Looks like it is time to start honing your Smash Bro. skills as this year you will be taking your fight online. All you will need is a Wii, 4 friends, a copy of Super Smash Bro. Brawl and a 100 digit friend code!

Ok so the friend code may only be 12 digits but come on Nintendo, we know you can do better than that. From the get go, Smash Bro. Brawl will give you the option to play with friends or to play with strangers. While duking it our with friends you will be able to send small text messages with your d-pad during battle. The system will also track friend battles and keep an ongoing tally of your win-loss record.

Say you want to pop online and just hop into a random match with strangers. The game will allow you to also do this, although you and your opponents will be stripped of your identity as well as your ability to communicate. Might as well just throw out the entire online social experience. You'd be better off just playing the CPU for a few rounds.

Regardless of your stance on the Nintendo Wi-Fi experience, it is still nice to see them making small steps in the right direction. We'll have more on the online modes as they become available.