A look back at 2007

Well, here it is. This will be my thing talking about what's been revealed over the past year, and what I think about the whole thing. Of course, you probably already know how this will turn out.

You know what? Brawl has been surprising me repeatedly all through the year. I honestly thought I knew what to expect, but they keep coming up with stuff I would have never thought of in a million years. It only makes me want to see the final product even more.

One thing I really like about what they shown so far is that it makes the game look like a really great party game. Now, Smash Bros. has always been a great party game, so that really should be no surprise. But damn, they are kicking it up about 100 notches this time. I did begin to notice it with the Nintendog in the first trailer, but that was the tip iceberg. Items like the Superspicy Curry, the Smart Bomb, Dragoon, and Banana Peel are made for 4-player free-for-all insanity. The sliding boxes are just plain great, and add yet another layer of chaos.

And there are the Final Smashes, the maniacal cherry on the cake of lunacy. They made these fit in really well, by turning acquiring one into another major battle. I also love the creativity and variety among the individual Final Smashes - they aren't all just straightforward big bangs like many of us were thinking. Some of them just look nuts (Lucas and the Ice Climbers, for examples), which adds to my glee about the whole thing.

The stages also contribute to the madness. Many people complain that some of them are too similar, or too small, but they aren't looking at the big picture. With a few exceptions, most of the stages have some brilliant designs, so each one really changes the game, whether it be Delfino Plaza and Castle Siege's constantly changing scenery, Skyworld or Shadow Moses Island's breakables, the Summit's SLIDING DOWN A SLOPE, or Norfair's general hatred of everybody playing on it. What they lack in hills, they make up in hazards.

Speaking of stages, the Stage Builder was another big, awesome surprise. Its one of those I've contemplated in the past, but never thought I'd actually see. It doesn't look like its going to be a hugely exact, professional exercise, but that's okay, because it really should one those things you can just screw around with for 5 minutes.

The pure number of game modes present is incredible. Remember, that was what people were saying about Melee years ago, and Brawl dwarfs its predecessor. We know most of the modes that made Melee such a long-lasting game have returned (albeit, some of them have been toned down a bit, which is fine when you consider everything else they added), some of them with improvements, and some new stuff, too. Special Brawl, Home Run Contest, and Snapshots are greatly improved over their predecessors, Coin Launcher looks really fun, the Video Replays will be fun to make and watch, stickers are a slight, but nerdtastic addition for obsessive-compulsive freaks like me, and all those Co-Op modes. And that's not even getting into the Adventure mode.

Now, that Adventure mode. I knew it was going to get bigger, which was a pretty obvious expansion of the original concept. But they are doing everything in their power to turn it into a legitimate sidescroller in the Kirby Superstar vain. The story, the co-op, the all-new enemies, the boss fights...all of them make this look like a grand game in its own right. My anticipation is enhanced by the fact that they are keeping much of the story and levels under wraps...well, and the fact that most of the hidden characters are unlocked via this mode.

Back to the 'slight' additions, those have got me really excited, too. Stuff like the three taunts and giving every character new alternate colors is just one of those things you don't really think of when you look at what the game offers, but they are fun little additions. They are using those extra colors for more references, too, which is grand.

Online play is very, very important. I will agree to this, even though I'm not a big online player of any games. And while I can definitely see everyone else's problems with Nintendo's system that carries on in Brawl (Friend Codes, etc.)...I really don't have much of a problem with it. I can play with people I want to play with, they give me the ability to play random people (although with limited options, it seems), and that's all I really care about. Rankings are fun for a day or two, but after a while you realize that you'll never climb the list unless you completely fore go all other aspects of your life.

One of my favorite new additions are the Assist Trophies. I mean, they ARE just Poke Balls with a different set of characters, but man that set of characters is awesome. Seeing characters like Drilldozer's Jill or Little Mac make it into the game in some major capacity (even if I wanted them to be playable) is satisfying. Going back to what I was talking about earlier, they also contribute to the party time mayhem, especially ones like Devil or Andross (or probably the best one they've shown so far, Mr. Resetti). The more cameos, the better, I say.

The sheer number of musicians working on the game and My Music have really changed one of the great aspects of the game. We now have many more songs than ever before, and lots more variety. Many of those whiners I like to bash seem to be disappointed that the entire soundtrack isn't orchestrated, but I never thought that would. There are some songs that need to done differently. Some of the songs they've sampled so far have been rather MIDI-ish, but I don't think I've heard one that is particularly bad. Some of them I absolutely adore, and waiting to hear what songs they have in the final game is another one of those things I'm looking forward to.

And last, but not least, is the character roster. At the end of 2006, we had 11 characters confirmed (6 veterans, 5 newcomers). Now, at the end of 2007, we have 23 (6 additional veterans and 6 newcomers). Most of the newcomers they've shown so far have been expected, but there's a reason for that. They really seem to be covering all the required bases so far, and all of the new characters look unique and fun. The veterans haven't been changed all that much, but new move seem to be added when they are a good idea (Mario's FLUDD). For your information, the characters I look forward most to playing are Wario, Pokemon Trainer, Snake, Diddy, and King Dedede, in that order.

I think its also worth mentioning that, currently, we have almost as many unique characters in Brawl as there were characters in total in Melee. I look forward to seeing the rest of the roster, which should be soon.