Sonic Unleashed: the story so far
(Ignore the speeling errurs.)
So here we are in the Blue circle again, guys. Maybe on the way to Yellow. Are we doomed to go on to Red, or are we going to actually get a good Sonic game out of this? Time will tell.
But simply looking at pictures and footage in recent years has never given a frame of reference for the actual quality of any given Sonic title. Sonic Next looked gorgeous, and was awful. The footage we have right now is literally unbelievable, almost like Sonic Rush meets Mario Galaxy’s 2D segments.
Let’s just step back, take some deep breaths, and look at this thing reasonably.
It’s like there are two parts to every new Sonic game- the ones that rock, and the one’s that emphatically do not rock, which cancel out any hope I have for a given title. Right now I’m about as concerned as I was after the leaked posters of Shadow and Silver pre-E3 the year before last, and Sega hasn’t even made any official press release yet.
I personally won’t be convinced of a damn thing until I personally get some hands-on time with it, especially after seeing that Zerg-looking monster from what I believe is the opening cinema, as well as, uh, Were-Sonic.
Is Iizuka behind this? Who knows. My intuition tells me he’s probably behind the more awkward bits, such as the lupine version of our hero and the StarCraft reject from the opening cinemas, but that’s going a bit far. Pinning the terrible bits on Sonic Team before Sega’s even had a chance to say a word is, to say the least, jumping the gun.
There is no reason to immediately assume this game will be bad. But, unlike, say, the Mario series, there is no reason to expect it will be good either- there simply isn’t the same history of excellence that one can point to in defense of this view, only screen shots and movies. And, as Sonic Next taught us, those do not make a good game.
I don’t have an unshakably optimistic view of this game, less because of the worrisome images I have seen so far, and more thanks to my experiences with console Sonic games over the past six years. This was the position of skepticism that ultimately prevented me from buying Sonic Next, and I do not regret taking it.
Still, I’d like very much to have a great console Sonic game again after over half a decade.
Prove me wrong, Sega. Prove me wrong.
(And get a better handle on your media security. Honestly, it took the community three or so hours to find pictures of Were-Sonic, and I can’t imagine you guys were going to let anyone see that short of E3 this year. Heck, by five hours we had video. Unless this was a planned leak you guys really dropped the ball.)
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56 opinions for Sonic Unleashed: the story so far
George
Mar 22, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Hudson, your like a black rainy cloud!
James
Mar 22, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I think the Gameplay vid posted below this post shows that the game wont be your standard 3D sonic game.
More like a 3D sidescroller.
Nathan
Mar 23, 2008 at 12:29 am
You mean like the fantastic Sonic Rivals games?? I can’t wait!
Nilok
Mar 23, 2008 at 12:38 am
I can only hope this game will reach a 4th green circle were the downsides of this game is so severely overshadowed by what makes this game great.
We can only dream.
radrappy
Mar 23, 2008 at 1:24 am
I see what you did there Nathan.
Pur
Mar 23, 2008 at 1:56 am
Did anyone know that there is a new character to be announced for this game?
Psycho_Echidna
Mar 23, 2008 at 4:10 am
You should go write for kotaku sometimes … same negativity … no official information came out of this game and already blaming Sonic Team or IIzuka who by the way did a fairly good job on JOD , which you slashed by the way in your review … are you really a Seganerd ?
Motowolly
Mar 23, 2008 at 5:19 am
Hmm tis interesting…I’ll keep me eye on it.
Maruyama
Mar 23, 2008 at 5:32 am
Another year of continuous bitching.
Chris
Mar 23, 2008 at 5:40 am
@Psycho_Echidna
Hudson and I already talked about this today, and we just have differing opinions. I’m with you, though. I think IIzuka did an admirable job on NiGHTS 2 and would be really happy to see Sega give him another shot at heading up a Sonic title. I think he’d do a much better job than Shadow the Hedgehog.
Nathan
Mar 23, 2008 at 5:41 am
A lot of you are mistaking healthy skepticism for bitching. I think that when you take the history of this series and probable developer into consideration, an even larger than normal dose of skepticism is not only called for, but required.
