Brawl a smashing Smash Bros. effort

Some said Smash Bros. creators couldn’t make a game better than “Melee.” With Nintendo’s… Some said Smash Bros. creators couldn’t make a game better than “Melee.” With Nintendo’s numerous delays on the release of “Super Smash Bros. Brawl,” many feared that it would never see store shelves.

“Super Smash Bros. Brawl” Nintendo Wii Single player, multi-player, online player

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But now that it’s finally done, “Brawl,” the third of its series, is by far one of the best Wii efforts to date, and it will likely be hailed as a top game of 2008.

The nuts and bolts of the Smash Bros. series are comprised of two-dimensional fights portrayed with gorgeously detailed 3D graphics.

Instead of fighting to take away opponents’ health, players in “Brawl” fight to build up their adversary’s damage percentage, pushing the rival player backward with blows until he sails out of the arena’s bounds and explodes in a glorious display of flashing colors and light-hearted screams sure to tickle the berserker in us all.

These fights are fast, furious and chaotic. What makes them so is the ingenious control setup, in which simple taps of the analog stick and an action button result in quick but powerful Smash or special attacks unique to each of the game’s 35 characters.

Afraid you might not get the hang of “Brawl” quickly enough to show off your mad skills online? Nintendo foresaw this and allowed for full Gamecube controller support, so those reared on “Melee” will be able to jump into the action with little or no time spent in the Training Mode.

Just so you don’t feel like you’ve wasted money on those fancy Wii peripherals, “Brawl” supports the Classic Controller, as well as the Wiimote by itself or with the Nunchuk. Each input works surprisingly well, but if you traded in your Gamecube controllers, the Classic Controller’s a nice substitute with a quicker control stick.

“Brawl” also boasts some fun but shallow single-player campaigns. There’s Classic, which involves players just thrashing the hell out of randomly generated opponents in linear fashion. Then there’s the Subspace Emissary, which is pretty much “Melee’s” Adventure Mode on steroids. Up to two players can co-op through the seven or so hours of fighting, collecting various goodies along the way to boost their characters’ stats.

And this has to be the biggest drawback to “Brawl.” It’s an ambitious single player mode wrought with gorgeous CG cinemas and collectables, but after the second time through, it all feels the same. Being forced to play a character you hate doesn’t help much, but here they all control reasonably well.

“Brawl” doesn’t feel like such a step up compared to its predecessor, but how can you improve on something that was nearly perfect anyway?

Well, one way is by giving players more of what makes the fights so unpredictable, this time in the form of Assist Trophies and the awe-inspiring Smash Ball.

The former unleashes an unplayable ally that goes about the screen in its own fashion and beats people up or hinders game play for all, ranging from Nintendogs to Little Mac from “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!”

The latter is what people in the addictive four-player matches will kill each other over. Pummel this rainbow Smash Bros. symbol and be graced with all the power your character can harness. These Final Smashes are unique to every character and can turn the tide in any fight, so smash these open or be smashed to oblivion.

If this option feels cheap to those who’d rather win the hard way, they can shut it off entirely with the Item Switch. “Brawl” gets bonus points for letting players set up the multiplayer rules, such as how much time or how many lives people receive, what items can be used and which stage they’d prefer. Players can even create their own stage with the Stage Editor.

“Brawl,” with its copious unlockables, ever-changing action and near-encyclopedic database of videogame-themed trophies and stickers, will keep players busy for weeks on end.

Teachers should expect a sharp decline in attendance as students get a handle on Smash Bros.’ latest.