"Super Smash Bros. Brawl" for the Nintendo Wii was denied a pre-Christmas place in stores and additional delays kept pushing the release further into 2008, but the game finally has been released.
"Smash Bros. Brawl" is the third instalment of Nintendo's hugely popular fighting game and developers have made the wait worthwhile.
During a hands-on preview, The Canadian Press got a taste of the game's frenetic multiplayer fighting mode and new single-player mode.
Fast and furious sums up the full-on brawls. With up to four people competing together, the controller buttons got an intense mashing and the verbal exchanges among players in the room were almost as entertaining as what was happening on-screen.
Before each round of fighting, players choose a character from Nintendo's rich gaming history. Wario, Fox McCloud and Mario aren't surprise inclusions, but the list also includes Samus from the "Metroid Prime" series along with many, many more.
Nintendo has not said exactly how many more and who they are. The company does say it's more than 20, and the list will boast some obscure characters only the most knowledgeable of gamers will recognize.
"If you're a Nintendo fanboy this game has so much packed into it, things that you'd appreciate if you'd been a Nintendo fan," Nintendo Canada's Matt Ryan hinted. "Some of the weapons that pop up, some of the music that pops up and some of the backgrounds in the stages will really impress some people who are in the know."
Haven chosen your brawler - I've always had a soft spot for Bowser - you decide where to fight. Once again, Nintendo draws on its back catalogue with arenas themed after old releases. These aren't just differently painted backdrops, though. In many, the arena will change to add extra obstacles, which add to the challenge.
We chose an arena based on the classic sci-fi racer "F-Zero."
Once dropped into the fight, the battle took hold instantly. With four people playing at once, the dynamic of each round changed constantly. For a few seconds I found myself duelling with one opponent, only to get attacked from behind and drawn into a full-on melee.
The in-game characters themselves are detailed and well animated but fairly small. Throw four of them into a battle, add the moving background, and it can be a challenge to keep tabs on what's happening even on a large plasma screen.
After a short while, my random button pressing started to take on a more purposeful approach and Bowser began to deliver some punishment.
Health is measured in a percentage meter at the bottom of the screen. If you suffer some damage the percentage climbs. The greater the percentage, the more likely it is you'll be tossed from the arena platform. Once pummelled off the edge, characters are re-spawned, with their percentage reset to zero.
Jumping back into the fray with zero per cent can give a player something approaching temporary immunity, which is probably designed to help game balance but can became a little frustrating during play. Once mastered, devastating combo attacks can hammer back other players, and the environment of the arena itself is an enemy.
Our characters in the "F-Zero" arena appeared to speed along a futuristic race track. At certain times the moving platform that the fighters stand on split in two or shrank down dramatically. Some poorly judged leaps sent Bowser falling off to be re-spawned more than a few times.
Gamers don't need to have three friends handy at all times for some "Smash Bros." action either. One player can go up against as many as three machine-controlled enemies or go online to find opponents on Nintendo's free Smash Service.
This instalment in the series also includes a narrative-based mode with the obscure title "The Subspace Emissary." This mode mixes battles in the same vein as the multiplayer with side-scrolling action, some RPG elements and a basic plot for a nice change of pace.
Away from the core gameplay, the incredible depth of "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" becomes clear.
In a nod to the true gaming scholar, "Brawl" has a detailed chronology section to see the history of the game's characters. A cool touch is the ability to load up a brief demo of games that originally featured many of the characters. A quick dose of "Super Mario Bros" in its blocky eight-bit glory is an abrupt but fun change after the smooth visuals of the main game. Ryan described it as a "compendium of Nintendo history."
An arena designer is also included that can edit existing maps or create entirely new ones from scratch. A very nice touch is being able to upload these homemade arenas to the online Smash Service where each day one will be picked out and distributed to all "Brawl" players.
To add even more content to the mix, developers have built in tools to enable multimedia bragging about your greatest in-game conquests. Stills can be captured along with up to three minutes of game footage to catalogue a particularly slick victory. These can be stored locally or uploaded and shown off online.
"Brawl" looks after players who love collecting in-game trinkets. In the Subspace Emissary mode power-up, "stickers" become collectible items and trophies are picked up as foes are vanquished.
For the true Nintendophile, there's a vast amount of absorbing gameplay to be had. For the more casual or social gamer, there's also a lot for value in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl."
"The replayability factor of 'Super Smash Bros. Brawl' is really endless," Ryan said.
Just remember to rub some moisturizer into those thumbs when you're done - they're going to get a hammering.
The game is rated T for teen.