Nathan
Mar 23, 2008 at 5:43 am
Iizuka is one of the worst things to happen to the Sonic game series, in my opinion. The man should never have been allowed to direct any of them.
Aki-at
Mar 23, 2008 at 6:55 am
“Sonic Next looked gorgeous, and was awful”
That’s mainly because the first video they should was actually a good video with open areas, the next few with Shadow and Silver and Iblis pretty much killed most people’s hype.
I’ll wait with this game for impressions, but seems to be in the right direction so far. What we’ve shown has all been “good” and unless they fuck it up by placing bottomless pits (Something not shown in screens or vids) then I can remain hyped for this.
James
Mar 23, 2008 at 8:44 am
Sonic Rivals 1 and 2 are fun games. /shrug
Joeman
Mar 23, 2008 at 9:06 am
Iizuka is awesome he made both adventures and nights journey into dreams.
City Hunter
Mar 23, 2008 at 9:12 am
Have you heard about Wolf Sonic?
I think I’ll return to the blue circle… :(
Leaf
Mar 23, 2008 at 10:38 am
I’m totally with Nathan on this one.
To swing from the rooftops for every new home console Sonic game that gets announced is naive and shows you haven’t learnt your lesson from the last time round (unless you liked Sonic 2006 that is).
Sure, it looks different. I’m actually pretty positive about it. But I won’t get my hopes up until I’ve seen some hardcore evidence that this doesn’t suck royally suck.
Leaf
Mar 23, 2008 at 10:39 am
*You heard me, suck royally suck.
Kogen
Mar 23, 2008 at 10:40 am
Why do you have to complain about every single Sonic game? We know it could be a bad game, but it could also be a good game, we don’t need you guys pointing out the obvious. Your annoying, constant complaining only makes you guys seem like a nagy old women (not referring to just Hudson).
We all know it could suck and you don’t know anything the rest of us don’t, so stop it. You’re not helping anyone who reads the site; personal comments are one thing, but to post this as “news” gives SEGA Nerds a shitty reputation.
Mark
Mar 23, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Oh please would you people quit bitching? You all know the post is right. It made me chuckle. If SEGA actually pulls off a decent Sonic game, let’s wait until that happens instead of pretending they might have right now.
Kogen
Mar 23, 2008 at 1:11 pm
“You all know this post is right.” Exactly, we fucking know Sonic sucks lately. We don’t need a post about it every time they make a new game. It’s pointless.
James
Mar 23, 2008 at 1:29 pm
This post has a misleading headline.
Hudson
Mar 23, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Shucks, Kogen, thanks for referring not just to me. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. And judging by some of the comments on the recent media (”I CAME”) we do need to be reminded that Sonic Team has a terrible track record, because everyone seems to have forgotten about it in the past six months.
But I’m emphatically NOT complaining in the above article. I make a point of saying so:
“Is Iizuka behind this? Who knows. My intuition tells me he’s probably behind the more awkward bits, such as the lupine version of our hero and the StarCraft reject from the opening cinemas, but that’s going a bit far. Pinning the terrible bits on Sonic Team before Sega’s even had a chance to say a word is, to say the least, jumping the gun.”
It is not meant to tell everyone getting excited about the game that they are wrong. It is meant to inspect and analyze where we, as Sonic fans, stand right now in the grand scheme of things and why, as Nathan said, we have every reason to be skeptical rather than rabidly praising what amount to some very pretty screenshots and a neat looking movie. This is the start of a long and extensive effort to cover the game by Sega Nerds, and I wanted to provide an editorial perspective of why some of us will be approaching the game the way we will. Editorials and features are part of any good news agency, and while we may “just” be a Sega news site, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for the same sort of comprehensive coverage seen in other venues.
You’ll note that I temper the ominous things seen thus far with an incredibly optimistic viewpoint early in the piece. I’m not sold one way or the other, and I see no reason to be. It’s fairly obvious people didn’t realize how awful Sonic Next was going to be as it sold like hotcakes laced with amphetamines upon release.
