Super Smash Bros 3DS

Gr 2 Up—It's been six years since Brawl, and for the first time ever Nintendo's star franchise is portable and includes everything veteran smashers expect and then some. Compete in solo matches, local matches, and online against players from around the world with a wealth of familiar characters and some surprising newcomers, such as Mega Man and the Wii Fit Trainer. Secret unlockable characters also populate the game, which has hundreds of achievements to complete. Though it's traditionally played on a television, the portable nature of this new Smash Bros allows for more diverse gameplay. However, it still only offers up to four players in one battle, each of whom needs their own cartridge and 3DS or 2DS. This is disappointing, since other multiplayer games for the DS systems, such as Mario Kart, included character ghost modes where you would only need one cartridge and up to eight players could play on their own devices, making Super Smash Bros 4 less appealing for library programming. However, the "StreetSmash" mini game may hold great appeal for libraries using the consoles for outreach. With the volume of fans of the franchise, libraries can hone in on this group of players through "StreetSmash" to promote their library. Programming may be difficult as libraries would need multiple copies, or participants would be required to bring their own. However, with this particular title, attendance would not be difficult to achieve. The Wii U version is due out during the 2014 holiday season and could be more widely used for programming. A must for all circulating gaming collections.