Sonic Next

Well, that's only impressions of 3 hours gameplay. Let's take it with the grain of salt.

 

Someone needs to give him a copy of Sonic 1 GBA just to see how he reacts.

 

I'm not one to judge from a single review... but if this game doesn't appeal to me as I thought it would when its released I'll possibly give up on Next-Gen Sonic games all together.

 

I usually disagree with any review that exists, barring Sonic Heroes' general reviews (I.e. not this guy's) so I'm probably going to get this game at some point (I.e. when the PC version is released or I decide to get a 360)

 

EDIT: Nevermind.

 

After having been subjected to this game, I can unfortunately say I agree whole-heartedly with this review The game is horrible...

 

horrible? I wouldn't go that far, but I can't say that it was what I was looking for. Very buggy and the camera is a bitch. Also, adventure fields are nice and all, but playing through them with a slow character such as Silver makes them tedious and annoying, especially when the map does little to help you and not only that but it also confuses me sometimes.

Overall here is what I think

Good parts of this game
1. Most of Sonic's gameplay seems decent.
2. Silver is a good addition who seems to atleast be original and a unique break from Sonic's gameplay
3. It's just nice to see a 3D Sonic platformer again
4. Some good music
5. Nice to be able to play as other characters without them having other stupid tasks to do (like treasure hunting)
6. Co-op and two player modes are more entertaining then in the past Sonic games

Bad parts of this game
1. Shadow is once again just a clone of Sonic's gameplay. Chaos attacks or not your just a clone Shadow, only slower and you can drive. Cheap. Not worthy of a main character status
2. While Rouge's and Blaze's attacks work, Knuckles's and Tails' do not. Something about Knuckles doesn't work right when you punch and it's not a easy to use as it was in previous games. Tails's gameplay is annoying. Amy should have atleast had a jump + hammer move
3. The characters besides Sonic are just too slow. Blaze and Shadow are alright but they should be faster. And for some reason ever since Sonic Heroes, Knuckles and Tails have been ridiculously slow when you play as them, yet they follow Sonic fine.
4. Town stages are neat at first but get kind of annoying
5. Loading times are a bitch
6. Camera is worse then ever. Now I'm not usually one to say that the camera in Sonic games are annoying, but this one is plainly obvious. You can't avoid it.
7. Mini games are just annoying. Some are decent, but for example Silver's apple mini game is just pointless.
8. Graphics are good, but they don't compare to other Xbox 360 games out there right now.

I enjoy the game though. I would give this game a 7-7.5 since the reviews so far have, while although been true, been harsh. It's still a fun game. I like playing as Sonic and Silver. Although whenever I try to play as Shadow, I usually die in the first level and quit since I don't have the heart to play beyond that. I'll do it eventually, but for now Shadow's story remains at 0%. Beat Silver's story and I'm a little more then half way done with Sonic's. But this is Sega people. They produce poor quality Sonic games and they make a buck so they're happy. I mean, they made Shadow and Sonic Genesis right? I hate to say it, but I think Sonic Team went downhill when Naka left.

I once thought that I wanted them to remake Sonic 3 and Knuckles in 3D, but now I don't at all because they'll ruin it somehow. Also I think that Sega should just stick with making 2D Sonic games. Besides Sonic Genesis, they are usually very fun. Perhaps a 2D game for the Xbox 360 (Ya, it's a bit strange to think about these days, but a game with better graphics, a 2d side scroller, and multiple levels would be fun. Sonic Rush did it great)

 

I'm almost done with Sonic, and done a tiny bit on Shadow and Silver. 360 Version.
My notes:

Pros: Not as much punk music as Sonic Heroes(None so far)
Awesome crap in here. It feels like Sonic. Like SA1 did, but better. Well, in some spots.
Robotnik is teh hawt in this game.
Storyline wasn't total crap, actually having fun.
Silver's "throw shit at people" is the most fun I've had in a long time.
Graphics. Normally these do not appeal to me. But...it's so...real.
Mach Stages: The speed is nice. I has that haul-ass feel. These are also a con, more follows.
It has old Cliches or part of levels from other Sonic games in them. Lots of SA1/Sonic Heroes.
They added new characters, but the only crappy one is Mephiles, but I don't know much about him yet. But at this point he seems corny.
It's fun. It has many, many cons, but it is better than a lot of games I have played. It came remotely pretty damn close to, if not at, SA1. At first I hated it, but it gets better as you go on. It turns into a Sonic game about half way through Sonic's episode.

Cons: Crisis City. You'd almost get the Mach stage down, get a game over, then you'd have to load->start/skip a cinematic->load->start/skip a cinematic->load->Level part 1->load->Level part 2-> load-> Level Part 3-> Load-> Mach Zone. Good luck retaining any skill progression of the Mach stage through all that shit every time you almost get it and die from that fucking camera switch/throw you off the road crap. Sorry, I am bitter with this level.

