his moves.
#2 -- Sonic Joins Roster: Snake wasn't the only headliner to join the ranks. In another wave-making addition to the contenders list last October, Nintendo revealed that long-time Mario rival, Sonic the Hedgehog, will be showing off his speed in Brawl.
#3 -- Super Sonic: At the Fall Nintendo Media Summit, right on the heels of Sonic's announcement, we got our first look at the speedster in action. From the
video, you can also see Super Sonic, a golden, flying form he turns into when using the new Smash Ball item.
#4 -- Nintendo Delays Brawl: Just two months out from the deluge of holiday title releases, Nintendo announced its decision to push back Brawl's release until two months after the new year. Whether for polishing reasons or to
position the game in a lighter release period, the delay simultaneously brought out cries of dismay and heightened anticipation among eager fans. Let's hope the wait is worth it.
#5 -- Hands-on Impressions: We grabbed the Wii Remote and Classic controller for our first ever hands-on time with Nintendo's fighting game. In our preview, we go over control schemes, stages, and initial impressions on character balance, as well as take a look at the new Assist Trophy and Smash Ball items. A week later, Nintendo opened the game up to the public at E for All Expo.
#6 -- The Subspace Emissary: Smash Bros. is generally lauded for its multiplayer battles, but Brawl also promises a single-player story mode called "The Subspace Emissary." You can see the teaser trailer for the side-scrolling action adventure mode (which will come complete with cut-scenes to move the character development along)
here.
#7 -- Brawl Online: Come February, players will be able to take their smash skills online to face off against either their registered Wi-Fi Connect friends (via friend codes) or anonymous online players from around the world via Brawl's
With Anyone option. A lot of the things you can do when playing against your known friends, like checking a player's status and seeing player names, however, will not be available when playing With Anyone.
#8 -- Extra Features: Besides multiplayer battles, the new side-scrolling single-player adventure, and online play, Super Smash Bros. Brawl has a few features that look to bring the fighter to a new level of relevance. Players will not only be able to
create their own stages, but also share their creations with friends, save them onto SD cards or send them to Nintendo once a day. And when the ensuing brawls heat up, players will be able to take (and share) up to three minutes of replay footage with the game's
Save Films feature. For those who don't feel like participating in the action, but love watching battles break out, Brawl's
Online Spectator mode will let players log in, watch, and bet coins on match outcomes.
Need more information? Be sure to check out
EGM's Super Smash Bros. Brawl cover story, soon to be available on newsstands in 12 different flavors.
Source
Linear Mode
