TwiddleGeek

Though the Subspace Emissary mode took me just over 10 hours, I have to say Brawl felt shorter than I expected. Perhaps that’s because unlocking everything simply requires a single play through of SSE, where as I’m used to meeting some rather lengthy requirements to unlock all the characters. One can argue this method is better though, and I must admit I’d probably say preferred. Obviously the real play time of any Smash title is in the multi-player brawls. With online connectivity, Brawl ought to have more replay than Melee or 64.

Joined in on an online tournament over at EvAv and won my first round last night in a best of 3 match. Came down to two Sudden Death victories, so it certainly was a close match-up. YouTube links of the replays may even be available soon, but not quite yet. There’s a lot of little nagging changes in Brawl that are taking time to get used to, but overall I think it’s a good upgrade. Just that, for example, SpaceKitty and I noted that it seems harder both to pick up items from the ground or preform smash attacks rather than regular attacks at times.

We played for over two hours again last night with minimal lag, so I really must commend the online play of Smash. SpaceKitty absolutely owns me in getting the smash balls first, usually resulting in some spectacular deaths, but I’ve still got the edge in overall wins. Pikachu, Link, and Samus remains my go-to team, but Sonic is a lot of fun and SpaceKitty has found a liking for Lucario. I only find it a shame that Zero Suit Samus is terribly weak, making Samus’s final smash such a double-edged sword.

Rating:

If you’ve played Melee, there’s really no point in asking if you’ll like Brawl. Brawl basically is Melee, only sporting a fresh coat of gfx paint, a handful of new characters, Subspace Emissary, and online play. If you dislike the core gameplay, Subspace Emissary is not going to be a reason to buy this game. Otherwise, though, it’s a lengthy and enjoyable 10 hour adventure with cutscenes that look like something from Square Enix at times.

But SSE is just a fun bonus compared the heart and soul of any Brawl game: the battles. New characters like Pit, Metaknight, Pokemon Trainer, and Sonic are all fun to play as and easy to pick up. Olimar is nearly worthless, while Snake takes a lot of skill to master. Dedede is a slightly more versatile heavy fighter than Bowser or Donkey Kong, while Diddy isn’t terribly impressive but passable none the less. Zero Suit Samus feels, sadly, weaker than I’d like… but Samus in her power suit is still one of my favorites.

Final Smash moves add an exciting dynamic to an already hectic game. For those worried they break the gameplay, they can be turned off easily enough. I would contend however that they are no more broken than scrambling to get the hammer item, and a whole lot more fun. Many can be dodged, some require aiming, and some are just worthless. Unfortunately that’s the most broken thing about them — they’re just not equally useful.

Brawl still plays more or less exactly like Melee, but with a few tweaks to the system. All the mechanics are the same, but some say it feels faster, while others claim it’s a bit slower. Items are now much easier to grab in mid-air, smash attacks have been added, and veteran fighters’ moves have been tweaked. With more characters than ever, more items, assist trophies, and more new stages, plus the stage builder to play with, Brawl can easily breath fresh life back into the series if Melee has gone stale.

Finished up Umbrella Chronicles and posted up the review. Wow, a whopping 17 hours in a light-gun game. By the time I get my guns upgraded and play through it again on co-op with SpaceKitty, that’s going to be a lot of bang for the buck. I picked it up for a mere $20, which $35 at most is what it should have cost to begin with, but I can’t argue against paying the full price either. I’m tempted to drop $15 for a Nyko Perfect Shot just for this game. (Forget the Zapper, that thing looks awful.)

The challenge was great throughout, but I have to admit bosses frustrated me a little too much on a few occasions. Even so, the satisfaction of actually winning was well worth it. If I had spent the time replaying the levels to upgrade the guns, they would have went down much easier. As I said last time, I just wish the unlimited handgun could be upgraded as well as the rest. Throughout the game it was my weapon of choice, followed by the automatics when a little zombie crowd control was needed and grenades were sparse.

I loved the story, having seen only bits and pieces of RE 1, 2 and 3. The limited ammo in games prior to RE4 just drove me nuts and ruined much of the playability for me. SpaceKitty and I have been thinking about starting over with RE1 for the GC, but playing through RE:UC makes for a great condensed version of the story in the meantime. It actually makes me want to play RE: Zero, a game I had paid no attention to. It’s ashame the zombies don’t blow to bits like in HotD, but they do react well to being shot at, including being stunned by the legs, knocked backwards, and missed headshots make subsequent shots that much harder. There’s just not much to complain about.

Rating:

Umbrella Chronicles is my type of game. I love light-gun shooters, and the Wii is perfectly suited to them. What surprised me though was just how good Umbrella Chronicles turned out to be. The lengthy 22 mission game took me just over 17 hours to complete, and that’s not even counting the time I could spend going back to upgrade guns or try to get higher ranks.

Aside from the insane length, Umbrella Chronicles has an excellent story pulled straight from the series’ past, including Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, and 3. There’s no RE4 in here, but you’ll be seeing plenty of Leon, Ada, and Wesker again from the events leading up to RE4. Playing as Wesker is simply awesome, and his narrative throughout the game is always great. The graphics are always good, feeling true to the originals but obviously upgraded. Nothing is terribly stunning, but the atmosphere makes up for that completely.

There’s a lot of challenge here as unlike most light-gun games this isn’t simply a matter of being able to shoot the targets on the screen. Zombies take real strategy, including shooting them in the legs to stun them, using close-combat techniques, using grenades at strategic times, swapping between multiple weapons depending on the situation, and head-shots that are only critical if they hit right on the forehead itself. Bosses take incredible patience and concentration rather than simply spamming bullets, sometimes taking me over 15 tries to get it right. Whether it’s a nostalgic trip down memory lane or you’ve missed much of the RE storyline, Umbrella Chronicles is one of the best on-rails shooters I’ve ever played.