Super Smash Bros. Brawl has it all

Thanks to Nintendo and the recently released Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we now know what a perfect fighting game looks like.

Start with some familiar characters (such as Mario, Link and Donkey Kong), add a few surprises (such as Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid franchise) and give them all super fighting skills. Besides the fisticuffs between friends, include a story mode that is more than just a bunch of fights haphazardly strung together. Make the game easy to control, even going as far as giving gamers their choice of which of the Nintendo Wii’s controllers to use (it can be played using any of the four configurations). For good measure, throw in the requisite online battles.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is this total package: an All-Star lineup of characters in an amazingly well-crafted game, even if it’s odd at first to watch the dainty Princess Peach haul off and slug Pikachu.

Besides the great action and story, SSBB offers a chance to sample some of the games the characters come from by including short trial versions of the classic Nintendo titles. There’s also a mode to create custom sites in which to do battle.

Nothing is missing.

Grade: A (an instant classic).

Details: Nintendo Wii platform; $49.99; rated Teen (cartoon violence, crude humor).

Quiz masters

Where’s Wink Martindale when we need him?

Simply by connecting four controllers to your console (each with glowing red buzzers on top), you can instantly transform your living room into a game show set. Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz is a great mix of movie trivia, from the classic to the current to the obscure. After selecting a video avatar from a catalog of quirky and fun choices, gamers compete head to head to see who knows the most; the game boasts more than 5,000 questions. Connect a second set of Buzz controllers and up to eight people can play at once.

Perfect for parties in need of an activity, the only thing missing to complete the game show vibe is a visit from the late Charles Nelson Reilly.

And for the younger set, Buzz! Junior Robo Jam offers a fun collection of 24 mini-games that, using the same controllers, test reflexes, such as “whack a mole.” The robot characters of Robo Jam are cute, and most of the games aren’t very tough.

Grade: B (better than most casual games, Wii titles excluded).

Details: PlayStation 2 platform; each game is $39.99 with a set of controllers, $29.99 for the game alone; Hollywood Quiz rated Teen (crude humor, drug reference, mild language, mild violence, suggestive themes), Robo Jam rated Everyone (comic mischief and mild cartoon violence).