The GHZ Forum

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2012/10/ ... ober-18th/

Sonic, undeniably the world's favorite blue hedgehog, is best known for his amazing ability to run like the wind, but it turns out he's also got some mad jumping skills to show off. Recently revealed via Twitter, "Sonic Jump" hits the app store tomorrow and sees Sonic taking on badniks and Dr. Eggman in a very "Doodle Jump"-like fashion.

Rather than running through familiar levels like Green Hill Zone and the new Mountain and Jungle areas, "Sonic Jump" will be tasking players with jumping vertically to the reach the end of 36 different stages. Along the way you'll run into various enemies, collect power-ups from familiar TV boxes and even face boss battles.

Not too excited since I'm not a big fan of Doodle Jump, but I figure this is as much of a discussion starter as anything.

Jingles wrote:I figure this is as much of a discussion starter as anything.

So, hey, Honey the Cat's canon now.

Dr. BUGMAN wrote:

Jingles wrote:I figure this is as much of a discussion starter as anything.

So, hey, Honey the Cat's canon now.

All they need do is release a Sonic R port and I can trade in my old Gems Collection!

...Why the hell hasn't there been a Sonic runner game?

Also, to disabuse anyone of the notion that Sega put any work into this thing, a quick look at reviews on the iTunes store reveals this is apparently a rerelease of a cell phone game released only in Japan.

"Doodle Jump"-like fashion.

I love that we say things like this despite Sonic Jump predating Doodle Jump by like 5 years. Sega, always ahead of their time.

This looks all right to me, though I'm not certain how I feel about Sonic dipping into that Free-To-Play realm of buying off the rings that should be fun to collect anyway. I'm not a stranger to it at this point, having played a fair share of Spiral Knights and some mobile games like Temple Run and the like, but overall this Facebook game stuff just feels kinda... tawdry and manipulative. Maybe I just need to get over it, but man it sure pushes away from the "Games are Art" sentiment when many so blatantly want to remind you that they are products.

My main problem with the whole "Free-To-Play" model is that it spoils the flow of a game. These sort of games are designed to be gratifying from the start and then quickly present with a road block that can only be overcome by paying money. The sense of progression and developing skills becomes skewed.

Having said that, video games are a business and if Sega can use some of the cash earned from Sonic Jump to ensure the next proper Sonic game is of a good standard, then I have no problem with that.

I also hope that Sonic Jump is a sign that they are going to start developing ios specific games rather trying to shoehorn traditional Sonic games (such as Sonic 4) onto a mobile platform. I suspect that Sonic 4 would have been a much better game if they didn't have to develop it with mobile phones in mind (especially given that Sonic Generations (which wasn't catering for mobile) nailed the traditional Sonic formula perfectly).

a quick look at reviews on the iTunes store reveals this is apparently a rerelease of a cell phone game released only in Japan.

Sonic Jump was also released in the UK and I think it came to the US as well. I remember discussing it on this forum. For what it was, it was actual pretty decent. It had quite a nice story with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles going to South America to rescue the Chaos Emeralds from Dr Eggman.

^_^

I've been playing it a little. The graphics really look excellent on the iPad retina display, both the hand-drawn "cutscenes" and the levels themselves. The music is pretty catchy too. The design concept is nothing special - I actually came up with a very similar idea for a game myself when I was very young, but with Mario instead of Sonic, and seeing it finally come to life is a bit surreal.

The achievement-style level up system and the in-app purchases are big turnoffs.

Anyone playing anything interesting on iOS at the moment? I'm enjoying the heck out of 10000000, Super Hexagon, Avernum, and Letterpress right now. People have been recommending Dodonpachi Maximum - I haven't had a chance to play it (it's only been out 3 days!) but I thought I'd mention it since it's on sale.

Rayman: Jungle Run is a pretty incredible translation of Origins-style gameplay into an infinite runner. I really liked it!

But lately I've been knee-deep in Fairway Solitaire, which I picked up when they recently released a free version. It's a puzzle game depicted as a card game with a golf aesthetic, and it's pretty addictive. (And it follows the FTP model that I prefer to see -- a single unlock fee that opens up everything, making the free version essentially an incredibly generous demo.)

I tried out Punch Quest yesterday, it's definitely an interesting take on the infinite runner and kind of the game I wish I had thought of. I also tried out the He-Man iOS game and it's horrible, which shouldn't be surprising but people seem to be making a fuss about it ('cuz it's He-Man) and it's interesting to compare the two since they're a bit conceptually similar. PQ follows the JetPack Joyride model pretty much exactly and it's all the better for it, and He-Man kind of does it in a wishy washy sort of way that also jams in non-randomized levels and it doesn't really do it any favors. It also really shows that either a one or two touch interface is always going to work better than a replicated "pad" on a touch screen, or that He-man's "pad" is just really awful, I'm not experienced enough with iOS games to really say. Of course, because I haven't spent any real money on the game's fake money, it means the F2P app Punch Quest didn't get any of my money, but He-Man did. What an unfair world!

Punch Quest though, it's got a rather nuanced combat system and engaging boss battles with only two buttons and no pad! I was thinking an interface like Donkey Kong Jungle Beat would be a good set up for a touch screen game and that's pretty much what this is. I was going to say the game's depth surprised me, but considering it is basically the same as DKJB (left button, right button, and both buttons) it shouldn't be surprising at all that there are other ways to make it work.

Alternately, Punch Quest is a game that you could play with DK Bongos. It's too bad you can't!

I'm not playing Sonic Jump, but since so many people here are playing various games on iOS, maybe we should trade Game Center IDs.

Segaholic2, naturally.

I think I'm Crisis121, but honestly Letterpress is the first game I've had that uses it, so I'm not even sure!