Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released for the Wii on March 9, 2008.
Presentation - In the single player modes, there are Classic and Subspace Emissary missions. In Classic mode, you defeat a few characters at a time, clear break the targets mode, and defeat the Master or Crazy hand at the end like in Super Smash Bros. 64 and Melee. The Subspace Emissary missions are defeating enemies in a 2D setting and occasional bosses. Although you start out with playing as Mario or Kirby, you can play the rest of the cast as you unlock characters. You can also play up to two players in this mode.
The rest of the extra single and two player co-op player modes are Training, Break the Targets, Home Hun Contest (from Melee), Boss Battles (clearing all major bosses up to Tabuu (final boss) from Subspace Emissary along with Master and Crazy hands), 100 man Brawl, cruel Brawl, and event matches (from Melee).
There is also a coin mode, where you shoot as many coins as you can to collect the most trophies. Also, there are hidden trophies to unlock and there are certain objectives to accomplish such as clearing Classic mode from Easy to Intense difficulty). You can only use five hammers (each used only once) to automatically unlock any five trophies. You can view all of the collected trophies, stickers from sticker album, all music tracks/sound effects from characters, play demos from classic Nintendo games, view when NES to Wii games were released, and even create your own stage with selecting any music track you want that's available in Brawl.
You can even configure how much you want to listen to a certain music track from each stage (from zero to one hundred percent and a few tracks are available on each stage). The biggest new feature that Brawl has is online multiplayer which is functional, but lags sometimes and you can't play with your other three friends while you're playing online with other people from around the world. However, you can have items on or off and select from any stage you want. You can exchange friend codes to play with your friends online.
There are a total of 38 characters from Mario, Luigi, Link, Marth, and Ike to ROB the robot and Meta night. However, several characters from Super Smash Bros. Melee are absent such as Roy from Fire Emblem, Dr. Mario, Mewtwo, Pichu, and Young Link.
Graphics - The character models are brighter, more clear, and detailed in their shadows and clothing than from Melee
(especially Mario and Luigi with the details of their denim overalls). The backgrounds still look very similar to Melee such as Onett from Earthbound. The new stages have more detail with the foreground and background.
Sound - All of the music tracks are awesome and a classic to listen to. The sound effects are spot on and character catchphrases sound decent (I prefer Mario's and Luigi's voice clips from Melee).
Game play - The controls are tight accurate, and responsive. However, the pace of the game is slightly slower from Melee (to appeal to casual gamers and newcomers), and the new tripping mechanic messes up with the running controls sometimes (by stopping you from running on the ground).
Lasting appeal - The frantic four player mode is still there with the ability to play online for the first time. However, you can't play with your friends online locally and play with strangers online at the same time. You can play with your friends online by exchanging friend codes. The extra modes are always welcome with the ability to customize stages and choose what songs to listen to on each stage. What's also disappointing about Brawl is the missing characters from Melee (especially Roy), slower pace game play, occasional laggy online, and the awful tripping mechanic. Despite these shortcomings, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is still a must buy for all Smash Bros. fans.
Presentation - 9
Graphics - 10
Sound - 10
Game play - 8
Lasting appeal - 8
The Good - new Subspace Emissary mode, extra single player and two player co-op, ability to create stages, select songs to play on stages, four player local multiplayer and online for the first time, improved graphics and sounds, controls are tight and responsive
The Bad - online mode lags sometimes, missing characters from Melee (ex Roy), slightly slower pace game play and tripping mechanic
GameSpot score 9.0 out of 10