In the MNC, I usually serve as a counterpoint against the mindset of rest of the crew. It is my cross to bear, and I will not disappoint this week. Super Smash Bros. Brawl releases in exactly six days, and many retailers across the country will be celebrating with midnight launches for what will surely christen itself as the iconic touchstone of the Wii. Much like Halo 3 or Super Smash Bros. Melee before it, Brawl symbolizes a universally understood concept that brings players together under familiar banners to throw down. I’m actually more excited about Octomania and Insecticide. I really think that I played enough Smash Bros. on the N64 to last several lifetimes, but even I admit the prospect of a stage editor and online battles does set my mouth to watering.

This is completely accurate. In an effort to make the old appear new, I’ve managed to avoid most references to the new Smash Bros. characters and moves. I love the new and strange and unfamiliar, and Nintendo’s habit of endlessly recycling age old material in new products grinds down my will after awhile. I hope to be proven wrong, but everything I hear of Brawl hearkens distinctly to experiences already had. Other companies are certainly guilty of shameless sequels; it’s the nature of any for-profit company that trades on brand names for profits to pay their workers and shareholders while feeding their families. All I’m saying is that I don’t recall every seeing the announcement for Devil May Cry Kart Racing or Super Grand Theft Auto Party. At least the quality of Nintendo’s releases is usually pretty solid.

Although, this almost makes the situation more frustrating. Is Nintendo’s kart racing game really so needy of the Mario license? Can you imagine what other features we could have if every damn Mario sports title didn’t require turtle shell attacks? Is Ocarina of Time really such a fantastic title that I needed to play through it four times under varying subtitles? Sorry, this sounds very rant-y and disconnected.

Here’s my go at a succinct summary: I liked No More Heroes. It was the most original product I played this year, and the most enjoyable despite not being the best overall game. I look at it and say, well, at least I haven’t played this one some time in the past. The experience was new. I look forward to being wrong about Brawl, and I’ll find out Sunday.

- Irving

If you want to keep every single thing about the upcoming Smash Brothers game a secret, then I would highly suggest you don’t read this week’s comic. Honestly, it’s nothing you probably didn’t know or couldn’t figure out, but there are people in this world that like to go in clean and I try to respect that as much as possible.

Smash Brothers Brawl might quiet the harping and whining that the hardcore market has been spewing forth since the launch of the Wii. It irks me that people really think that Nintendo has forgotten about the hardcore audience and only focuses on making casual games. That has to be one of the most absurd things I’ve ever heard. Nintendo has enough money and talented programmers to make multiple projects at one time. I wouldn’t be surprised to know that Nintendo has an entire division focused on making easy to play, family-friendly games. Really, check out what they’ve released thus far:

Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Battalion Wars 2, Mario Strikers, Pokemon Battle Revolution, and Super Paper Mario.

Now granted a few of those titles were quick port jobs of Gamecube titles, (Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, and Zelda) but when was the last time Nintendo released that many first party hardcore titles in the first year of a system’s launch? I’m not even going to bother to look that up and just assume it’s been a long time or just plain never. During that same time, they also released:

Wii Sports, Wii Play, Big Brain Academy, WarioWare, Excite Truck, Link’s Crossbow Training, Endless Ocean, and Mario Party 8.

Let me do the math here, eight hardcore titles and eight casual titles. Huh, go figure. It could even be argued that some of the hardcore and casual titles could be flip-flopped in either category, but the point is that Nintendo is focusing on both groups. Nintendo will always be Nintendo and will always do things their own way, love it or hate it. I like Nintendo games, so I have to accept what they decide to do.

Sure, I hate not having the choice of voice chat in my online games, but I can easily turn on my Xbox 360 and create a chat room while playing Strikes, Battalion Wars, or Brawl. Having played a lot of Xbox live games, I know that it’s both a blessing and a curse to have voice chat in a game. Great when you play with some people that are cool; terrible when the kids won’t stop screaming or playing music into their mic. Ugh!

Anyway, long story short, this Saturday at midnight, go get your copy of Smash Brothers and begin unlocking the secrets that are held within what will arguably be one of the best games on the Wii. Or should I say one of the best hardcore games instead?

- Dover