It’s no more opinionated than some of the other stuff everyone here posts, and if you think criticizing it with intense vitriol will stop this sort of content from popping up from time to time, you’re mistaken. As for being “news,” that’s just because every post we make is automatically tagged as such, and I hadn’t noticed it when I first put it up. I can change it if Chris would prefer, but that will be a private matter between staff members.
James, “the story so far” refers to how far along we are in the cycle of a Sonic game’s release, not the plot of the game. Seeing as Sega hasn’t made any official announcements regarding the plot outside of a semi-confirmation of Wolf Sonic and playable characters I’d say it’s fairly clear what the article will be about just based on the initial graphic and lead paragraph.
Radrappy
Mar 23, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Man what are you guys throwing a hissy fit about? This is a very reasonable analysis of what we’re currently going through. We don’t know anything, but whats the worst that could happen in approaching a trainwreck series with skepticism?
“You should go write for kotaku sometimes … same negativity … no official information came out of this game and already blaming Sonic Team or IIzuka who by the way did a fairly good job on JOD , which you slashed by the way in your review … are you really a Seganerd ?”
To Psycho Echidna:
Did you actually READ the article Kotaku posted with the gameplay footage? They actually expressed interest and excitement. And loving everything Sega is not what qualifies one as a fan. We’re fans of the properties and past games, not ZEALOTS that are blindly devoted to the products this company pumps out regardless of quality. And Journey of Dreams was certainly NOT slashed when it was reviewed here. It’s not a TERRIBLE GAME I think were Hudson’s exact words. 6/10 was honestly, generous. But to only concentrate on what actually went well and ignoring the immensely disruptive design and conceptual failures that end up drowning the experience is absurd. I’m not saying you can’t love the game . Hell you can love Sonic 06 (which was reviewed very very well on this site so I don’t even see what you’re complaining about) for all I care.
“You all know this post is right.” Exactly, we fucking know Sonic sucks lately. We don’t need a post about it every time they make a new game. It’s pointless. ”
Obviously we do Kogen seeing as you’re already excited. We really need to be grounded in reality here, the reality that Sonic hasn’t done a home console game right in years.
Jon
Mar 23, 2008 at 2:33 pm
No Sonic 06, like every shit Sonic title, started slow and sold through word of mouth
Nev
Mar 23, 2008 at 6:58 pm
“There is no reason to immediately assume this game will be bad. But, unlike, say, the Mario series, there is no reason to expect it will be good either- there simply isn’t the same history of excellence that one can point to in defense of this view, only screen shots and movies.”
The only problem with this sentence is that it’s completely wrong. The screenshots and movies don’t provide evidence that the game is good, but they do give evidence that the game is a side-scroller.
And yes, side-scrolling Sonic games DO have a history of excellence. Sonic Advance, Sonic Rush, Sonic Rivals. Barring hideous technical faults, at WORST, this game will be “good.”
As for Wolf Sonic, I’ve seen enough bitching about the over-use of Super Sonic to see that this could be a positive thing. If you look at the progression of the CG shots, it seems as though Super Sonic is being taken out of the equation, and being replaced by something unique to this title. Which I’m all for.
Or is it only Link and Mario who are allowed to turn into wolves and bees?
Nathan
Mar 23, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Actually the Sonic Advance games were terrible to mediocre, the Sonic Rush games were passable, and the Sonic Rivals games were disappointing. Just because a Sonic game is 2D doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to be good. That’s an even more naive thought process than the one you’re trying to counter.
Also wolf Link sucked and wolf Sonic looks even worse.
Additionally, I don’t understand how anyone can complain that Super Sonic has been overused when he hasn’t even been fully playable in a real Sonic game since the Genesis. Sure he always makes an appearance for the final boss, but that’s it.
Aki-at
Mar 23, 2008 at 7:21 pm
“Did you actually READ the article Kotaku posted with the gameplay footage?”
I take it you haven’t read many Kotaku articles about SEGA before? With such excellent mistakes as NiGHTS being on the Dreamcast, Jet Set Radio Future being the first Cel Shaded game and many other fine points. Psycho has many reasons why he gets annoyed at them, and if I remember correctly, he was in game journalism before, so you can understand why he gets annoyed with them.
