New Sonic and the Secret Rings stuff

[Brainiac 8]

I might have to give it a try then.

 

[Kipobe]

Keep in mind, that's only about two hours worth of play, but considering I thought this game was gonna be a dud, I'm happy... at least, for now. Controls can be a pest sometimes, and there is a ton of trial and error. Plus some stuff I'm just not even bothering paying attention to (leveling up the ring...? Really?) Otherwise, it's good for a run. Then again, I didn't actually shell out the bucks for this one... credit plus a gift card = no cash spent.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Hmm. That makes two games for the Wii I have to pick up in a couple weeks. Sonic and SSX. Damn. Video games are making me brokedy broke. This is wickety whack.

 

[Kipobe]

I've been paying marginal attention to how SSX is shaping up, but I know I do want it. Any promising previews?

 

[Kipobe]

Anyone else playing this game? It's actually pretty good. Not perfect, but it's quite enjoyable. Good Sonic action... it's what the world needed after so long. And it's true, there's a lot of trial and error involved, but it's part of the game's charm if you embrace it, because there's only eight worlds... so learning them so well that you know when to respond/jump/pull/push/tilt is half the experience. That, and seeing Sonic take off at light speed.

I've put in about 15 hours, and I know I'm nearing the end, but it has replay value for sure, and I haven't even touched the party games yet.

 

[ihateusernames]

I'm getting it friday when it comes out.
apart from the games i have at the moment, there are no other wii games i want apart from this. whens mario party out in the UK?

 

[Kipobe]

I think I beat the game. If so, it was very anti-climatic... but the story was by far one of the weakest things about the game, so overall it didn't hurt the entire experience too much. They said something about collecting the seven rings... and I only collected six, so I'm sure there's more to do, but I think I beat the main story.

Good game. Definately good for a 20 hour play through. Plus, it's Sonic.

 

[Brainiac 8]

I think I beat the game. If so, it was very anti-climatic... but the story was by far one of the weakest things about the game, so overall it didn't hurt the entire experience too much. They said something about collecting the seven rings... and I only collected six, so I'm sure there's more to do, but I think I beat the main story.

Good game. Definately good for a 20 hour play through. Plus, it's Sonic.

I was reading an article about it, and they said that to get the real ending you have to have all seven of the rings...so the real ending should be much better...or at least I would think so.

 

[Benstamania]

Picked it up today because of your praise Kip. I'm also very, veeery desperate for a good Sonic game.

 

[Zenien]

I think I beat the game. If so, it was very anti-climatic... but the story was by far one of the weakest things about the game, so overall it didn't hurt the entire experience too much. They said something about collecting the seven rings... and I only collected six, so I'm sure there's more to do, but I think I beat the main story.

Good game. Definately good for a 20 hour play through. Plus, it's Sonic.

I'll be picking it up soon.

If you think the ending was anti-climatic, keep playing.

Haha I are vague.

 

[Benstamania]

I still have yet to play it...other stuff to do and all. I also got the GoW II demo, so after I finish watching the Rocky S. E. DVD (so my wife can see how it all began, and no she has not seen a single Rocky movie other then Balboa) I'll give them both some play time.

 

[Kipobe]

I played it to the end, got the seventh ring, beat the "final chapter" and I still say the story sucked... but nonetheless it was a fun playthrough. The last challenge was kinda tough, and a little less to do with gameplay and more to do with luck and stamina.

I went back and finished all the levels and I got to level 50. They say you can get to 100?

 

[Brainiac 8]

Nevermind, you answered here.

The story was bad huh....did it even have Eggman as the villain, or was it all really an evil genie?

 

[Kipobe]

Genie.

The story is okay, it's more the way they choose to tell it. They use still drawings with bad dialogue to move it along. They have two cinematic moments which are nice, but other than that it's just kinda bleh.

The game can get repetitive, but it's more of a flashback to classic Sonic and that's why I like it... a LOT of 'trial-n-error' which can be kinda lame at first, until you realize that's part of the charm.

7/10... maybe even a 7.5/10

 

[Brainiac 8]

I'm thinking they did the trial and error thing on purpose....many games of yore were made that way.

Glad it's a worth play.....I was reading that the game proves that the Wii can handle some pretty impressive graphics.

