I dunno about Rush, but this is definitely reminiscent of Sonic 4 (and the worst parts of Heroes). I love platforming challenges in a Sonic game, but considerably less keen on button or switch puzzles, especially when the puzzle isn't even puzzling, just an excuse to blow time before you can move forward.
Can't say I'm that interested in the 3DS version, but I do like the model. The Wii U version is looking great though. They seem to have finally hit the nail on the head with the balance between nostalgia and innovation. I totally thought Aaron was going to die in that sweet level, so seeing it lead to an alternate path was awesome, it shows the designers are really thinking about exploration in this game.
Well it means that they're thinking more about how not to have everything a thin line above a bottomless pit of death. I for one think it's awesome to think "oh shit I'm going to die!" only to end up on a completely different path that I wouldn't have otherwise found.
You can actually see that cannon a little bit before you get to that pit via the camera angle so it's not quite a blind leap of faith.
Is it just me or does it seem like the Sonic Cycle is starting to go in reverse? We've only just seen non-trailer gameplay footage and people both here and on IGN are starting to bash the game without having had a chance to play it yet: "It's too slow!" "Sonic looks he has twitchy controls..." "It's not enough like a Sonic game." "This music sounds like Sonic 4!" "This isn't Sonic Adventure 3! Where's my Sonic Adventure 3?" "No Chao? WTF is this crap!?" Anyway, we'll see if my little theory proves true when the game is released. :v:
Most of those complaints aren't really game-breaking or are from people who wouldn't be satisfied unless they'd get exactly what they want because fuck doing new things.
3DS videos: * Windy Hill looks pretty, and seems to play well enough - I do notice the camera sticking on Sonic between segments a few times, I assume hidden loading screens =P * Lots of classic badniks, a few of which we've not seen in 3D before either! * New jump sound... it's a bit weird but I guess it'll grow on me. Difficult to tell with how tinny the sound is, though. * I did get a little tingle down my spine on seeing a Prison Egg again. Been a loooong time, hasn't it, in a main title? * lol Heroes theme for speed shoes... it works, though! * That's... an interesting Wisp power =P CUBES EVERYWHERE * The female Caterkiller, now in motion Desert Ruins 2 is a nice aesthetic. Has far more of a puzzle vibe - I'm thinking kinda Marble/Spring Yard, and an interesting gimmick in the rolling stone things. Main video (which I saw later): * PRingles! PRingles everywhere! =P * It really does look really nice, doesn't it? Even for yet another GHZ clone. * Hah, the Oil Ocean cannons returning are a nice touch. * LASER * Aaron fail, selects Windy Hill a second time =P * Man, if you hated the food theme level in Colours you're going to hate Desert Ruins 3. I really like it, though. * The parkour is really going to make platforming a lot easier - this will be nice for the 3D control issues we've had historically. * Hitting capsules is a major focus of Lost World * Watch out for killer truffles =P * Freefalling, wooo * BEEEEEEES * 2P support mode, a la Tails in S2/3K * Tails, Knuckles, Amy, little more than that. OL approves. =P * 60 FUCKING FPS Assuming the levels are as different as Generations, I'll likely pick up both versions of this.
so the level's name is "Windy Hill", not "Wind Hill". That one letter makes a huge difference between it sounding like a decent name and "Splash Hill" nonsense.
But Wind Hill kinda sounds like a Wind mill, which parts of the level kind of look like. Splash hill zone never made any sense though I expected water.
I will point out Aaron did do a nice nod to everyone who complains about physics: he only ever bounced on the DEADLY TRUFFLES instead of doing homing attack chains on them to show how Sonic bounces. p.s. Deadly Truffles from Ferrero Rocher are in the mail for SoA. You've unleashed a horrible new meme. They are not to be enjoyed on Fridays.
The guy from IGN in the preview confirmed as much on Twitter, but he stressed that since it was still in development, it might change.
SEGA, with these Sonic games you are really spoiling us... I'm sold. This is looking as good as Generations, which was better than Colours, which itself was the best Sonic game since Sonic Advance 3.
From the gameplay footage, I can't buy into this. I don't like how this looks. I don't like how this plays. Generations blew my fucking mind. But when they dish out this type of stuff, I give up on waiting for that next big thing. They just can't conceptualize something original or something that works, or both. I'm sorry guys, but this is a quantum leap behind Generations.
I think it works, and I think it's a heck of a lot more original than Generations. A true evolution of the classic games shouldn't be something that doesn't know whether it can be either entirely 3D or 2D and has to split them up entirely. This is going for both when it's necessary and it looks fantastic. I feel as though if I had played the classics and then been reintroduced to Sonic in this age, this is how I could expect the games to play. They've kept the spin dash, they've given Sonic controllable and varied speeds, and they've introduced better exploration based around the linear paths of the classics. What's more, it LOOKs like a Sonic game- no Pixar look, no gritty realism or anime- it looks like it jumped straight out the Sonic 1 manual. The 3DS version has Crush 40 music, if they're creating a song for this I'm gonna explode. I've been waiting for this since Heroes.
What I find funny is the only thing that looks out of place here is Sonic himself. I'm not even trying to nitpick the modern design, hell I've grown fond of Modern Sonic's design, but seriously classic would have worked 1000x better for this game. Here's to hoping he's an unlockable extra.
Why didn't they just call Windy Hill Zone Green Hill Zone because that's what it is at the end of the day? While I do think this is a step in the right direction and it's so damn good to see surreal environments again, the hold down a button to sprint really throws out the rewarding momentum mechanic that I consider to be a core element of Sonic. Also wasn't we told that we were to get all new enemies? That was an outright lie if that's the case. As for the 3DS version, no pun intended but it's exactly how I imagined it. Another Sonic game to add to the shit pile.
