The Brawl comes to your Wii

Brawl with old friends View larger.

Or new ones like Pit from "Kid Icarus." View larger.

The Smash Ball is the key to success. View larger.

Battle to your hearts content. View larger.

Characters: More Than Just Mario and Friends
The lifeblood of the Super Smash Bros. series has always been the depth of the character lineup that each installment has been able to bring and Brawl not only keeps with tradition, but does it one better. Just as in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros Melee, players can expect to pit their favorite Nintendo characters against each other in head-to-head and multiplayer battles, but instead of insisting on characters exclusively from the Nintendo universe, Brawl adds variety in the form of superstars Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake from Konamis Metal Gear franchise. This is a first-time addition and one that will delight veteran players and newbies alike. But these two characters are only a sampling of the new additions to the games lineup. The other ten come from classic Nintendo titles and bring the complete lineup of playable characters to a whopping 25. See the full list on combatants below:

New Comers: Pit from the Kid Icarus series, Wario, Zero Suit Samus, Ike from the Fire Emblem series, Meta Knight and King Dedede from the Kirby series, Pokémon Trainer, Diddy Kong, Lucas from the Earthbound/Mother series, Pikimin and Olimar from the Pikmin series and of course Sonic and Solid Snake.

Returning Veteran Fighters: Mario, Link, Kirby, Pikachu, Fox McCloud, Samus, Zelda/Sheik, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Princess Peach and Ice Climbers from the NES title Ice Climber.

The Rules of the Brawl
As in previous releases in the series, Brawl places players within a different, but easy to use fighting system. Players choose a character, select one of the numerous stages--which are levels based in the game worlds represented in Super Smash Bros.-- and try to knock their opponents off the screen using a range of standard techniques and combos as well as a variety of special attacks and ‘Smash Moves specific to their chosen character. A Smash Move can only be performed after securing a ‘Smash Ball. These precious items, marked with the Smash Bros. logo, fall randomly and can be used by either player, but they must be cracked open before they can be used. To keep things interesting they can also can be stolen if not used right away, so when a player sees one it must be grabbed quickly and cracked to avoid an unfortunate turn of events.

Also, keeping with the games "E" rating and players affection for the characters, instead of displaying health bars the game uses a percent system to indicate character status and strength. The more damage done to a character, the higher the percentage and the farther back he/she is knocked back when struck by an opponent.

Many Ways to Play: Multiplayer and Single Player Options
Just as in previous installments of Super Smash Bros. there is fun to be had whether you choose to fight in multiplayer or single player mode, but Brawl again pushes the envelope even further by providing additional ways to play within these areas and the possibility of others added later. Here are just a few of the modes that you can expect to see:

Multiplayer

• Standard Multiplayer Brawl - A standard battle between 2-4 players.
• Special Brawl – Take down your friends in matches which you can customize with as many rules as you would like.
• Tourney – Choose the number of players and rules you want and have at it in a round-robin battle against many foes.
• Online Multiplayer - For the first time play against registered friends or randomly selected opponents from anyplace in the world via a Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.

• Training – Start on the path to Brawling like a pro as you learn to string standard moves together into combos.
• Classic – Fight your way through semi-randomly generated battles where each match features an arena or opponent from a particular game series and may feature unique battle conditions.
• Stadium: Target Smash - Practice your aim as you break ten targets within a set time limit.
• "Subspace Emissary" - The world of Smash Bros. is invaded by an entity called the Ancient Minister and his army, called "The Primid. As this villain starts turning characters into trophies to harness their power, declare a peace with your quarrelsome companions and work together to defeat the invaders in an engrossing side-scrolling adventure.

A Barrel Full of Customization
Finally, created with an eye towards providing years worth of fun, Brawl comes with extensive built-in customization possibilities. Dive into the games seemingly endless list of game modes/mini-games, battle stages, in-game items and musical playback options to make the game your own and Brawl the way you want to.