Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) Preview

Very little information has been released with regards to Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in fact, the Nintendo press listing for the title simply tells you "No additional information at this time", but far from being disheartened we have scoured the internet for interviews, screenshots, videos and every scrap of information to bring you the definitive preview of this hotly anticipated Wii title.

The third title in the Smash Bros. series after the N64 and GC iterations, Brawl is set to be bigger, badder and better than anything that has come before it. The game was first announced during Nintendo's E3 2005 press conference by president Satoru Iwata; back then it was a launch title but numerous delays have now seen it slip into 2007. But never fear, for good things come to those who wait...

The main attraction of the franchise has always been the superb multiplayer section of the game and with the Wii this is set to get even better. A massive online mode is being developed for the Wi-Fi connection and the title is set to take advantage of the Wii's online functionality. However, Sakurai has commented that online play might not have a major role in SSBB, preferring to focus on the standard multiplayer experience. Whether this will be the case with the final game is far from clear. You can expect massive online tournaments to enjoy with a massive roster of characters and modes to choose from along with the usual array of wacky weaponry and fast-paced carnage.

Interestingly, the game will not be making full use of the Wii controller. Despite Nintendo's constant pushing of the three Is: innovation, innovation and innovation, it would seem that one of the key Wii titles will use a control system not vastly different to its GameCube predecessor. Series director Masahiro Sakurai confirmed this during E3 2006: "We found that trying to implement too much motion-sensory functionality can get in the way of the game. We're looking at keeping the control simple, as it has been," said Sakurai. "The Wii hardware has sockets for the GameCube controller, too. So I'll just say now that you may not want to throw away your GCN controller yet."

Those of you that have played a SSB game before will fully sympathise with the problems the developers face in trying to use the innovative Wii controller with such a frantic and fast-paced control system. Thus, you can expect the normal button-mashing fun that the GameCube version delivered with one or two Wii twists thrown in for good measure.

The roster of characters is also set to expand substantially. You can expect a return for many of the major characters from the GameCube, so that's the likes of Mario, Luigi, Pikachi, Peach, Samus, Link and many others. Also confirmed as being playable characters so far we have Pit, Solid Snake, Zero Suit Samus, Meta Knight and Wario. Solid Snake is perhaps the most exciting addition to the cast of SSBB, an inclusion that only happened after Hideo Kojima himself practically 'begged' Sakurai to allow his character into the title. The bad news is Snake will not use his gun in the title, but he will use 'box attack' shown in a trailer released recently when he jumps out of said box and exclaims "Its showtime!"; fascinating stuff.

Apparently not all the characters from the GameCube version will appear and alongside Solid Snake, only one or two other third party characters will appear in the final game. Sonic is being heavily linked with one of the positions and Nintendo are reportedly in discussion with a number of companies to include additional characters into the title. What will come of it all remains to be seen, but you can expect a whole plethora of new characters included in the title, along with a Metal Gear stage being designed by Hideo Kojima himself.

The moves that you can use in SSBB are set to be more spectacular than ever before. Video footage of the title in action released during E3 2006 shows Link unleashing a special attack on Mario that traps him in a tri-force symbol in midair before attacking him with his sword. Mario also has a spectacular fire attack that is stupidly ferocious. You can expect all the characters to have three levels of attack: standard, enhanced and then what we're going to dub their 'Brawl Move', which will basically going to be a special attack exclusive to them that is stupidly pretty and stupidly elaborate. All good fun then.

In terms of gameplay, don't expect much to change. From the information that has been released so far, expect this to be more of an expansion than an evolution. Sakurai commented in one of his online development updates earlier this year that he was looking to drop the pace of the title a bit to allow for greater ease of play. So basically, things will be taken down a little bit in terms of speed to make for a less confusing and brain-haemorrhage-inducing experience.