"Next-gen" Sonic info and screens

[Spaff]

http://ps3.gamedaily.com/game/features/?gameid=4626&id=292&rp=1

also

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/704/704899p1.html

IGN says Sonic is spunky ¬¬

[-MaSQuE-]

Very nice looking, maybe Sonic will be back as powerfully as he was when the DC came out.

But that's more a question of gameplay so, who knows.

[brkl]

I can't see how anyone's brains could take a 3D Sonic, unless they make it slow and lame.

[Nick]

It looks good. I hope it is.

[loonyboi]

This looks okay. Sonic strikes me as the one character I really don't need in 3D. Like all the effort the artists spend in getting this amazing looking backgrounds feels like a waste when you go running through it at a zillion miles an hour.

I'm more interested in the PSP game that's 3D rendered, but played on a 2D plane.

[Spaff]

Same here dude, this game has a day night cycle, but why? No one wants that in a Sonic game, who cares.

[baconian]

I can't see how anyone's brains could take a 3D Sonic, unless they make it slow and lame.

Did you finish extremeG on the n64?

fastest game ever made. The fisheye thing made me want to blow my brains out.

You change into a lemur at that sort of velocity, the game flits by and your thumbs grow their own little nerve clusters that play the game for you 'cause all you're doing is going whoooa.

Thats what I want from this sonic game.

[Spaff]

Classic avatar there Baconian. That kid is a dick.

[-MaSQuE-]

Classic avatar there Baconian. That kid is a dick.

He surely seems flabbergasted about something.

It's probably due to the fact that kid had never been used as an avatar before.

[Nick]

Personally I think Robotnik's lost something you know. I understand that he would want to the latest technology, but why did he go for such a generic look with his badniks? I mean originally he had style, with cunning ladybird and crab robots. Now they just look like... robots.

[miffy495]

Sonic's new nemesis, a white hedgehog, retained a relatively human-sized height.

Wasn't Shadow the one who was supposed to be fighting whitey? They gave him all the other stereotypes...

Also, that Sonic launching off an exploding building thing doesn't say much for the "eXtreme-ing" of the gameplay but may be the best widescreen desktop ever. I think it's time for a switch.

[Oath]

Also, that Sonic launching off an exploding building thing doesn't say much for the "eXtreme-ing" of the gameplay but may be the best widescreen desktop ever. I think it's time for a switch.

Gothic urban with explosions is the new urban.

[DanMarshall]

This is a subject so close to my heart that I've dedicated a whole entire Blog post to it.

Stop Getting Sonic Wrong

[miffy495]

While you’re there, change Dr. Eggman’s name back to Dr. Robotnik. I’m not quite sure when you changed it, my back must have been turned momentarily, but it’s rubbish.

It was Sonic Adventure. The first Dreamcast one. He introduced himself as Robotnik and they started making fun of how he looked like an egg. From that point on they all just called him Eggman. It seems that eventually even he embraced the name, which angers me, but there you have it.

...and now that it looks like you're sticking around the forum for reasons other than Gibbage, I feel I should extend some formal welcome, so yeah. Welcome.

[eljay]

Eggman's his original name, was changed for outside of japan, afraid you'll have to concede on that point

Full name Dr Eggman Robotnik, his first name was Ivo for the rest of the world.

edit: I also wanted to mention, it's essentially like the whole Princess Peach / Daisy thing that Nintendo had going on in the early days, both companies felt they should unify the character names but Nintendo handled it a little differently by splitting them into two separate characters.

oooh actually it's more like the King Koopa / Bowser thing where his full name is King Bowser Koopa or something.....

[baconian]

Classic avatar there Baconian. That kid is a dick.

somehow I can tell you're being sarcastic. Is this one ok, your majesty?

for ontopicness: Robotinik is much better.

[DanMarshall]

Eggman's his original name, was changed for outside of japan, afraid you'll have to concede on that point

Fair enough, but Eggman remains a stupid name. They should keep on changing it for us Westerners.

[Nick]

Eggman's his original name, was changed for outside of japan, afraid you'll have to concede on that point

Fair enough, but Eggman remains a stupid name. They should keep on changing it for us Westerners.

eljay is correct. But so is Dan. The best way to fix this would be to get rid of the stupid fucking voice acting and text. It's Sonic, there's no need for it.

Unfortunately they've created a need for it with their RPG style 'in town' sections of the 3D games and inhability to simply suggest a storyline, rather than spell it out to people. So unfortunately, the voice acting and Eggman title are destined to stay.

[DanJW]

Strangely (or not) Nick, I thought exactly the same thing after reading the preview. When Sonic was cute and mute he rocked. Now he's gangly and bad-assed and wisecracking, and he sucks. He's a teenager, and teenagers suck.

When he was mute the animators gave him so much personality. It was great. It made Mario look like a little robot midget. Aibo maybe. The thought of RPG elements in sonic makes me cringe too. Maybe the core gameplay will be good, but we'll have to see.

[vimes]

WHAT THE HELL... old-school Sonic you said ?!

[DanMarshall]

Agkh. Ak. Akkkk.

No no noooo. Wrong. Sick stupid bad. Awful.

"Boo!" "Boooooooo!"

[Ben]

Yuji Naka's totally lost it, I'm sorry to say.

That may be, but it has nothing to do with Sonic now since he is not responsible for the IP anymore and hasn't been involved with these next-gen iterations.

Anyway, i agree with most of what's been said. They need just 2 things to make Sonic work:

- Speed (speaks for itself - just no stopping and starting dammit)

- Simplicity (no complex controls - by which i mean using more than one button, no convuluted plots, and no fucking superflous characters)

Based on what i know, i have hope that the Wii version is going to address these. The key will be how well the team is able to balance the amount of control the player has with the 'on-rails' aspect of it (obviously if there is too much of a leaning towards the latter it would be bad).

[DanMarshall]

I'll point you this way again for my point of view; Stop Getting Sonic Wrong

Since reading peoples' responses to that, I'll add "keep him mute" to my list, especially having caught a bit of the god-awful cartoon on Breakfast Teev this morning. Truly horrible wise-cracking little nob.

Ben, perhaps you could print it out and stick it on a noticeboard at Sega or something. Or an everyone email. Before it's too late.

... it's too late already, isn't it? Nnngh.

[netmonkey]

OMG sonic is so badass. I hope he gets a gun like his pal shadow!

[n0wak]

The Wii game, Sonic Wildfire (I think), seems more like a true Sonic game... in 3D.