When the original Super Smash Bros. came out for the N64 I had hours of fun playing with friends so I had high expectations for its Game Cube iteration. While I was disappointed with the single player, the multi-player has kept me coming back and is the sole reason this game warrants purchase.

Those who played the original Super Smash Bros. will know what to expect, but for those of you who never played the N64 version here's a quick rundown: The game is a 2-D fighter which pits Nintendo's major characters (Mario, Link, Samus, plus many more) against each other. The game features up to four fighters on screen at once in over 20 different stages, and what is unique is that while your attacks do damage the only way to actually take out your opponents are to knock them off the screen (the more damage they incur the easier they fly through the air).

Each character features moves distinctive to the games they come from and all can do multiple jumps in the air which is great for getting out of sticky situations. While there are a good variety of moves don't expect this to be as deep a game like the excellent Soul Calibur, it's more of a button masher in which cheapness is not only prevalent, it's somewhat expected. To compare this game to Soul Calibur is somewhat of a mistake, for while this is a fighter it is a fighter in its own sub-genre and you really have to play it to understand what I mean.

The stages are somewhat of a mixed bag, while some are great, some are average, and some are almost poor. I find myself playing a few levels over and over again, such as the F-Zero racetrack level where you must dodge cars on a raceway while you fight your opponents. While this level exhibits an uncanny amount of creative genius (I hope my meagre attempt at describing it doesn't deter you from actually playing it) many other levels feel lacklustre in comparison.

Single player is good, but gets boring very easily. Despite Nintendo's attempts to make it worthwhile there just isn't much to capture the interest and the only true reason it warrants replay is to unlock the hidden characters and stages in order to play with a friend. There is adventure mode, which has side-scroller platforming elements mixed in with standard fights, original mode which is just standard fights much like the N64 single player, and event mode, which is various challenges such as defeating enemies within a certain time limit.

The graphics are excellent for the most part, although one level was sore on the eyes and sometimes things are happening so fast that you can lose track of where your character is. Did I mention it's fast? After playing this the first Smash Bros. feels like it almost moves at a snails pace.

The sound is also quite good, featuring classic scores from the Nintendo library, but there is a song in one of the Donkey Kong levels which is so hideous that I can't give the sound a perfect score. It's some children's rap tune, and not only does the singing (if you'd call it that) make it feel out of place among the other pieces but it ruins the entire level. The sound effects however are perfect for the game and I couldn't picture them being any better.

If I were reviewing this game based on the single player experience alone I would give this game an 8. It's the multiplayer where this game shines and that alone I'd give a 9.5.

I highly recommend this game. Search for it on eBay for the best deal: <a href="http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=super+smash+gamecube+new">super smash brothers for gamecube on ebay</a>