Here is where we automatically allow users to find others of the same skill level. As you can see, some servers are reserved for those below a certain skill level. Another few servers are for those above that skill level. There are also a large number of servers set aside for people of all skill levels to play together. There's also some servers for players who pay to play the game, but let's not do that ;) So we click one of those and go in. Now what?

Game Selection (Click Thumbnail)

After selecting a server, we come to the lobby. The top part of the screen contains the most important part - the rooms. I'll get to that in a bit. The lobby is filled with everything you need. On the bottom right is the buddy list. You can see which of your friends are online and which of them are offline. If you double click their name, you can send them private messages just like you would on AIM or MSN. If a friend is online, the server and room they're playing in is displayed so that you can join in. To the left of that is the chat window to talk with others in the lobby.

At the very top are the rooms. The rooms are created by users. "Full" means the maximum number of players the game can hold (2, 3, or 4 by SSBM standards) is full. "Play" means that the people in the room are in the middle of a match. "Wait" means that they need more players to begin. Each room shows what type of game is being played (the die), what map is going to be used (the picture in the middle), and the amount of players it can hold (the number above the die). Informative and clean looking. To enter a room, you double click. If there is a lock on the room, it means it's password protected. Usually, it means the creator of the room wants to play a specific person (who they would have given the password to).

Between the socializing tools and the rooms are a few filters. To the left of the two arrows (which let you browse through the pages of rooms available) are buttons that let you filter it by game type. For SSBM they would be time, stock, coin, and score. To the right, you have filters that let you display only games that have friends in them or are currently waiting for users to join. Another button lets you go straight to a room by inputting the room number. The last one lets you create your own room.

Let's say you want to join a room. This is what happens after you double click:

Inside a Room (Click Thumbnail)

Now that we're inside, we have a screen where the people in the room can talk to discuss how the game will be played. Ultimate power resides with the creator of the room. Information, including the stage and game type, is displayed in the middle of the screen. The teams (if there are any) are shown split on both sides. Your character is displayed as well. You can change teams and characters by clicking the respective buttons. If someone is being vulgar, you can mute them by clicking the "Mute" button or just reporting them to Nintendo of America. When you're ready to play, click "Ready." When everybody's ready, the game starts with the options that have been decided upon.

That's All Folks!

See? Now isn't that a much cleaner, useful, and overall easier experience? It beats going through dozens of random battlers to find someone who actually puts up a challenge doesn't it? It's also much easier to create a room and password protect it to play against a friend instead of randomly searching "Friends" and hoping they're the one online?

Super Smash Bros Brawl is a console game, not a handheld game. There should be a structured online service that allows us the users to have fun. When we play a console, we aren't there for a "quick go" like on a handheld. We want a good experience. Hopefully, Nintendo realizes that. GunBound is free to play. Cost should have nothing to do with making an online system that's intuitive and fun to use.

In the end, it's all up to Nintendo. Whether or not we get the service that this game deserves is in their hands.

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