Cover:
Bibliographic Information:
Title: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Released: 2008
Reader’s Annotation:
Sometimes, you have to pick your battles.
Plot Summary:
Players can select from a variety of play characters from
popular Nintendo games for gameplay focusing on battle showdowns. This game can be played with single or
multiple players, and there are different game play modes, including a solo
adventure mode. Players have a high
degree of control over game play, including character and setting selection,
difficulty, and even the ability to design their own play levels. Various trophies and additional game features
can be unlocked through game play achievements.
Critical Evaluation:
One of the greatest strengths of this game is the versatility of
play; players have control over so many aspects of game play, with over 30
characters to choose from in game play.
Each character has different strengths and weaknesses, as well as
signature moves. There are also
different brawl settings, and mode of gameplay.
Players can even randomize their character and setting selections. With such variety of choice, there is long
term playability of the game. The
combinations are endless, which makes this game able to appeal to a wide
variety of players.
The game has high quality graphics. Because all the characters and settings are
based on other Nintendo brand games, the way things look can vary widely, which
actually keeps game play very interested.
For example, some of the characters or settings may look like old school
16 bit animations, while others are more slick and modern looking. There is a strong nostalgia factor in this
game, because players can choose their old favorite characters, like Mario,
Donkey Kong, and Jigglypuff. Players do
not have to be familiar with past Nintendo games to appreciate this game’s
play.
Author Biography:
Not applicable
Not applicable
Genre(s):
Video Game
Curriculum Ties:
Not applicable
Booktalk Ideas:
A brief discussion on who their favorite characters to play are
and why.
A discussion on what real world figures would make for good
brawling opponents in the game.
Reading Level:
Not applicable
Interest Age:
12 and up
Challenge Issues: Could be challenged intimations of
mild violence within the game.
If this game were challenged I would:
· Listen
to the concerns of the person raising the challenge
· Consult
the library’s collection development policy
· Explain
how this work meets a library need based on the collection development policy
· Consult
YALSA’s Dealing with
Challenges to Young Adult Materials
· Consult
reviews on VOYA, Amazon, Common Sense Media, and Kirkus
· Discuss
any awards or notable commendations the game received
· Explain
the library’s commitment to intellectual freedom as discussed in the ALA Library Bill of
Rights
· Give
the patron the procedure for a formal challenge should they seek to pursue it
Why was this game selected:
I have to admit it; this is
one of my favorite video games ever. I
spent many nights playing this game into the wee hours of the morning when it
was first released. So, when the teens
at my library requested we add this the our in house video game selections, I
was super excited. It goes to show that,
despite this game being 8 years old, it still competes with newer games in
terms of entertaining teen patrons. I
really think this is to do the fact that there are so many choices and options
available to players. Teens can organize
their own tournaments, and make up their own subrules for game play (for
example, they can all play as the same character for a round). This game is a good investment for libraries
who encourage video gaming as part of their collections.
No comments:
Post a Comment