Well, we're through all five days of our Games on Tour event at the other library branches, and it's been a hit! People of all ages were eager to try their hand at Wii Sports, Rock Band, and even Brawl... What's even cooler is that a lot of our Game Night regulars showed up at just about every branch and let everyone know just how Brawl is supposed to be played! Game Night Chronicles (our flickr account) has been updated with some new photos from quite a few branches, and we've even set up a youtube account now for a few videos we were taking while talking with some familiar faces... Check out those videos now on the right.
Now on to the bad news... On September 1st, the library will be closed since it's Labor Day. That means no Game Night next Monday. But don't worry. We'll be back on Monday, September 8th from 4:30 - 6:30 PM like usual.
Here are some more Super Smash Bros. Brawl tips:
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tips and Tricks: Item Throwing
If you're using a character that's small (like Olimar) that doesn't have as much knockout potential as middle- or heavyweights like Donkey Kong or Ike, you should probably rely on thrown items whenever possible to score easy knockouts. You can throw items in any cardinal direction, or drop it while in the air or on the ground.
Each item, when thrown, has a different effect when it makes contact with an enemy, so weigh your needs before it fly into the face of your adversaries. Below is a list of the items that will randomly appear in a stage, as well as their effects when thrown:
Barrels: 18-22% damage and good knockback. These have incredible knockout potential when hitting opponents with high damage percentages, but are usually difficult to hit with. If they explode on impact, the knockback is much greater.
Beam Swords: 15% damage and good knockback. It can be thrown with ease in any direction and bounces quite a bit when it hits a wall, ceiling, or floor. This is one of the preferred weapons to throw for easy knockouts.
Capsules: 15-18% damage and mild knockback when thrown. Capsules are good for racking up easy amounts of damage and potentially scoring knockouts if they're explosive. There is a 12.5% chance that they'll explode on impact.
Crates: 18-22% damage and good knockpack. Very similar to Barrels, Crates are somewhat unwieldy to use, but can score knockouts very easy, especially if they're explosive. There's a 1 in 8 chance of a Crate exploding when thrown.
Fans: 9-12% damage, high shield damage, and high vertical knockback when thrown. Unless a character is at a very high amount of damage, it's unlikely that a Fan will knock them out when thrown. The knockpack is always straight up, though, so it sets them up for an aerial knockout.
Fire Flower: 4-12% fire damage when thrown and very little knockback. Throwing a fire flower should never really be used as a knockout tactic. It's pretty much just a last resort move when the flower's fire is depleted.
Hammer head: 29-39% damage when thrown and incredible knockback. It's rare to see this item, but few throwable items contain as much power as the hammer head. It can be thrown as easily as a Capsule can, despite its weight.
Home-run Bat: 19-22% damage and very high knockback. The Home-run Bat is your best bet for thrown-item knockouts. It's more common than the hammer head, deals more damage than the Beam Sword, and also inflicts more knockback.
Lip's Stick: Random flower damage. Lip's Stick is really only useful for racking up "poison" damage on your opponents, though it does inflict a slight amount of knockback. It's good for getting their damage percentages higher, but I wouldn't recommend it for anything more than that.
Motion-Sensor Bomb: 12-15% damage when thrown with minimal knockback. This item, while being able to inflict a fair amount of damage when thrown, should probably be used more subtly.
Mr. Saturn: 8-11% damage when thrown, significant shield damage, and minimal knockback. Where knockouts are concerned, Mr. Saturn just doesn't cut it. Leave the poor guy alone and pick up a bat.
Party Ball: 16-19% damage unless explosive and fair knockback. Another unwieldy weapon, the Party Ball should only be used as a weapon for racking up damage. It has a 1 in 10 chance of exploding, in which case it would deal 41% damage and a large amount of knockback.
Poké Balls: Small amount of damage and fair knockback. These items make good thrown weapons, as long as you aren't facing anyone with a reflecting move. When Poké Balls are reflected, the Pokémon that's produced from it becomes owned by the reflector's owner. It's best to throw this item near an opponent, but not directly at them.
Ray Gun: 9-13% damage and fair knockback. Once all of the shots have been fired, you might as well throw it. It's possible to score knockouts with this weapon when throwing it, but only against opponents with fairly high damage percentages.
Star Rod: Moderate damage and excellent knockback. The Star Rod's knockback potential is second to very few items. It's best to use it for knocking opponents outside of the left or right boundaries of a stage, though, since its lateral knockback is much greater than it's upward or downward knockback.
Super Scope: Negligible damage and fair knockback. This item isn't really a great tool for scoring thrown item kills, but if your opponent is at high percentages, you may luck out.
Banana Peel: Very slight damage, trip effect, and minor knockback. There are far better items to use for knockouts. Ignore this as an option.
Bumper: 8-9% damage when first thrown and great knockback. A Bumper in the hands of any skilled player can easily result in multiple knockouts at once. Use it for everything from edgeguarding to high percentage knockouts in just about any direction.
Cracker Launcher: Moderate damage and fair knockback. It's very similar to the Super Scope in terms of knockback.
Deku Nut: Great damage and excellent knockback. If it connects directly with an opponent, this item has as much potential for knockouts as a hammer head. It's significantly harder to aim with, though, given its small size.
Hothead: Various amounts of damage and knockback. Depending on the Hothead's size, it can be incredibly damaging to opponents or simply slightly annoying. Power it up with fire and lightning attacks before you throw it, and it can be a devastating tool.
Pitfall: Zero damage, no knockback. If thrown at an opponent with no land beneath them, it's the same thing as Meteor Smashing them. Very useful indeed, if you can hit with it.
