Oh Nintendo, how could you?
You promised us online gameplay, and you’ve given us a pile of crap. Smash Bros. Brawl has the worst online gameplay I’ve seen since 1997, and it damages an otherwise excellent game.
To start with, I’m getting booted from the service about 50% of the time with random errors. If I do actually manage to find a few people to play with, the lag is just too much to deal with. Getting only two frames per second renders the game completely unplayable. Thanks to the laggy servers, a two minute fight lasts about eight minutes. On one hand, the continuous bullet-time like gameplay gives me plenty of time to dodge and make minor adjustments, but on the other hand, Smash Bros is not supposed to have bullet-time gameplay.
And what’s with the lack of options for online fights? We’re stuck with two minute timed battles and four people. If the server can’t find four human players, it fills the extra spots with computer players. Why can’t I do a one-on-one fight? Why can’t I do stock instead of timed? It boggles the mind.
I haven’t had a chance to try friend battles yet, because honestly I haven’t added very many of my friends’ friend codes. Because, you know, a twelve digit string of numbers is so much easier to remember than, say, a gamertag. I hear the choppy gameplay is a little more bearable, but is it so much to ask for fluid play online? I mean, Halo 3 can do it, so why can’t Brawl?
I feel let down by Nintendo. This game was a major factor in my decision of what next gen console to buy. Believe it or not, a year ago I was really looking forward to being able to play Brawl online. Nintendo has really dropped the ball with online features, and I’m starting to think I should have gotten a 360 instead of a Wii. Wii games, with only a few notable exception, have been nothing but a string of gimmicky minigames and poorly done ports, and it’s really getting tiring.
Way to go Nintendo.
