Entertainment for All Expo Pre Show Update:

Let's get one thing straight: I am excited. I can't think straight, sit still or type properly – my word processor is doing most of the spelling in this post. As I stare at the computer screen, a cold sweat has broken out over my forehead, my breaths are coming irregularly, and I'm blinking about as much as painting of myself would. My heart is quite literally pounding with excitement.

Though it may seem like I'm experiencing the early symptoms of a heart attack, my affliction goes by another name: “Super Smash Brothers Brawl.” In a few hours, I will be getting my sweaty, trembling hands on the new Wii Title “Super Smash Brothers Brawl” at Nintendo of America's booth, and I'm almost embarrassingly excited.

Let me attempt to explain the significance of this franchise. “Super Smash Brothers” is arguably the most loved franchise on the planet. When the original “Super Smash Brothers” retailed for the Nintendo 64 in 1999, anyone who owned that console and a copy of that game immediately experienced a loss of sleep and a plummeting grade point average. The formula was a strange one – Nintendo characters from various games beating each other up in familiar Nintendo stages – but the game play proved to be some of the most addicting in video game history. “Super Smash Brother Melee”, the current version of the game for the Nintendo Gamecube, took the game further, with deeper game play, more stages, and more playable and unlockable characters. This version spawned professional tournaments, with some gamers making an annual salary of up to 40000 dollars a year. The game sold more over 10 million copies, which is actually more than the number of Gamecubes sold by Nintendo. Also, I'm kind of a fan of the game myself; let's just say that yesterday when I chanced a look at my gameplay statistic for hours played, it was not a small, nor a three digit number.

Once I tear myself away from “Super Smash Brothers Brawl” though, I'll be getting my hands on “Super Mario Galaxy”, the Wii Zapper, and some innovative gaming interfaces that are also premiering at E for All. Check back for impressions.