I got hardcore brawl and melee players to play pm with me by telling them that it is basically a new smash game, with things that every smash player will like, whether they play melee, 64, or brawl.
This is a good way of putting it. Like the PM staff themselves have stated, PM is not a 1:1 clone of Melee. It's its own beast, with its own rules, nuances, playstyles, and mechanics. It leans heavily on influences of the previous titles, but it's the best, and worst, of all three. It's not perfect, won't be perfect, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Trying to pitch Project M to somebody on the premise that it's
like Melee or
a better Brawl are poor ways to go about it. Melee is Melee, and Brawl is fun on its own. Each title has brought something new and interesting to the table, and Project M blends those three titles into its very own recipe, and it's great. Your major 'selling' points for Project M, for those who prefer what they're used to, are what most other people have already said:
+A diverse cast of characters from previous titles; anybody comfortable with Melee and Brawl should have an easy time transitioning, and even those who prefer Smash64 will find that some characters feel like they're right off of the cartridge.
+A wonderful reworking of some of the 'meaner' stages of the game; playing should feel chaotic like its supposed to, but not to the point where you're getting beaten up by the
game, and not eachother. Being pummeled by the stage will feel funny when it needs to, and not an annoyance that occurs too often.
+Ability to easily customize content of the game, similar to Smash64, Melee, and Brawl. Players can still make the game feel
just right to them. If you want Melee Ganondorf, have him, or whatever you'd like (less of a 'pro' and more of a 'feature', really).
+Relatively easy to install and run. There are some hiccoughs every now and again, but they're few and far between for an unmodified version of the mod.
+Growing public support and presence; there are plenty of members of the PM community who are veterans of Smash itself, but plenty of players new to Smash are drawn to PM, and the community (along with the game) is still growing and developing. The feeling of being part of something new(er) and still growing and expanding might be something that keeps people coming back. It's what got
me on the boards here as opposed to starting in Melee, after all.
Cons are everything you could expect from a mod, really.
-Not as much 'instant' support and availability as Brawl or Melee
-It's a mod; so you're going to have to do
some kind of work to get it up and running, or know somebody who does.
-Developing a presence where Brawl's or Melee's has been established, while easier each day, is not something that comes without
some apprehension.
-Waits between updates; not really a
bad thing, because of course, it's a sign that the staff are hard at work, round-the-clock working on the game we enjoy. But, you know how it is, a lot of people could just find it easier to go with the instant gratification of having a disc.