Mach Stages: Never have I been more pissed at a video game. Crisis City's Mach stage is HELL. In some parts it feels like you turn to slow, others, you turn way too much at the slightest jiggle. But overall pretty fun. They're a bitch to get used to though.
It seems like Sonic is going slower overall, though there are some fast parts, not including Mach Stages.
Everyone but Sonic (and maybe Shadow) creep along at crap speeds.
Camera likes to flip around erratically around structures.
At parts where the game controls your character(a huge line of springs or large loop chains) you can fall and die. The game will kill you.
The game only saves after action stages. I learned this the hard way. Let's imagine SA1. You're fighting Chaos 6. You get a game over. When you load back up, you're at right when you landed on the Egg Carrier. You have to re-do Sky Deck and all. Add in Cinematics and shitty load times...
The Crackhead loading ideas. This, I am not making up. I got a small mission/task thing from a guy needing help. The game loads for 25 seconds or so, and it shows a closeup of the guy's face saying something along the lines of "You've got to recover the disks!" and then starts loading again to start the mission. Another 30 seconds to have someone tell you one sentence? It's sad, but it happens for almost every mission thing.

I might expand on this later, this is just the stuff that comes to my mind at the moment. But it's good stuff. Buy it, play it, beat off to it.

 

It sucks ANAL COCK ok good.

 

Played the demo on Xbox Live Marketplace... Hated it and I agree with what a guy said earlier. A next gen 2D sonic game would be the nuts

Keep the originality!

DJ

 

Four lines in and you already have no idea what you're talking about.

That's bad. Then again, I played DragonBall Z Budokai on PS2 so I can't complain.

 

That loading times aren't longer than PS2 version of Shadow... then, it's ok for me. =P I hope SEGA release it on PC, because I don't want to buy a XBOX 360 at R$3.000,00 (About US$ 1.400,00 T_T). I don't have interest on other 360 games, so it's a moneyloss for me. =P

Anyway, I hope for a OST of the game... that musics are awesome.

 

$1400?? WTF! :o
That is one serious rip-off.

 

Allright, I've sorta returned(popped in for about 10 minutes each day) after playing this game sence November 18th, the day before my birthday, and I'm terribly sad with... his review. The game itself, I believe, is one hell of alot better then the other 3D titles. I guess I'll break it up into different sections, like almost everyone else who can review a game. aka everyone.

But first, I give this an A. Why? No Cream. And no guns.

-

Plot-wise, The game is great, cept a few places.. I can see where people will point and shout, 'OMG PL0T HOLEZ!', but after reviewing the situation further, I figured out how said things came to be, and it all works out without 'theories', a word, appearently, everyone seems to hate around here. My only beef is that there is one scene in Sonic's story where he is working with Silver, whose 'Amigo' is Blaze. So, to keep thier stories matching at that point, Blaze, Silver and Sonic all appear in said scene. The Problem? This is the first time you see Blaze if you are playing Sonic's Story and no one elses. There is no 'hi' or anything, she just runs to the area with them, and barly says a thing, if she does, I can't remember. Mainly, the games main problem is Blaze, as one time she is thinking to herself about Sonic possibly being the 'Iblis Trigger' that Mephiles(Mef-ill-us) spoke about. Apperantly, when she meets back up with Silver, she says kill the Iblis Trigger. Seriously, I think she PMS'd the entire game. Luckily, she is very minor, until the end of Silver's story.

-

Gameplay. Sonic is fun, hands down. His speed is at a very tolerable pace, not too fast your running into objects accidentally, and not to slow your yelling how this is supposed to be Sonic. His system is very smooth, and there is very few flaws that I found. One is in his Mach Speed area. When running a scripted area in a Mach Speed area, you tend to die, specially in Wave Ocean. there aren't many others to be afraid of, just one major one, but something holds true. When entering a scripted area, hang left as far as possible. But otherwise, classic, fun Sonic.

Shadow seems like a slower clone of Sonic at first, but he is better suited for combat, and his vehicles are actually useful this time around, but you don't always need them, just sometimes. And when you do, it's nothing major. Point A to Point B stuff. Also, his chaos Spear attack is much more useful then first expected, especially in the character battle against silver. If he's got you cornered, and your death is imminent, press A and X as fast as possible. If you did if fast enough, you'll stun him a moment.

Also, a note for Sonic and Shadow: The Homing attack is extended from other games, making a hit at the very last second of the homing attack is still a hit, intsead of taking damage, or just glacing off.

Silver is a breath of fresh air, especially when you look back at other character portions. He's complicated at first, but once you learn how to use him right, he's almost a perferred character. He's very fun, especially if you get annoyed at all the weaponary flying at you. Grab it from the air and send it back to them. Revenge is oh-so-sweet.

Bosses are a refresher, as well. Timing and thinking have been properly introduced, and if you play right, you can attack a lot of bosses when ever you flippin can and want to, instead of waiting for the 'opening'. Examples are the Egg creations, Genesis and Cerberus.