 

[Kipobe]

It can. The loading times aren't that bad, and visually the game can be quite nice on the eyes... especially at specific parts (the last "page" is good).

I'd still like to see them do more with Sonic's abilities and his power-ups. They could've taken that in so many different directions.... but they didn't.

 

[Zenien]

Such as?

 

[Benstamania]

Played it for about an hour or so last night, love it! Is the story good? No, but since when did Sonic have a "breath taking, believable story"? The cut scenes are drawn, but I honestly don't have a problem with that.

I haven't had a single problem with gameplay yet though....IGN acted as if it's all over the place...but so far, so good for me.

Must buy, if you have a Wii.

 

[Kipobe]

Such as?

Sonic can power up and have enhanced abilities as you complete levels (and even re-complete them with greater success), but they're not utilized enough. For example, you can only equip a number of "abilities" before entering a level due to special points limitations, but the actual need for certain abilities isn't highlighted during the level play.

I would prefer them to create levels that make you need to jump higher or faster than in other levels, so you'd have to equip those, and thus have to drop other abilities (such as defence power, or attacking abilities). Make it more strategic so you have to think what would work for each assignment. It would make the whole 'trial-n-error' gameplay even better, imo.

I mean, don't get me wrong, they do it to an extent. There's some levels where you have to get coins in a chain, so you have to be quick so as to not leave too long a time between the time you get your coins... so I opt for more of a speed package and sacrifice attack skills. There's some where you have to defeat x-amount of enemies... so I opt for a slower package but increase my attack and honing skills... giving me greater strength.

Like I said, they do it marginally, but not enough... and I think that's the area of the gameplay that could've been explored. But I'm suprised at how the "on-tracks" gameplay didn't bother me at all. It felt so natural!

 

[ihateusernames]

comes out tomorrow, can't wait!

 

[Kurt Sabre]

Should I get this or Rayman Raving Rabbids?

 

[Brainiac 8]

It really depends on your taste really.....Sonic is a fast action platformer with some RPG elements and Rabbids is a collection of mini games surrounded by a silly story.

Sonic is probably more for the single player while Rabbids is great for groups.

 

[Sandman138]

Okay, this is definitely the best 3D Sonic game there is. Is it the best Sonic game in recent memory? No, that title would go to Sonic Rush. Still this game has a lot going for it, despite it's flaws. The levels are gorgeous, and the camera system really allows you to take in the great design while still enhancing the illusion of massive amounts of speed. On-rails is definitely the way to go for Sonic, it lets you go fast and really does feel much more like a classic Sonic game rather than a piss poor 3D platformer clone. And the motion controls are fantastic. Sure, the tilting is a little too loose, but doing the homing attack never felt more visceral and overall I noticed I was getting my whole body into the game, tilting back and forth, dodging, leaning forward and craning my neck to see what was ahead... which is how a Sonic game should make you act: as if you were on a skateboard strapped to a cruise missile. However, the addition of backtracking is really pointless, both because it puts brakes on the adrenaline rush of blasting forward, but more importantly the camera never lets you see what's behind you. It's just incredibly awkward and kind of goes directly against the basic premise of the gameplay. The RPG aspect really wasn't necessary either. As others have mentioned, most of the power-ups never really added much to the experience, and in general they needlessly complicated things. Furthermore, for a game that was so close to a classic Sonic, I really missed the 3 stages to a world plus boss formula. The little side missions got boring really fast, because when you're on rails you start to feel that you're playing the same level over and over, and this is because you are. It's just too repetitive. If there had been a 3 stage formula, it would have made a world of difference. Between this and the cut-scenes, the game has an unfortunately unfinished quality to it, but underneath the layers of dust there is a real gem of potential. A few touch ups, and the (fingers crossed) sequel could be a instant classic.

 

[Kipobe]

Spot-on review!

I didn't find the backwards stepping useless... especially when you play some of the levels over and try to get gold medals on everything... but it was certainly awkward, and it was a time when the camera completely malfunctioned, for sure!

Other than that, I completely agree on all levels. Hopefully this was just a game to get things going and everything from here on out as far as Sonic is concerned will be gold when married to the Wii! :heart:

 

[Sandman138]

I love that Sega is putting out its best games on the Nintendo platforms. It's such a weird thing to pay witness to as someone who grew up with theirs being the only rivalry in the video game world.