With a quick 3-2-1, these four videogame mainstays beat the living crap out of each other in a glorified game of King-of-the-Hill. That, my friends, is “Super Smash Bros. Brawl.”

And it is possibly the biggest, most anticipated game of 2008.

The above description of “Brawl” is pretty close to how the game actually plays. Nintendo mascots, such as Mario, Link, from “The Legend of Zelda” or Samus from “Metroid” battle it out in a cartoon-like fashion, trying to rack up damage to knock their opponents of the ring (Sonic the Hedgehog and Snake are the only non-Nintendo characters).

The game sounds simple, yet many gamers have found incredible depth in the “Smash Bros.” games. With 35 playable characters, many of whom are obscure, stages pulled from classic videogames, remixed classic game tunes, hundreds of in-game collectible items, online battles, video saving, and photo share, “Brawl” promises to not only be a fun game, but a veritable museum filledto brim with Nintendo’s greatest (and not so great) games.

Some people have a hard time understanding the “Smash Bros.” series appeal. Even gamers whose ideas of fun are gritty first-person-shooters or gory survival-horror adventures don’t understand “Smash Bros.” Well, it’s all in the cross-over. Like the greatest Marvel superheroes teaming up, or “Godzilla vs. King Kong”, the idea of seeing if Sonic the Hedgehog could beat up Mario, or Princess Peach beating up Donkey Kong, or whatever, is incredibly appealing. When this sort of “what-if” scenario is paired with a quick-to-learn, addictive play system, you’ve got nerd heroin

Except with “Brawl,” more than nerds are taking the bait. “It’s really everyone” said Sean Cleeves, assistant manager of Babbages (a gaming hobby shop), as well as recent SRJC transfer to Sonoma State. “You’ve got the 13-to-19-year-old males, everyday moms and their little kids. It’s already taken over Japan, it looks like it’ll do the same here.”

His co-worker, SRJC student Ignacio Heredia, agrees. Compared to another recent major release, “Halo 3,” it’s “a huge difference. Little kids and older people. People are like ‘fighting Nintendo characters? Hell yeah’,” Heredia said. “I’m so excited, it’s the reason I got a Wii.”

And that brings up an interesting issue: the Wii. Arguably the hottest videogame system on the market, Nintendo has been printing money with it for at least a year. However, the system has come under scrutiny by the hardcore gaming community for it’s simple and casual games that many feel leave more traditional games by the wayside.

“Brawl” is Nintendo’s coup-de-grace to such complaints, a unifier for consumers ostracized by Nintendo’s casual marketing as well as a potential hit with new gamers wowed by familiar faces and easy play.

We in America won’t know until March 9, the long-delayed release date for the game. Many stores are having midnight releases. In Santa Rosa, for example, there will be two midnight release parties at Babbages and GameStop.

“We’ll be having a tournament [at Babbages],” said Cleeves. “We’ll be hopefully getting a copy the day before.”

Between the two gaming shops in the Simon Mall, there are more than 300 pre-orders. With a month to go, the numbers will only rise. While not as big as the enormous “Halo 3” release last fall, 300 pre-orders show the hype behind “Brawl.” Now if the game can live up to it; this is one brawl you don’t want to miss.

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