Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In a word: fun. In a few more: exactly as fun as you expect it to be.

I've already said this - but Brawl is, more or less, the same game you already know as SSB Melee. The depth of the game, mechanically, hasn't changed. What Brawl brings to the table is breadth. And, it could be said that it does so in an amount that makes it comparable to depth; the wealth of new items and stage gimmicks, and new characters with unique movesets, makes the game slightly more complicated than before. (It seems more fast-paced, anyway.)

But, by and large, you're already familiar with what Brawl has to offer; not because you've been reading about the game on the Dojo, but because you've already played it. In fact, having tried three of the four possible controller options somewhat extensively (I don't have a Classic on-hand), an old Wavebird still seems like the best choice. The fact that the Wii remote's IR pointer just plain doesn't work on the in-game menus are the clearest indication of this. They didn't want to make a new game. They made an old game, better. Given the solidarity of their existing formula, I wouldn't call this a bad thing.

It's certainly not going to revolutionize anything in terms of gameplay. It might revolutionize what we, as game consumers, expect from big-ticket productions. The number of modes and unlockables in this game is beyond the scope of 'monumental.' It is outright, downright, stupidly massive. I really don't know if I can get all the trophies this time. I might die trying.

Progress: Falcon Punch!