The over-the-top multiplayer mode in Super Smash Bros. was good enough to outweigh the games major flaws for Dale, but that wasn't the case for me. I simply couldn't get past how shallow this game played in single or multiplayer modes. For me, it boiled down to the near-MIA of attack moves. Fighting games usually boast extensive techniques where basic moves are easy to pick up, but advance techniques are more difficult to master. Super Smash Bros. on the other hand ditches that philosophy in favor of limited attacks and pure simplicity in execution. Sure that makes the game easier to get into, but once you've waded through the game a bit, this lack of depth becomes glaringly apparent.
Plus, of the small arsenal of attacks that you are given, there aren't any varying degrees of power and all of them are borderline extreme (like in Capcom's Marvel Superheroes). Excessive moves of this sort are a bad idea because characters often feel out of control once a move is performed. It ended up being a rather debilitating experience for me and discouraged any personal fighting style I might have developed. So beyond being what seemed like a neat idea, Super Smash Bros. didn't really surprise me (despite having a few hilarious moments). It delivers exactly what you'd expect from the package: no less, no more.
Somewhere between all the gaming, Chi some how managed to finish high school and get into the New York Institute of Technology. At the same time, Chi also interned at Virtual Frontiers, an Internet software consultancy where he learned the ways of HTML. Soon after acquiring his BFA, Chi went on to become the lead Web designer of the Anti-Defamation League. During his tenure there, Chi was instrumental in redesigning and relaunching the non-profit organization's Web site.
Today, Chi is the webmaster of the American Red Cross in Greater New York and somehow managed to work through the tragic events of September 11th without losing his sanity. Chi considers GameCritics.com his life's work and continues to be amazed that the web site is still standing after the recent dotcom fallout. It is his dream that GameCritics.com will accomplish two things: 1) Redefine the grammar of videogames much the same way French film critic Andre Bazin did for the art of cinema and 2) bring game criticism to the forefront of mainstream culture much the same way Siskel & Ebert did for film criticism.
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