Super Smash Bros for Wii U: 2014 Game of the Year?

 

In the last 15 years there have been many franchises that gamers consider to stand out on their own.  Games like this usually offer a unique aspect to their genre or gameplay that has inspired other games to be made. One franchise that accomplished both these feats is Super Smash Bros.  Since its release in 1999, Smash Bros. has become one of the perennial franchises for Nintendo.  I have talked to various gamers about Smash Bros and many of them said it is the reason why they own a Nintendo System (mostly with Melee for Gamecube and Brawl for Wii).  Other games like TMNT Smash up and Playstation All-stars Battle Royale tried to “join the battle” but were unable to match Smash Bros’ success.  Smash Bros has turned the fighting genre upside down and created an experience unlike any other.

With the new Smash Bros being released next year, it seems like the slumping sales numbers for Nintendo will be on the rise.  So is it possible that Smash Bros will be game of the year for 2014?  I know it is very early to start making predictions for what “Game of the Year” is going to be next year, but Smash Bros. could have a case to be “the” game of 2014.  Now Smash Bros. is being released for Wii U and 3ds, but there has never been a handheld game to claim this prestigious title so it would be the Wii U Version that has the best chance of claiming it.

Even though the Xbox One and Playstation 4 will be in full force in 2014, I see Smash Bros as the game that has the most to offer.  Certain features and aspects of the game could lead it to the title of “Game of the Year.”

 

·         History is already being made:  Old School gamers will look at this game and ask themselves “Is this really going to happen?”  The thought of having Megaman, Mario, and Sonic in the same game was only a dream up until now.  Now the three biggest names (representing their companies) for the first time are going to duke it out with each other in all out mayhem.

·         Same Great game now in HD:   Nintendo has finally put themselves in the world of High Definition when they released the Wii U last year, now Smash Bros is in HD.  The stages shown so far have never looked better and they are a huge part of Smash Bros. Each stage represents a character in the game along with the Battlefield and Final Destination arenas that are the generic but most used stages.  The Character designs also look beautiful in the game.  This will be the first time we get to see Megaman, Link (not Toon Link), Samus, and many others in High Definition.

·         Best multiplayer of the year:  Games like Call of Duty and Battlefield produce amazing online multiplayer, but their local multiplayer seems to slack quite a bit.  Smash Bros produces a multiplayer that gamers enjoy playing locally and online which could produce the best multiplayer experience of the year.  The advantage Nintendo has always had (in my opinion) over Microsoft and Sony is that their games provide an amazing local multiplayer.  Combining this with the improved online multiplayer could make Smash Bros the best multiplayer experience of the year.

·         New Characters lead to new surprises:  Along with Megaman, the new fighters including Wii Fit trainer and the Villager could provide new surprises.  We’ve seen some of the moves that the rookies can do but what other moves do these characters hold?  They could hold a knock out move that will send the player into the background of the arena causing them to lose a life.  What these characters could also bring are new items and different assist trophies.  Assist trophies were awesome in Brawl providing different characters to pop out and help the fighter who released them.  So imagine picking up an assist trophy and Protoman pops out blasting everyone or Tom Nook is released causing massive chaos, many surprises still await us in the game.

Smash Bros is going to be one of the most talked about games heading into 2014, and if it lives up to all of these expectations, we will be looking at a classic that gamers will play for years to come, and who knows it could very well be the 2014 Game of the Year.