Also game looks nice, well buy if good, if not, will get Yakuza 2 and 3 to fill that void.
“The immensely disruptive design”
There were like only, three platforming levels and more NiGHTing in the game last time I checked dude? Unless you didn’t like the other side missions.
paly
Mar 23, 2008 at 7:28 pm
seganerds is so broken….i can never enter …. will this be forever … and the sameinterface again :S
Nathan
Mar 23, 2008 at 7:56 pm
paly what problems are you experiencing exactly?
Kogen
Mar 23, 2008 at 8:19 pm
He probably means that you should get a host that doesn’t “down” the site every 5 or so minutes. It interrupts posting, obviously.
And Sonic Advance(1) wasn’t that bad of a game. As one of the early GBA games, it’s a very good game for the system’s standards; the same can’t be said for the others, however(besides music/graphics in some areas).
As for the other stuff, I still see it as nagging. There just isn’t enough stuff released to give it any full judgement; what is released so far is good overall. You should realise that things can improve, such as Sonic games, and it’s not forever “sucking” no matter what.
And on a related note, does anyone even want to be reading sudden bitching articles, anyway? If you can’t be optimistic about anything then don’t complain just to bother people who are. The entire point of this site is to look forward to SEGA games, even if there is a bad track record. Just report good news and hope for the best
Also about Hudson; have any of your articles been positive so far? All I remember you doing is saying how Sonic turned into crap, why NiGHTS 2 sucks, why we shouldn’t buy good VC games, and then this. Personally I don’t see it really helping.
Nathan
Mar 23, 2008 at 8:25 pm
The entire point of this site is NOT to look forward to Sega games, it is to report objectively on upcoming Sega games and occasionally give opinion pieces and editorials on the state of the company and its games. Whether that is positive or negative is completely up to the author, and as long as his opinion is presented rationally and coherently then there is nothing wrong with it.
If you don’t personally like a writer’s opinion then too bad. Mail him your tears in a jar or something.
Nev
Mar 23, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Nathan: If your main counterpoint to my argument is that you didn’t like Sonic Advance or Sonic Rush, then you may as well just say that “IMO, you’re wrong.” Because your opinion appears to differ from the consensus.
The Sonic Advance games were not “terrible to mediocre” by any stretch of the imagination. And Sonic Rush was certainly not merely “passable,” unless you deem average review scores of above 8 as being “passable.”
If this game only ends up “only” being “as good” as Sonic Rush, then it’s going to please a lot of people. If that doesn’t include you, then… Well, sucks to be you, I guess.
Eric
Mar 23, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I laughed my ass off at this even though I don’t agree with it.
Psycho_Echidna
Mar 24, 2008 at 12:43 am
we should have a thread on the forum for this discussion … getting away from the topic
paly
Mar 24, 2008 at 1:43 am
i cannot enter everytime i want…. and its says error 404 or something like that
Chris
Mar 24, 2008 at 5:52 am
Look guys, we need people with differing opinions on the site. If we all thought the exact same way, then our posts would all sound the same and it’d be like one person was writing everything.
I, for one, am happy that we have Sega Nerds on staff who feel very different about Sega products - that way, we can have some interesting debates and can also relate to a broader spectrum of Sega Nerds.
I said it before, it’s not our job to tell you things that will make you feel happy. The only things I require from our writers is that they write objectively, honestly and they can back up their opinions.
Other than that, I give them free reign to post how they feel. I know each staff member pretty well, and I know none of us are haters or fanboys. We just have different feelings about Sega products, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Kogen
Mar 24, 2008 at 10:47 am
I still think people are missing the point. Hudson and everyone else are allowed to hate Sonic or anything else SEGA makes(I even hate Yakuza and that S-RPG game); anyone knows it doesn’t mean they hate everything about SEGA.
But this point is way over done and people are just sick of “Sonic is going to suck!” We all know this already and it’s being constantly repeated. It’s like posting a review of the same game every month; it’s annoying and we know already.