-

The Minor characters add a bit of Flare, but the funnest overall is, actually, Tails. This surprised me after the first time playing with him, and nearly bashing my brains out how slow he is and his attacks were. On land. Take flight and Tails comes to life. He attacks fluidly, and his speed takes a drastic speed change. Just be sure to land somewhere safe. Blaze is pretty fun, but she is too complicated at times, especially when trying to use her 'Fire cyclone' attack or whatever it's called.

Amy sucks. She has one attack, and can turn invicable unexpicably.

Knuckles decends from his glide more quickly over time, but you don't play him very much, so you won't be annoyed by it too much. His ground attacks work well, especially against Iblis enemies. Rouge glides more fluently and can go longer without worrying that your falling faster. Her attacks mimic Tails, until you get her flight attack, in which you less like a Airplane bomber. You stop in midair, Throw a bomb, and keep going.

A VERY bad part to point out about Knuckles and Rouge is that youcan only jump fromt he walla when the camera is at a certian angle, otherwise, I found it impossible to jump off buildings. When you try, you glictch up and they have spasms on the wall. This is, unfourtunatly, VERY unprofesional of Sonic Team. It took me 7 minutes to get off a wall as Rouge. It was terrible, but I had gone too far with her, at the time, so I didn't climb down to my doom(water).

-

Engine wise, in general, characters spend a little too much time at the height of thiere jumps, and sometimes, what may be meant as a gental curve for Sonic, you may do a 90 degree turn. This only happens right after a scripted area, though.

Scripted areas are terrible. you can't even go left and right on loops. Terrible.

Mach Speed areas are fun as hell, even if they are difficult. I've died my share of times, but I always prevailed by looking ahead instead of the here and now.

-

I played two player a little bit with Robjoe, but the newer engine through him, so he died. And so did I. We were both unfamilier with the sandy terrian and died. Although later, when I revisted the area as Shadow, I flew past it. But besides that, Two player was very fun.

If anyone has played against Silver in 1P mode, the boss battle, you know how he can trap you with his phyche anywhere? Play as Silver in 2P 'Tag'(co-op) mode and you can do that to your buddies. Good thing about this is that you can send them over huge gaps with it. It's fun to throw them around.

I have not tried 2P battle. It felt unfair to Robjoe that I may beat im sencelessly. Or that he may beat me and the shame of losing to someone who hadn't held a 360 controller, let alone X-box controller.

-

The Music Score is beautiful. I don't care who you are, it fits the game perfectly. every part in ever level, It felt so fitting. It is a major plus, especially, that none of the tracks had any vocals, and no casino themed levels. Sonic Team no longer knows how to do a musical track for a casino level.

I don't mind the 4kids voices much anymore in this game. They are actually showing some emotion instead of reading a script in the same voice throughout.

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Graphics are nice. The shadows of the quills of Silver are really twitchy and wierd, but I think that's just my TV. The game was made for HDTV graphics, not some old fogey television.

-

I don't think I missed anything. Anyway, The game is wonderful, even if it isn't opposed to recent efforts by Sonic Team, and easily holds its own agaisnt the old glory of the games in ways of being fun. I just beat the game, and instead of being finished with it, I want to run back up there and play it through again, it's replay value is just great.

Yeah, so a lengthy little thing, probably butchering the English launguage, but a review of Sonic the Hedgehog all the same.

 

GameSpot tore it a new asshole. (4.4 for the lazy.)

Seriously, that's even worse than the worst version of Shadow. Wouldn't surprise me if all the other websites showed the exact same trends. How the HELL can a gaming company regress in quality instead of constantly getting better? How?

It's a real shame, too. The videos that were shown so early on showed a game I wouldn't have minded playing, provided the characters controlled as smoothly they did back on the Dreamcast; yet, the end result is clunky, glitchy, and marred by excessive load times. (Seriously, there has to be a better, less retarded method of loading ONE LINE OF TEXT than to reload the entire stage - because it sounds like that's exactly what it does any time you accept a bonus mission.)

Screw this, I'm playing Zelda. The whole "swing your remote to sword-attack" thing still feels weird but at least the game'll be better than this. Maybe I'll rent it during Winter break just for the helluvit (and because the story seems pretty decent, barring the corny Sonic X Elise thing - sure beats Shadow, anyway).

 

So uh, how many people work at Sonic team now that worked on the original Sonic 2/Megadrive releases? This could be why Sonic Sucks.

 

Hey, Gamespot hates it. It must be good.

 

it's not just gamespot:

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/929717.asp

the game rarely ranks higher than about a 50 or 60% which is pretty low IMO.
I don't listen to the fan reviews because I have no doubt that all the Shadow fangirls and boys will be all "OMG THIS GAME ROCKS SHADOW IS IN IT LOL!" and stuff.

I mean I saw a review on GameFAQs where the person rated the gameplay 5/10, but still gave the game 9/10... I mean... how can you rate gameplay THAT low and still come up with 9/10?
"HEy buy this game, the gameplay sucks but everything else is neat!" WTF?

LOL I did find this quote from Games Radar amusing though:

gotta have them apples.

and I like the ones on gamespot that say like "So what if the camera is buggy and you cna't control sonic? This game is FUN!"