Brawl has hit stores, and with it's incredible gameplay, good graphics and amazing music, it's sure to please everyone.
Graphics
The graphics, for the most part, are good. The character models are all an improvement from Melee, and stages themselves are also fairly detailed. However, the backgrounds for these stages, with the exception of perhaps Lylat Cruise, are all fairly boring. However, lag is non-existent, even with 4 players, and the CG cutscenes look amazing; they're top-class, and they'll make you forget you're playing the most underpowered system on the market.
Sound and Music
Ah, now this is where you can commence your trip down nostalgia lane... Brawl is cram-packed with music. If there's a Nintendo game, and the music is good (or even not-so-good), it'll be in Brawl. From the Gyromite theme to the Ocarina of Time Medley, to the Wii Shop Channel Theme, and even Golden Sun's Final Boss/Battle theme. It also includes music from the 3rd party characters as well; Snake has a full selection of music from his post-SNES days, and Sonic has an incredibly diverse selection. Favorites like Sonic Boom and Angel Island Zone really take you back to the good ol' days.
Gameplay
It can't be a Smash Bros. game without good gameplay, and on that note, Brawl delivers quite well. New characters, items, game mechanics (such as the removal of wave-dashing, pivot grabs, fox-trotting, and gliding), boss battles, and a re-tuned single player adventure are what most people are going to be looking for. However, the bigger nitpickers, such as myself, might notice that Brawl has it's own version of the Havoc physics engine (used in games such as Halo). This was the first major thing I noticed when I played my first VS match, and many items seem to exist just to show off the power of Havoc. Items like springs and bumpers can send you careening off screen, and more subtle tactics such as wind and water jets are also push you around. And don't forget the online play option, which lets you either play with strangers in a standard 2 minute match, or play with friends in a custom setting match. Sadly though, Nintendo is still pushing the Friend Code system, so be sure to jot yours down somewhere, as they're tedious to input, and you'll probably have a bunch of 'em. Not to mention that lag can strike frequently if you have a busy wireless network, so be sure to avoid that. Nobody likes a lagger.
And I haven't even touched on some of the other additions. However, I'm only reviewing the primary aspects of the game; the things I've missed, such as Masterpieces and the Chronicle mode, are only going to be visited by nostalgia junkies (like me). With great gameplay, truly amazing music, and improved graphics, I give Brawl a 9.5.