MrXmas
Mar 24, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Apparently some people just hate being reminded of the truth.
Kogen
Mar 24, 2008 at 12:04 pm
On a monthly basis, yeah.
Aki-at
Mar 24, 2008 at 12:05 pm
“Apparently some people just hate being reminded of the truth”
Kogen’s point was he already knew so what’s the point of telling him again.
supersonicdude211
Mar 24, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Like you said, time will tell. If you think the game is kind of bad, then just compare and contrast it to the Sonic the Hedgehog Next - Gen that was very glitchy and disapointing. ( If I spelled anything wrong sorry ) . Maybe it could be better than Next - Gen because of the Secret Rings alike gameplay and the 2D gameplay to. 2D isn’t really glitchy. But 3D mode walking and running all around like Next - Gen is more glitchy. Maybe not true though. And does the word “lack” mean a lot, or none/little? Please reply.
Alimn
Mar 24, 2008 at 3:27 pm
AWESOME SONIC GAME!
This is what I was waiting for since long time ago…
A Sonic with 2D game play on a next gen console!
Regards-Alimn
Alimn
Mar 24, 2008 at 3:51 pm
In my opinion now at least they’re in the right path with Sonic games,
That DS game plus this one are both some things never tried before!
So, let’s be patience until they release their new Sonic games
or at least more info.
Since Sonic Adventure DC they’ve not really tried
a new Sonic game for last/present gen home consoles…
(Well, maybe only Sonic Wild Fire…because Wii is different)
Regards-Alimn
Jon
Mar 24, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I’m happy that they seem to be moving away from the fucking Sonic Adventure engine.
supersonicdude211
Mar 24, 2008 at 5:39 pm
I am guesssing this may be better than Sonic Rush Adventure. Because you can also run in 3D. The blog in the site: http://www.sonicstrike.net/~se37 asks about this game, 2D or 3D? According to the gameplay trailer, it is both. I assume it is mostly 2D but I am not entirly sure.
Hudson
Mar 24, 2008 at 11:57 pm
“Kogen’s point was he already knew so what’s the point of telling him again.”
Because our target audience encapsulates a great variety of people, only one of them being Kogen.
Aki-at
Mar 25, 2008 at 5:56 am
“Because our target audience encapsulates a great variety of people, only one of them being Kogen”
Yeah, its not like no one has heard how crappy the last few Sonic games have been or how bad Sonic Team has gotten, nope no siree, it’s not like we don’t have articles on a monthly basis throughout the internet that tells us of this fact. And no one totally knows who Shadow the Hedgehog is.
The majority knows this fact, only a few people wouldn’t know this fact. It’s common knowledge now.
Hudson
Mar 26, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Again, I’ll point to the intense and unabated enthusiasm in the period immediately following the leak that continued for a good while. Not everyone who comes to Sega Nerds posts in the comments section/forum, and new readers especially deserve a primer on the current condition of Sonic, considering the much referenced financial success of Sonic 06 and the unabashedly uncritical commentary Kotaku provided to accompany its own coverage of the leak. That’s why we do these things- because not everyone remembers.
Also,
“But this point is way over done and people are just sick of “Sonic is going to suck!” We all know this already and it’s being constantly repeated. It’s like posting a review of the same game every month; it’s annoying and we know already.” -Kogen
I don’t really recall saying Unleashed was inevitably going to suck! If you could point it out I’d be really appreciative. If you’re strapped for time and need to get the gist of the article without actually reading all of it, I’d suggest the first few sentences. Here’s a favourite of mine:
“Are we doomed to go on to Red, or are we going to actually get a good Sonic game out of this? Time will tell.”
(or, deeper into the body of the article)
“There is no reason to immediately assume this game will be bad.”
Goodness!
Aki-at
Mar 27, 2008 at 9:54 am
“Again, I’ll point to the intense and unabated enthusiasm in the period immediately following the leak that continued for a good while…That’s why we do these things- because not everyone remembers”
That’s silly, just because someone has gotten excited over a game means they don’t know Sonic Team sucks? You’ve got to be kidding me, people do know Sonic Team have failed to develop a AAA game for a good while now, go to Sonic Stadium and other fan sites, and even here, people are having high hopes but know Sonic Team can screw it up. I had the same belief with NiGHTS 2 and kept it all the way to the end, in which I was excited but knew it could very well be bad.
