I think it's safe to say the plot of Forces will answer these questions. Either Infinite is doing some manipulating, or he's pulled the past versions of Shadow and Chaos into the present when they were still FUCKING PISSED. I'm actually a bit more excited that we might get a couple of Sonic Adventure story references this time.
If it's Past-Shadow then they'll have to explain where Present-Shadow is. If Infinite can control time, maybe he's promised Present-Shadow that he'll prevent Maria's death if he aids him?
No. What gives you that idea? Is an exclusive to certain retailers selling the bonus edition in each region.
this link was just to the switch version. i didn't really look at the others, but why would preordering give you an exclusive preorder shadow costume.......that's separate from the other five exclusive preorder costumes? this is just confusing
The bonus edition itself comes with costumes, they aren't pre-order bonuses. The Shadow costume WOULD be a pre-order bonus though.
Just EB in Australia so far. No North American or European retailers are listing the Shadow costume yet, but SEGA have confirmed that it will be available over here.
Amazon also still isn't listing the Xbox One Bonus Edition, and all other versions still aren't available to buy despite them being up for almost a week now. I'm assuming when pre-order bonuses are detailed stuff will be available to buy.
Was rewatching a bit of Sonic Forces footage just to try to get a better idea of what it does better or worse. I've come to appreciate the little bits of polish Sonic Unleashed had that you really feel when it's missing. Stuff I think Sonic Forces does better than previous boost games: +Wisps are less intrusive. Doesn't destroy gameplay flow. +Stomping becomes a more valid move in terms of keeping your speed. +Turn radius in close range resembles Colors. More control in slower speeds. Stuff I think Sonic Forces is lacking: -You loose a feeling of speed. You don't feel it when you loose or gain it, it's bordering on binary. In Sonic Unleashed reaching your top speed requires you to accelerate into it- even when boosting. Things like the FOV shift and nuances in animation make it feel as if your gaining/loosing more speed and momentum than you really are. So much polish went into the feel of how Sonic plays in a more subtle level that when lost removes a large sense of physicality. -Level design feels less intricate and designed. It looks to play relatively stiff. The linear level design in Sonic Adventure was made less of an issue due to the greater level of player freedom in 3D. Without that, you really start to feel the linearity, especially when it looses some of its intricacy from previous games. I also don't like how stages are some of the shortest they've ever been in a 3D Sonic. The bite-size stages in Colors took me out of the experience, ending the act right when you're starting to get to grips with the act's tropes. -Drift might be an automated transition, rather than an ability. We also don't know if quickstep is an ability you can fire at will, or delegated to specific stage sections like in Colors. Although, while I'll say that some of this game's songs don't mesh well with me, Park Avenue Modern and Green Hill Classic's boss sound good to me.
Adventure VS. Boost Gameplay - A Sonic Diatribe Has anyone seen this video essay by Em. Bani? It's really well put together and makes some great points. I don't know if anyone has a whole hour to spend watching a longform video game analysis but I definitely recommend bookmarking it and watching it in chunks, it's worth it. Forces seems like it could be the most watered down iteration of the boost gameplay yet and I don't think this has anything to do with it trying to juggle 3 gameplay modes (cause tbh Avatar really isn't all that different from Sonic, they just have a weapon & no boost). I don't think any game can beat Lost World in terms of being spread so thin.
Currently half way through the video; good stuff. I don't agree with some of what he says, but it really does get you thinking in the kind of design challenges that go into 3D Sonic. Thanks for linking it- bookmarked for later.
I have a new machine with a killer graphics card, so I've been playing Generations recently at a glorious 60 fps. The game has so much beauty, energy and passion behind it. So much of it glows with love and inspiration. It's just beautiful to behold. I remember a rumour from years ago that Sonic Team really pushed themselves to make it and were passionate about developing the game. Really highlights just how uninspired, colourless and by the numbers Forces seems in comparison. As though Sonic Team are making it because they have to, not because they want to. I will forever remain an optimist, holding out hope until release, but I can't see Forces beating Generations in any known universe. I'd love to be proven wrong.
Oh yea, I highly highly doubt this game will beat Generations. I'm hoping this beats, like, Lost World. And honestly I was ok with Lost World Wii U, hell I still prefer that to anything between the years that SA2 and Unleashed came out. I'm not expecting this to be a second coming and the bar is pretty low for me, I just hope it can be a fun, inoffensive romp. Not that exciting or optimistic but since Mania's a thing I don't care as much. It may end up being the worst of the Boost series. I still don't see it being the worst thing ever. Certainly not an 06 or Boom. Maybe this game is being made as self sabotage by a group of people forced to make it against their will. Sonic Forces developers to make this by the numbers game :specialed:
Ugh, one of these. Sigh, the "style" of gameplay ISN'T the problem when it comes to Sonic. It's the DEVELOPER I.E SONIC TEAM! Videos like these are bad because they only poke at the symptoms of the Sonic degeneracy instead of placing the blame where it belongs and that is with Sonic Team. Worst off is that they always (and I do mean ALWAYS) treat Sonic games as if they are inside some special bubble away from all but whatever Mario game they pick to make an example of. Yes Mario games are awesome, creative, and blah blah, we know, but telling people to be like that is how we got Sonic Lost World. Meanwhile, every Sonic game is given a pass under, "They could have done better" "This has potential" "They should build on this" blah blah no. It doesn't matter what you build when they people building are mediocre. I want to be clear here. I don't think Sonic Team are in anyway trying to sabotage the Sonic series. I think they are a C-list dev making the best game they could. Give them blueprints (Classic, Adventure, Boost, Mario) and they'll give you something baseline, that's all they've done since Sonic Heroes. And NO, this ain't Sega's fault. They publish more than just Sonic games, successfully mind you. I won't say they don't fuck up, but the idea that they want to fuck up their mascot is laughable paranoia.
I don't see how it's bad to talk about the game design and what goes into the player control in 3D Sonic rather than point the finger at Iizuka. Granted, most of what the guy talks about in the video has been discussed here for years, but he throws a few nice points into the discussion, and it's not 1 hour Youtube meme filler. It's more than just, "this is good, this is bad", you need a deeper understanding of what makes these things up to reach that beautiful simplicity. Also, you say it's the developer's fault in a very vague sense, but doesn't that boil down to deconstructing the gameplay anyway?
If every game just needed to follow a simple gameplay "To do list" to be great, every game would but that isn't the case. Same can be said about any form of creative expression whether it be writing, art, or programming. You either have talent to make ideas work or you don't. This isn't a Sonic specific thing. Videos like these are easy, they don't take any talent to make. [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d5KovCbU8w[/media] Birdman, an excellent movie. I couldn't make anything like that no matter how much direction I was given. It's not in my DNA.
Never said it was as easy as a to do list, not even close. I even said it's not as simple as, "this is good, this is bad". No where in the video is it even implying that's the case either. Just because it's food for thought doesn't immediately mean that it's trash if it doesn't give you a checklist of what to do. What will ensure a dumpster fire project is having no one who can learn from past mistakes, or bothering to learn from past mistakes. And you know, that's all the video is. Trying to see why they made x do y and how it acts with z. This is not a guide line to make a Sonic game, that should be a given.
Well, several problems with that but instead I'm gonna ask you one simple question: Can the guy talking in the video make a great Sonic game? Not a good one but a Great one.
