Tech: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

To a certain kind of video game fan, "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" for the Nintendo Wii is the equivalent of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" - it brings together almost all of the greatest Nintendo characters in one huge crossover event. There's Mario and Link, of course, but also Samus, Pikachu, and Kirby:



Like the previous entries in this series of beat-em-up video games, Brawl is all about knocking your opponents off a platform while staying on yourself. Unlike a traditional fighting game like Street Fighter or Tekken, the game focuses on easy execution of moves and good timing rather than intricate combos or in-depth mindgames. It's fast, it's frenetic, and it's accessible.

The combat and graphics haven't changed much from past entries, which would ordinarily be a huge minus. Thankfully, Brawl has a metric ton of different modes and features to play around with, from the simple but addictive coin launcher minigame to a cutscene-laden single player adventure called "The Subspace Emissary." Add in the fact that you can play matches via Nintendo's (rather cumbersome) online servers and you have a pretty decent game.

Rating: 87/100