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Super Smash Brothers Brawl Part 2 Nintendo Wii

Format:
Nintendo Wii

Genre:
Fighting

Buy/Support:
Support Dom, click to buy via us...

The characters in Super Smash Brothers Brawl (SSBB) present a wonderful large colourful spectrum of choice. Each character not only has vastly different animations and moves but also plays very differently. I plunge deep into the bowls of Brawl, and discover an expansive world in which to play.

The more you play Brawl the better the characters seem to get. Characters that are often dismissed early on for being hard to pick up or somewhat dull slowly grow and grow on you. As you get better at each character they in turn get better with you. Sounds strange, but has prooved true for me time and time again. Fed up with King Dedede's slow but powerful attacks, well sucking in your opponent and dropping them off the edge is more powerful than you think. Think Samus is a bit underpowered, well don't forget his Final Smash- simply devastating.

As you have probably realised by now, for me as someone looking to loose myself in a game experience, it is exciting to discover a world of depth in numerous SSBB characters. And all they needed was a little nurture. Along the way I have dug up my own favourite discoveries that have turned the game into a blossoming perpetual hit for me.

Fox is one of the fastest in the game and is good at both close-range and long-range attacks. In terms of shot attacks, his Blaster is fast and is good at knocking opponents off their feet. He can even damage while using his Fox Illusion move, which sends him zipping left or right at light speed. His Up + B fire attack can be directed with the controls stick, and if it's performed off the ground standing directly next to an opponent deals a huge chunk of damage. His Smash Moves, while strong, are pretty short-range though, so keep that in mind. His final smash has medium potency normally cause fits of laughter in your opponent which is a whole other tactic in itself.

King Dedede is a heavy character with a flight ability. Like most heavy characters his attacks are slow but powerful making him tricky to learn at first attempt. His hits don't quite have the power of some of the other heavy characters in the game. When playing against other heavy characters it's best to take advantage of Dedede's superior aerial abilities. While playing against lighter characters king Dedede's powerful attacks to pound them into submission is the best tactic I've found. His suck attack is great for levels where you can chuck your opponent of the edge but his final smash is musical yet pretty undamaging.

Yoshi is easy to use and pickup but does seems a little eggy at first. Half the time you roll into an egg to knock your opponents over and then dually roll right off the stage to your doom. He has the highest double jump in brawl meaning regular use of his jump smashes to the max. Although he feel easy to get the knack of it takes a while before I started winning with him- he's still a softie at heart.

What's most exciting for us deep gameplay nuts is that this is just three of the full 32 cast of characters. You wanted perpetual depth? You have it, albeit unexpectedly, right here.

When you are trying to find your perfect characters there is a lot to think about. What type of play suites your style? Do you prefer close or ranged combat? Do you like easy moves with little damage or the big smashers which take more skill? Or are you even the type that will wait for the final smash balls to come your way, knowing that will be your primary line of attack?

How you play Brawl produces your own unique play experience. Try sticking to one character to learn through one evening. Learn just where their weaknesses and strengths lie. We have tried it and found the game's as thrilling and unpredictable as when we cycled through the whole collection.

We discovered that Nintendo delivered on their promise to hone each and every character's moves and strengths. Each is balanced to perfection and matched to their personality. Miss exploring the depths of each character and you miss a whole lot of gaming life. If you feel the character you are using seems week in some areas of their play, this is simply a sign that they have been given equally strong areas to balance their powers out. The journey is to discover what these are.

One thing remains true, every character that you let into your world of Brawl injects innovation and life each and every time.

Written by Dom Roberts

You can support Dom by buying Super Smash Brothers Brawl Part 2



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Dom Roberts writes the Perpetual Gamer column.

"Welcome to my perpetual gaming reviews. My quest is to look for that one Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS lite and PSP game that links my own ongoing life to it."

Here are the games I've been playing recently:

• Batman Arkham City
• Just Cause 2
• Child of Eden
• Fallout 3
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