i know that's a little more emotion than i'm prone to show, so i'll calm it down there.
count to 10 and backwards.
there are a few different reasons i feel this way. partly it's out of excitement because smash is very fun to play. i don't think anyone needs to set aside any time for worrying about whether or not they've done the series justice or whether or not there is enough inside the game.
trust me. it's giant. it's giantess is not exceeded by any other offering. and it looks like nintendo is mopping up the mistakes they've made previously, both in smash offerings and in wii versions of cult series (ie. strikers).
but without further ado, here are my impressions, replete with *SPOILERS*, which aren't really spoilers unless you're intent on knowing absolutely nothing about the game before launch day. and really, who managed that so far?
premise
not as different or as crazy as you'd expect barring the obvious disappearance of master hand as an adversary. there's a new evil boss in town changing our heroes into helpless statues.
the polygons, once the faceless and mostly shapeless fighters for a group of weird looking dudes called primids.
but all of this info is useless for two reasons: 1) because i've forgotten the name of the bad boss - a fact i was told but failed to write down and 2) it has little to do with whether or not the game played well.
gameplay
this is a true smash game. i tried every controller configuration in my 45 minutes battling with other game journos (of which i was victorious about 30% of the time).
the sideways wiimote style is actually functional and a great intro for mums, dads, kids and the like as it doesn't lend itself to the 'there's that many buttons james? how the hell do you expect me to do that' kind of look.
from there you can add a little extra control and comfort by adding a nun-chuk or classic controller.
for me, though, the best feeling controls came from a wavebird (or wireless gc controller) that took me back to the good old days of melee and the original.
the controls feel tight, if not a little too tight - as i was constantly sending starfox off the sides of small stages with him jumping around like a madman.
but when you finally connected a smash attack, it felt legen...wait for it...dary.
the final smash, i'm still not sold on. for those of you who've seen video of this device, where you have to run around and kick/hit/punch a glowing orb to activate your devastating final smash, it's just as weird in the game as in the video.
i really hope you can tune the game to not include this feature because if you can't, it may get old fast.
features
but features and customization are where this game take off and leave other wii games feeling quite un-featured.
firstly, there's the expanded and involved single player campaign, the subspace emissary. according to the nintendo rep, it could be packaged as a game in it's own, and is a multi-hour jaunt of sidescrolling action.
the great thing about it is, much like teenage mutant ninja turtles ii: the arcade game on the NES and double dragon a second player can jump in at any time to help out the 1st player.
their role and the character they play will change based on the goals of the mission, but it's a nice feature, especially when you consider how rad it was to have a second player be able to hop on during galaxy.
there's also the biggest feature that i haven't touched on yet that is going to blow some minds...
a level editor.
that's right, nintendo has gone mod-tastic with this game. not only can you create your own levels, with your own music and pieces, but you can send them to friends over wifi and play on them.
oh, but that's not all, you can also submit them to nintendo, much like miis in the look at mii channel, to potentially become the featured download of the month that will be automatically shipped to smash owners who are subscribers to the smash service
now, while this sounds amazing, my first question after this announcement went unanswered and is still burning a whole in my brain. how much space do these levels take up?
i mean, i know they're not going to be as intensely detailed as a normal map, but the wii doesn't have an external 20 gb hard drive (the minimum size of hd for competing consoles) so how many maps can we keep at a time. this is especially a concern if we're being sent extras as part of a download service.
i also asked about possible featured dlc (downloadable content) straight from the developers at nintendo, and while i was told this was a possibility, i was also told it's not planned right now.
there's also the regular features in the stadium section, like multi-man marathon fights, homerun challenge and target smash. when i asked about race to the finish, i was just told that there are some cool unlockables in the game with a wry grin. no idea what that means.
chars
so, as some people who have already talked to me on the subject know, this was the only really disappointing part of the whole demo. while i got to try a bit of the single player campaign (FUN!) and brawled with my fellow journos (WHEE!) we were only shown a fraction of the game and were certainly not shown any of the sought after, unlockable characters.
this was a little heartbreaking for me as i was really looking forward to seeing snake and sonic in action, but i was told i'd have to wait until march like the rest of you schmucks for that privilege too.
the ones i did try were cool and i'll give a brief rundown on some old favorites and new ones too:
pokemon trainer
god, i hope this guy doesn't suck as much as he seemed to when i played with him. for one, it's not completely obvious how to change pokemon while you're fighting, and bulbasaur sucked. i also found out that you can't plug in a new attachment while playing, which may have affected my experience with the pokemon trainer. there was a five minute stretch where i couldn't move horizontally, only vertically and attack.
basically, it seems as if all his attacks are too simple and the variety is supposed to come with the different pokemon. lame.
link
ahhhh, link. one of my old favorites from melee, who as an old favorite from smash bros. 64. he handles just as he should, a little on the heavy side but with some fantastic attacks. that, and he comes in a wicked 'dark link' colour as one of his alternate costumes. rad looking to say the least.
he also won me the first battle of the afternoon, which was super rad. i immediately established my dominance. it was quickly taken out from under my feet by the guy who was there who actually competed for mlg in smash bros. melee, but i had a nice and brief reign of dominatingness...
bowser
the first character i got to perform a final smash with. giga bowser has to be seen to understood. it f-in' rocked.
overall, his attacks seem comparable if not the same as melee, but it kind of felt like his up and b (the shell spin) attack's power was reduced a little.
marth
loved him in melee. indifferent to him in brawl. just doesn't feel as quick or as powerful. had a hard time performing regular smash attacks with him. doesn't mean he's written off, but wasn't a particularly fun time. will need to spend more time with him when i get a copy.
metaknight
left this little dude for last because of how much ass i kicked with him. holy crap. i can't even remember what series he's from (i think maybe kirby?) but he's got this arial spinning attack that is devastating. and it's not just a straight line or a diagonal attack. it's sort of like a combo of fox's firefox with captain falcon's kick, but with a suck-in drilling action.
i know that makes no sense but he's really fun to play with and that attack i just detailed goes in a straight line, but can be bent downwards to follow a moving target slightly.
overall
loved it. still disappointed over the lack of secret characters on display at the demo, but i guess it just makes me more eager for the march drop date.
i hope the multiplayer is better, faster and more reliable than strikers and i'll let you guys know the minute i know if the world play is for real, or a lie (like strikers was).
hugs and kisses (during the retardedly delayed post i've been working on since tuesday) and happy v-day,
JD
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