Smart Bomb: Various amounts of damage and good knockback. If used against opponents with roughly 45% damage, it can easily lead to knockouts on smaller stages. It's unreliable, though, as it often doesn't explode when you expect it to.
To be continued in the next GNC post...
--Chris.
Now on to the bad news... On September 1st, the library will be closed since it's Labor Day. That means no Game Night next Monday. But don't worry. We'll be back on Monday, September 8th from 4:30 - 6:30 PM like usual.
Here are some more Super Smash Bros. Brawl tips:
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tips and Tricks: Item Throwing
If you're using a character that's small (like Olimar) that doesn't have as much knockout potential as middle- or heavyweights like Donkey Kong or Ike, you should probably rely on thrown items whenever possible to score easy knockouts. You can throw items in any cardinal direction, or drop it while in the air or on the ground.
Each item, when thrown, has a different effect when it makes contact with an enemy, so weigh your needs before it fly into the face of your adversaries. Below is a list of the items that will randomly appear in a stage, as well as their effects when thrown:
Barrels: 18-22% damage and good knockback. These have incredible knockout potential when hitting opponents with high damage percentages, but are usually difficult to hit with. If they explode on impact, the knockback is much greater.
Beam Swords: 15% damage and good knockback. It can be thrown with ease in any direction and bounces quite a bit when it hits a wall, ceiling, or floor. This is one of the preferred weapons to throw for easy knockouts.
Capsules: 15-18% damage and mild knockback when thrown. Capsules are good for racking up easy amounts of damage and potentially scoring knockouts if they're explosive. There is a 12.5% chance that they'll explode on impact.
Crates: 18-22% damage and good knockpack. Very similar to Barrels, Crates are somewhat unwieldy to use, but can score knockouts very easy, especially if they're explosive. There's a 1 in 8 chance of a Crate exploding when thrown.
Fans: 9-12% damage, high shield damage, and high vertical knockback when thrown. Unless a character is at a very high amount of damage, it's unlikely that a Fan will knock them out when thrown. The knockpack is always straight up, though, so it sets them up for an aerial knockout.
Fire Flower: 4-12% fire damage when thrown and very little knockback. Throwing a fire flower should never really be used as a knockout tactic. It's pretty much just a last resort move when the flower's fire is depleted.
Hammer head: 29-39% damage when thrown and incredible knockback. It's rare to see this item, but few throwable items contain as much power as the hammer head. It can be thrown as easily as a Capsule can, despite its weight.
Home-run Bat: 19-22% damage and very high knockback. The Home-run Bat is your best bet for thrown-item knockouts. It's more common than the hammer head, deals more damage than the Beam Sword, and also inflicts more knockback.
Lip's Stick: Random flower damage. Lip's Stick is really only useful for racking up "poison" damage on your opponents, though it does inflict a slight amount of knockback. It's good for getting their damage percentages higher, but I wouldn't recommend it for anything more than that.
Motion-Sensor Bomb: 12-15% damage when thrown with minimal knockback. This item, while being able to inflict a fair amount of damage when thrown, should probably be used more subtly.
Mr. Saturn: 8-11% damage when thrown, significant shield damage, and minimal knockback. Where knockouts are concerned, Mr. Saturn just doesn't cut it. Leave the poor guy alone and pick up a bat.
Party Ball: 16-19% damage unless explosive and fair knockback. Another unwieldy weapon, the Party Ball should only be used as a weapon for racking up damage. It has a 1 in 10 chance of exploding, in which case it would deal 41% damage and a large amount of knockback.
Poké Balls: Small amount of damage and fair knockback. These items make good thrown weapons, as long as you aren't facing anyone with a reflecting move. When Poké Balls are reflected, the Pokémon that's produced from it becomes owned by the reflector's owner. It's best to throw this item near an opponent, but not directly at them.
Ray Gun: 9-13% damage and fair knockback. Once all of the shots have been fired, you might as well throw it. It's possible to score knockouts with this weapon when throwing it, but only against opponents with fairly high damage percentages.
Star Rod: Moderate damage and excellent knockback. The Star Rod's knockback potential is second to very few items. It's best to use it for knocking opponents outside of the left or right boundaries of a stage, though, since its lateral knockback is much greater than it's upward or downward knockback.
Super Scope: Negligible damage and fair knockback. This item isn't really a great tool for scoring thrown item kills, but if your opponent is at high percentages, you may luck out.
Banana Peel: Very slight damage, trip effect, and minor knockback. There are far better items to use for knockouts. Ignore this as an option.
Bumper: 8-9% damage when first thrown and great knockback. A Bumper in the hands of any skilled player can easily result in multiple knockouts at once. Use it for everything from edgeguarding to high percentage knockouts in just about any direction.
Cracker Launcher: Moderate damage and fair knockback. It's very similar to the Super Scope in terms of knockback.
Deku Nut: Great damage and excellent knockback. If it connects directly with an opponent, this item has as much potential for knockouts as a hammer head. It's significantly harder to aim with, though, given its small size.
Hothead: Various amounts of damage and knockback. Depending on the Hothead's size, it can be incredibly damaging to opponents or simply slightly annoying. Power it up with fire and lightning attacks before you throw it, and it can be a devastating tool.
Pitfall: Zero damage, no knockback. If thrown at an opponent with no land beneath them, it's the same thing as Meteor Smashing them. Very useful indeed, if you can hit with it.
Smart Bomb: Various amounts of damage and good knockback. If used against opponents with roughly 45% damage, it can easily lead to knockouts on smaller stages. It's unreliable, though, as it often doesn't explode when you expect it to.
To be continued in the next GNC post...
--Chris.