What we’ve seen so far, of the gameplay and level, is what we like, but you’d have a sure fire bet that if something really different comes out, like Shadow in a jeep, people will drop interest in this game faster then a stripper taking off all their clothes. I know you stated this, but really people are already expecting Sonic Team can screw it up (Many holding a strong reservation over Were-Sonic)
“Not everyone who comes to Sega Nerds posts in the comments section/forum, and new readers especially deserve a primer on the current condition of Sonic”
No need to paint such a dark picture of the franchise though, well, it’s not you painting a dark picture, just not painting a good picture at all, you could have obviously mentioned the last few Sonic games, two have been outsourced away from Sonic Team and the up and coming RPG is also outsourced and with this game being developed in the same style as Rush, could have linked Dimps to it.
Then of course you could have analyzed the trailer and pictures, posted both the negatives (Which you did, but I feel you left a few points out) and the positives, the article just seems…Sort of short, but I suppose James was doing the analyze of the trailer and this is more of a “Keep your expectations in the realm of reality” article I guess. Though…
“But simply looking at pictures and footage in recent years has never given a frame of reference for the actual quality of any given Sonic title. Sonic Next looked gorgeous, and was awful”
For one, people (Like myself) never got excited on Sonic Heroes or Shadow the Hedgehog, both I thought would be either bad or mediocre though I don’t know what people thought of Sonic Heroes (Seriously, people were excited about it?) Then about Sonic 06, your not mentioning people were excited about the intial video released, with Sonic running around a big green field, not about seeing Shadow and Silver. After people saw that, everyone was expecting a Sonic Adventure 2.5 and hype went down, REAL quick.
“unabashedly uncritical commentary Kotaku provided to accompany its own coverage of the leak. That’s why we do these things- because not everyone remembers”
There isn’t much to be critical of though. What could you be critical about? Only that Sonic Team might be developing it, and that’s still not certain, so what could you be critical about?
You could say its all about running really fast and holding right…But the general gaming media believes that is what Sonic is about (Not that he is) so Kotaku would probably love it. But even then my look into the trailer showed that holding right will not always take you to the end.
Hudson
Mar 27, 2008 at 5:36 pm
“That’s silly, just because someone has gotten excited over a game means they don’t know Sonic Team sucks? ”
From the comments section of the initial video post:
“oh my GOD YES”
“I CAME”
“fcking great !! love it please sega please ujuuu”
And my favourite:
“THE VISUALS OF THIS MASTERPIECE SPEAK FOR ITSELF, ITS TOTALLY DIFFERENT OF THE NORM AND I ALMOST TEARED UP WATCHING THE POSSIBLE RETURN OF MY HEDGEHOG, MY SONIC, THE ONE ONE WHO HAS BEEN IN MY DREAMS (OK IM JUST BEING WIERD) SINCE GENESIS.. DAMN I WILL 100% BUY THE GAME AND THE SYSTEM JUST FOR THOSE LOVELY IMAGES!”
So yeah, sometimes people need to step back and take a few deep breaths when stuff like this drops.
I gave context and an analysis based on previous experience with recent console Sonic games. I gave explanations for both potential enthusiasm (”The footage we have right now is literally unbelievable, almost like Sonic Rush meets Mario Galaxy’s 2D segments”) and reasonable caution (”And, as Sonic Next taught us, those [screens and videos] do not make a good game”).
Critical commentary does not mean negative commentary. It means a complete and analytical look at a subject, whatever it may be. Movie critics, for example, can still like movies even though they are, in fact, critics.
Kotaku, and many other sources, made the logical leap of “2D = awesome” (among other things) which is a stretch, to say the least. James’s article, supplemented by comments that even further dissect the video, provides a good example of critical commentary that is not by nature negative.
