Good news fellow Smash Bros. fans, Brawl will be making an appearance online. The online portion of the game is now official, and we’re getting some details today. Of course, those hoping that SSB:B would be the game to finally break Nintendo into the online gaming space may be sad to hear that all the nerfing of the Wii Connect system continues to be alive and well.
The Super Smash Bros. Dojo website revealed that the game will support the Wii’s wireless internet connection for online gameplay. There are going to be two ways in which you can play online: With Friends; and With Anyone. With Friends actually means, “With People You’ve Shared Your 12-digit Friend Code With.” That “Wii Handle” announcement couldn’t come at any better time than the launch of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Because there is still no voice support for any Wii games, if you want to send messages to a friend you have four options. Each of the four directions on the D-pad corresponds to a taunt. That’s it for communicating, and the fact that the DS supports voice chat makes this all the more irritating. When you’re playing With Friends you’ll also be able to check out each other’s stats, which is nice. There are also a few other modes, yet to be revealed, besides free-for-all to play around with.
On the flip side is the With Anyone option, which pits you against a random person. There is no communication; you’ll never learn a single thing about your opponent. And you can’t track any stats in this mode. Even if Nintendo wants to continue this ass backwards mode for online play, they should at least offer an online leader board or simple stat tracker. If you happen to light the tubes on fire with your fierce Smash Bros. mastery, no one will know the truth except you and the dog.
Online play is a welcome addition to the game, and we’re simply happy to have it confirmed. But we’re not going to cower and be overjoyed that we’ve been “blessed” with this online mode. The simple fact is this: Super Smash Bros. Brawl could be the second most played online game of the next 6 months with ease. Nintendo says it takes the pressure off of us to have a setup with no way to track how you’re doing, and we say that’s a load of crap. Jerks will exist in this game, and cheats will arise. You can’t stop griefing by gimping online play.
