Confirmed for Brawl

The time has come. "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" is upon us and many of you probably already have your disc in hand. After the game's initial delay from December to March, gamers have been waiting patiently for its arrival. New characters, items and gameplay promise to take "Brawl" to the next level. But what exactly did Nintendo add to an already popular series?

Characters

The character roster has been shaken up quite a bit for this rendition. A few combatants have been dropped, such as Mewtwo, Roy and Dr. Mario. To offset this, tons of new fighters have been added. On the bill are Diddy Kong, ROB, Pokemon Trainer, Lucas, Lucario, Captain Olimar, Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Yes that's right, following their heated competition at the "Olympic Games," the gloves are off as Mario and Sonic tackle each other in fierce combat at long last. If you're anything like me, this is a childhood dream come true. Solid Snake makes for an interesting appearance, proving that "Metal Gear" creator Hideo Kojima still has some love for Nintendo.



Stages

New stages are a given with the game's new characters. In addition to this, many of the best levels from previous installments are included, giving players a plethora of choices. Delfino Plaza from "Super Mario Sunshine" travels between locations, reminiscent of Melee's F-Zero stage. Rumble Falls, a setting from "Donkey Kong," scrolls upward as players fight it out.

Smashville, from the game "Animal Crossing," features a relatively flat stage, while the lighting and setting changes with the Wii's internal clock - and just as in the game, players playing Saturday night at 8 p.m.. will be treated to a performance by K.K. Slider, a famous singing dog.

Some other fan-favorites will include the Bridge of Elden from Zelda's "Twilight Princess" game, "Luigi's Mansion," a stage from "Mario Kart" with fighting occurring on the track in the middle of a race and a scrolling recreation from the first level of the original NES version of Mario Bros.

Some of the more interesting levels come from DS games, including "Warioware," which features random bursts of scene change, and "Pictochat," during which drawings appear on the stage, such as platforms and whales.

Items

Another integral part of the "Smash Bros." experience, items, return with more variety as well. Some new additions include things like gooey bombs, round explosives incased in goo that stick to opponents. But take heed, as they can be passed off to other combatants before they go off, like an explosive game of hot potato.

"Animal Crossing" throws in the pitfall, which when hidden on the ground causes anyone who walks on it to fall through and get stuck in the dirt. Smart bombs cover the entire field in a massive explosion, but sometimes don't go off. You know how you're not supposed to touch fireworks that don't explode? The same principle applies here.

Golden Hammers don't replace the ones from previous games, instead they allow you to float while swinging madly. But be wary, they are sometimes rubber squeaky hammers which can leave you extremely vulnerable.

However, the most unique of the new items is the assist trophy. They appear on the stage and, when obtained, bring a character from a long line of Nintendo games (some even seen only in Japan) to 'assist' the player who summoned them. Of course, some of these trophies affect all players so it's not always a handicap.



Gameplay

"Smash Bros." gameplay, at its core, remains the same as ever. The goal is to beat on your opponents, increasing their damage, until you can knock them out of the arena. However, for "Brawl," Nintendo has thrown us a curveball. Each character has their own extremely powerful finishing move, their own "final smash."

The effects of these attacks differ greatly. Bowser transforms into Giga Bowser for a short time while Sonic can turn into to Super Sonic. On the more obscure side, Kirby cooks his opponents in a soup and Princess Peach simply puts everyone to sleep in a rain of peaches.

To unleash this attack, you have to break one of the elusive smash balls. Once broken, you have only a limited time to perform your attack, as other players can steal the item from you. With this kind of game-changing ability, you can expect a major fight every time a smash ball appears, providing an interesting and fun addition to already excellent gameplay.

The story mode is much deeper this time around. "Brawl" includes a side-scrolling game called "Subspace Emissary" and features a story about an evil army. Challenging situations also appear, providing gameplay beyond the story.

A deep single-player story mode, combined with cooperative play and the classic multiplayer experience with online capabilities, not only ensures that you won't get bored, but also that you won't struggle to find people to play with. You can even view the other people's matches and bet coins won from games on the outcome.

One unfortunate part of this is the Wii's friend code system, which can make it a hassle to play online with friends. Pick up games with random players should be easy enough to get started.

This third edition in the "Smash Bros." series shows just what Nintendo is capable of. For the Wii to continue succeeding, it will need more titles like this. "Smash Bros. Brawl" is easily one of this year's biggest games. Not even a two month delay could put a damper on its hype, building on its already huge fan base.

Having already claimed perfect scores in Japans top gaming magazines, "Brawl" should be no different here, providing Wii owners with a title to play for years to come, at least until its next iteration.

I know I still call my Gamecube the "Smash Bros." machine, and if Brawl lives up to everything it claims it will; maybe someday my Wii can inherit the title.