As for enthusiasm for Sonic Next, I knew a disturbingly long list of people that looked forward to it even as its launch drew nigh. 1/3 of the game looked like it was going to be Sonic, and it looked (and still looks today) absolutely gorgeous. But Sega did its best to keep things like awful friends gameplay segments, huge, empty hub worlds, and ridiculous load times from reaching the public until reviews started to hit. Even the gaming press in its E3 impressions gave the game the benefit of the doubt despite apparently terrible controls. Many believed Sega’s claims of getting back to Sonic’s roots (an appeal they are reviving now) even as they forked over the cash for the game. I myself regained some enthusiasm for the title when Sega released an incredibly clever trailer shortly before the demo hit XBLA.
Heroes, as evidenced by Graham and others, still has a strong, bewilderingly enthusiastic following.
Finally,
“you could have obviously mentioned the last few Sonic games, two have been outsourced away from Sonic Team and the up and coming RPG is also outsourced and with this game being developed in the same style as Rush, could have linked Dimps to it.”
None of those were for home consoles, and this is a home console game. As of now we still have literally no evidence to point to any specific developer for the game outside of the historical trend of Sonic Team being the sole responsible party for console Sonic games. Everything you suggest in the above passage has no grounding in established fact, which is what I am interested in. When new information does arise, it should be taken into account and analyzed thoroughly.
As you said, the goal of the article was to ground expectations for the game in reality. With all the absolute crap Sonic has been through over the years it is very easy to seize on something that appears positive early in a game’s media cycle and let that carry through until the game’s launch, despite whatever new information arises. People simply don’t want to give up on the hope that a new Sonic game is going to bring back the sort of fun that the Genesis games delivered in spades, no matter what. This is a constant problem for Sonic fans, one that I have seen myself enough times to convince me that it is very much a real issue, and one worth addressing.
If you are already looking at the game from a critical (again, not necessarily negative) standpoint, that’s awesome! But keep in mind that you may very well be in the minority.
Aki-at
Mar 27, 2008 at 7:02 pm
“From the comments section of the initial video post”
“So yeah, sometimes people need to step back and take a few deep breaths when stuff like this drops”
You get that with every new game that looks awesome, if those are the people you think your going to calm down with this post, you are severely wrong, there is no real point in writing this article if those are the people you want to calm down, waste of time actually XD
“Critical commentary does not mean negative commentary”
But Kotaku never posts critical remarks at all unless it’s totally negative or if their doing some sort of review, so really, nothing for them to really say, negative comments is mostly what they do.
“Kotaku, and many other sources, made the logical leap of “2D = awesome” (among other things) which is a stretch, to say the least”
These are the very same people who think Sonic Advance 2 is the greatest Sonic game since the original game, running very very fast is what they think is Sonic, so really, is there any point discussing what they think? I’m pretty sure you and me both disagree on Sonic being all about speed, but generally a lot of sites seem to think Sonic Advance 2 is classic Sonic for the reason of “IT GOES REAL FASSSTTT!”
“As for enthusiasm for Sonic Next, I knew a disturbingly long list of people that looked forward to it even as its launch drew nigh. 1/3 of the game looked like it was going to be Sonic, and it looked (and still looks today) absolutely gorgeous”
Eh, well I could see people looking forward to the game, it’s if they honestly thought it would be more then just a good game was what I was getting at. And it really doesn’t look that gorgeous, detailed at some part and looks nice in motion but there was far too much lacking in the level design for it to still look good (Though it never looked like a AAA game, ever) placement of trees/rocks/plants/etc were rare and looked empty, even from the original video. Not to mentioned the art direction…
“I myself regained some enthusiasm for the title when Sega released an incredibly clever trailer shortly before the demo hit XBLA”
Even after seeing Shadow gun down boxes with a bike, really, honestly?
Either you got desperate or SEGA’s marketing department got you good then!
“None of those were for home consoles, and this is a home console game”
Mario & Sonic was a console game and more successful then anything Sonic Team has done past the last decade. I wasn’t talking about Sonic Rush, if that’s what you thought. If your going to say that it’s not the next main entry of the Sonic series, fair enough, but SEGA have done this already with other declining franchise (SEGA Rally and Sakura Wars comes to mind) isn’t possible they would do it here to?
