Smash Bros Bobble

I've been playing a lot of Super Smash Bros Brawl the last two weeks. A lot of people have. And I enjoy it a lot, I just wish I could get more variety of enjoyment out of it.

I have to say I'm about 50% disappointed with the game. The best parts of the game are the parts that haven't changed. The new stuff, for the most part, fall flat. The new characters are great, the more the merrier, but the new Adventure mode... ugh.

There's no real story to The Subspace Emissary. No dialogue. Just running through short stages to get to short battles. There's just enough substance to it to make me really yearn for a full-on Kingdom Hearts-esque game with these characters (perhaps it's because the generic enemies resemble the Heartless). It could really be great. This game, however, is bland and repetitious. With some of the worst platforming ever. With speedy characters that were never meant to be platforming.

The horrible two-player co-op version of this mode is even worse because it is obviously tacked on. The second player can only ever choose on character (you'll usually have about 4 per stage), and that's the limit to their control. The camera will never follow them (and they'll be injured just by being offscreen); they can't open doors; and if player 1 dies it's game over, regardless of player 2's wellbeing.

And one of the biggest crimes of this sorry mode: all of the characters can be unlocked just by completing it. Sure, they can also be unlocked by playing hundreds of round of standard brawls, but this way is quicker and it takes the challenge away. Why fight for the same reward if you can just walk up and take it? They should have divided the rewards so you'd want to play both. Maybe unlock secondary costumes in one mode and characters in the other? Nintendo really dropped the ball here.

I only lash out about this, because I am truly disappointed in face of the awesome potential sitting here. There is a spectacular game waiting to break away from this great little fighting game. They both can co-exist, I just know it.