After four days of impressions on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it's only fair to detail every little nitpicky factor for hardcore gamers who must wait four months more than originally anticipated. The developers do not feel the game is ready for a 2007 launch, and we're behind them all the way, but gamers still should have an idea of what to expect.
Section 1: Presentation
Super Smash Bros. Brawl maintains a decent speed. Although arguably a bit slower than Melee, it is difficult to say whether the slowness was due to controller, the demo, or an intentional decision by the designers to help keep online matches fair. Regardless, the vast majority of gamers will never, ever notice - it's that close.
For experts of fast-action characters in Melee, this could pose a problem, however. I wasn't absolutely certain of the miniscule speed issue until I heard another group of gamers say that they hope the GameCube controller style will fix this. Of course, there's still more than enough time to polish this aspect.
Unfortunately, the audio can not be covered in a feature like this. Because the room was too loud at all times, I could not hear half of the songs. Many tracks from various franchises will definitely be in the game, though, with more to be unveiled in the coming months.
Section 2: Items
Those who played Melee will notice a variety of changes in Brawl. The Star item that launches riding characters into the air from the Kirby franchise is noticeably slower in this game than earlier entries. In Melee, the star flies up into the sky and comes crashing down at amazing speeds. The attack is so fast that most players will instantly dodge just to avoid the chance of being hit. Sadly, the Smash Bros. Brawl demo had a significantly slower star coming down from the skies. In fact, it's so easily avoided that I may consider turning off this item if it remains this slow.
Other items remain quite responsive. The Fire Flower has returned to its 2-D roots (hey, I made a funny!), keeping those creepy pong-paddle eyes placed between oval layers of white, yellow and orange. The item is of a different variety from the one in Melee, although only aesthetically. Other than that, there weren't any memorable changes to the standard item pack. This is certainly good for the hardcore gamers, or just anyone looking to retain the old method of play.
Continue on for Section 3: Stages!
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