“As of now we still have literally no evidence to point to any specific developer for the game outside of the historical trend of Sonic Team being the sole responsible party for console Sonic games. Everything you suggest in the above passage has no grounding in established fact, which is what I am interested in. When new information does arise, it should be taken into account and analyzed thoroughly”
Well that depends, should we talk about how SEGA is operated now, moving IPs around to other development teams when the feel like it (Golden Axe, SEGA Rally) or just how it’s worked for the Sonic series? Should we talk about the lack of Yuji Naka may mean SEGA might move the responsibilities else where? Yes you do have that historical trend on your side, but with that trend I could have said UGA would have developed SEGA Rally Revo yet they didn’t. I suppose it’s what would be the best educated guess, but a guess none the less.
“As you said, the goal of the article was to ground expectations for the game in reality. With all the absolute crap Sonic has been through over the years it is very easy to seize on something that appears positive early in a game’s media cycle and let that carry through until the game’s launch, despite whatever new information arises”
Well…As soon as I see Shadow in some sort of contraption, or a night time gameplay sequence with this Were-Sonic, my interest in this game will have more then halved, and if the demo is released and it’s bad, it would have halved some more. Same thing happened with Silver the Hedgehog and I think my expectations were almost in line or that train wreck of a game.
People still holding onto hope after seeing something that could indicate the game’s quality (Bad previews, trailers and so on) well I’ll say this, they’re the ones who are always hopeful, no matter what.
“People simply don’t want to give up on the hope that a new Sonic game is going to bring back the sort of fun that the Genesis games delivered in spades, no matter what. This is a constant problem for Sonic fans, one that I have seen myself enough times to convince me that it is very much a real issue, and one worth addressing”
There is nothing wrong with not giving up hope on a new Sonic game that will be good, it’s only when you let that hope cloud you every single time. And yes, this is a problem for the Sonic fandom, but really, those who don’t keep their expectations leveled are surely the ones who will always get excited, right?
“If you are already looking at the game from a critical (again, not necessarily negative) standpoint, that’s awesome! But keep in mind that you may very well be in the minority”
I don’t really care if I’m in the minority or not, it doesn’t make a difference. I await more information on this game until I can firmly say if this game would be any good if it’ll be bad, preferably checking out a demo just to see the full complexity of the stage design, from what I’ve seen so far, it does look good.
However, all I need to see is a Were-Sonic mode that looks horribly broken, or a reliance again on bottomless pits, being directed about by the speed dash pads (Which I saw and I am extremely worried about but I still need to see a bit more) or any of the negative hoo-ha that’s accompanied the Sonic series since Sonic Adventure 2 and I’ll just drop interest, I hope I don’t but these things do happen.
Aki-at
Mar 27, 2008 at 7:22 pm
You know, thinking back, this might drag on a bit for no apparently reason other then big block of texts, so we (I?) should just stop it, since I guess you only had the best intention at heart trying to stop people getting disappointed for the nth time on a Sonic game and you had valid reasons posting this entry, should have just gone past the post since I had already gathered all that beforehand.
Oh well, I suppose the princess is in another castle and all that jizz.
Hudson
Mar 27, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Sega Nerds- we don’t just argue about Sonic, we argue about arguing about Sonic.
Daniel
Apr 8, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article Sonic Unleashed: the story so far, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
Bulzeeb
Apr 8, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Maybe if we just stop falling for all the flash, we will help contribute to a better future for Sonic. The problem is that the Sonic fanbase has been craving for a REAL knock out when it comes to a Sonic game, but hasn’t gotten one in years. And thus we start to develop false hope and soon enough we find ourselves entranced at the great trailers and screens.
The display shown is perfect when describing Sonic fans. This is exactly how it is now.
The main problem is when we give money to them. Buying the games is part of the problem. Thankfully I didn’t give in, and buy Zero Gravity.
Strangely enough, now adays I can’t come to appriciate the 3D Sonics anymore. Not even Sonic Adventures 1 and 2….
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