Sonic Unleashed

One of the non-sonic fans I convinced to get this game over at Penny-arcade just posted his impressions:

 

I can't believe those "professional" reviewers did not even know this is the first game to use the Hedgehog Engine.

 

The "biggest sonic fanboy on earth" no less. Who thinks he was born the same year Sonic 1 came out, and was "4 years old" when Sonic 2 came out.

:D

 

For those of you who only have the wii version, here's what you're missing out on:

Empire City, Act 1, S-Ranked

 

Oh my god.

Empire City may be one of the best 3D Sonic levels ever. I'm not even kidding—the whole thing is extremely open, fits in lots of great platforming, it's fast, the music is fantastic... and doesn't it remind you of Sonic Adventure's level design a lot? This is a serious milestone, and I hope more levels are designed like this in the future. Brilliant stuff.

 

Holy shit wow that looks insanely hard but also fun as hell. This could easily go down as one of the best 3D Sonic levels ever.

EDIT: Damn, Tweaker beat me to it.

 

Not gonna watch for spoilers purposes. :P

Getting the game today probably, I have enough money for it so why not? Especially if it's supposed to be good.

 

To fully appreciate that Empire City video, you need to watch this video of someone getting a B-Rank

Why? Because, though it's the same level, the two videos look entirely different. They go through so many different paths. Not to mention it shows off how good the level design is when

Spoiler

the dude falls from the building he's running across and DOESN'T die like you'd expect, but rather falls to a lower path where he can continue

 

Fucking this.

God damn it, fuck you Sega. Hurry up December 12th ;_;

 

I'll one-up tweaker here and claim that Empire City (or skyscraper scamper... realy, how are we supposed to refer to these levels?) is one of the best Sonic levels period, 3D or not.

Its no wonder that it was the first level I s-ranked. I had a blast with it.

 

What I like about this game is that it's fun enough that I know I will come back for more when I beat it. Pick up and play some Empire City or Abadat.

I haven't had the chance to do that for a couple years. Shadow I sold after 100%. Same goes for Sonic 06. Sonic and the Secret Rings was ok but I never got around to doing much after beating it as the levels had little variety. This though is fun.

 

WAIT WHAT
SCREWATTACK ACTUALLY SAID THAT IT WAS THE WORST LEVEL DESIGN AND A WORSE GAMEPLAY THAN SONIC NEXT-GEN?!?!
I am never ever going to return at that website, not even for watching AVGN. It's like saying that No More Heroes is a kiddy game that envolves no gore at all. It's like saying that Klonoa is a shooter and not a platformer. It's like saying that Sonic is a cat.

Pack is so much cuter and less annoying! >:

 

Well, I severely disagree there. The classic games are something that, no matter how good these newer games get, cannot be compared to the newer generation of Sonic games. The design is in a whole different league, and the levels will always be designed better both fundamentally and in practice. The level of interactivity, platforming, and ability to still incorporate speed is done on a much higher level than Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Rush, etc etc have ever managed. The only "newer" game that managed the same feeling is Sonic Advance, but those design practices were abandoned when Sonic Advance 2 came out.

That said, I think Empire City has potential to rank as one of the best next-gen Sonic levels ever. But best Sonic level period? Hell no.

 

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but the PS3 version will have trophies.

Here's a list, pretty much the same as the 360 achievements:

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/11/25/trophi...onic-unleashed/

 

...did anyone else notice that Super Sonic is featured on the 100% clear trophy? I don't mean to sound like I'm clutching for straws or anything, but do you think that might be some sort of foreshadowing to, if you beat the game 100%, you get Super Sonic in normal levels? I seriously hope it's true, though I'm not sure how feasible it is.

 

First up, that bolded sentence is contradictory

Second, I completely disagree with your assessment on empire cities level design. A lot of the subtle nuances about it's gameplay just cannot be conveyed via videos. It has to really be played to be understood. This game, much like the classic sonic games, has a very noticeable weight to it. And, like the older games, this game is built around this feeling of weight, not despite it. Small differences, like how you need to build speed before a big jump in order to get to the higher path.

Finally, I disagree with your claim that it's not one of the best sonic levels because it sounds like you're comparing it to the standard that is classic sonic. Again, I quote, "the perfect is the enemy of the good." Yeah, as a classic sonic level, it's terrible - missing a lot of what made those classic levels classics in the first place. But this is good in it's own right. It's akin to saying Resident Evil 4 is awful at Resident Evil 2's formula. It's true, but it's not trying to follow it. RE4 isn't RE2, but it's still great. Rather, I'll say this is one of the best sonic levels period because I had a ball with it. That's the only measure I use - how fun is it? And it's absolutely up there with Stardust Speedway in my book.

EDIT: Also, those trophy icons are identical to the achievement icons I have unlocked so far, so I'm willing to bet that the 100% complete icon also features super sonic in the 360 version.

 

Have you the opportunity to play it yet? I'd say some of the levels have depth and design comparable to at LEAST Sonic 2, however Sonic 2 was a pretty linear game so that might not amount to much.

Usually I call it EHZ syndrome, however the branching occasionally gets better than EHZ.

After the couple levels the design starts to get more complex. Shamar is an awesome example of that. The werehog level design gets pretty complex too, especially as the level goes on. Each level will introduce new gimmick concepts, some of them level specific, but most importantly new, and will rearrange and use these gimmick concepts to accomplish different things in said level or proceeding levels.

While I compare it to Sonic 2, do understand I don't mean the level design is designed like Sonic 2 on its merits, as the levels play nothing like sonic 2. Rather, the design, in this modernized style, is on par with the depth and intricacy of design as Sonic 2.

 

I like how Sonic apparently feels like he has weight in this game. Despite Sonic Team going all flashy with "their" Havok physics engine in Sonic '06, the physics actually were worse than previous Sonic games, because Sonic didn't actually weigh anything and physics didn't apply to him.

 

I'd say the second and third acts are much better in general about being so linear. There are a few acts where the entire thing can drastically change due to you taking a different route.

EDIT: I mean, generally, second and third acts are better than the first act on multiple levels, not just empire city. Empire City Act 2 is actually the most linear in the game.

 

No, I don't think so. The trophies system is set up so if you earn %100 of the trophies in a game (not %100 clear the game), you get a special Platinum trophy for it. Nothing more. Every trophy on the PS3 has a different icon to go with it, I guess they just chose that image of Super Sonic for whatever reason.

Edit: Then again, to get %100 of the trophies in a game, you usually DO have to %100 clear out the game. So.