Sonic the Hedgehog (nextgen) media

Recent happenings of pertinence to Sonic fans.
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Segaholic2
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Post by Segaholic2 »

Dangit, people! Quoting a long post to reply with less than three words is <I>not cool.</I> Bring something new to the table.

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Post by Baba O'Reily »

no u

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Spazz
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Post by Spazz »

Looking at those demos, I agree that it IS very pretty, but the landscape is kinda unimaginative, as GG! mentioned. In the third video it looked like they had some sort of debug mode on, as they were changing the look of the sky of day to show how the landscape looked at different times of the day (perhaps the levels lighting will be determined by the console's clock?) and manually changing the camera's angle.
I'm sure it still has a way to go, but from what I've seen thus far, I'm getting good fellings about it.

Some people have mentioned the idea of Tails and Knuckles (NO ONE ELSE) having their own paths in the game (same stages, of course); I think that would be a nice touch, given that they have the same style of gameplay (just getting through the level, no special missions) and that their detail is given the same amount of effort and attention as Sonic's. And maybe Tails' and Knuckles special skills would come in handy just for finding alternate routes to finish the level. And if I may "go out on a limb" here, having Tails carry Sonic around in parts of some levels might be interesting, dontcha' think? If I recall correctly, we haven't seen that done in 3D yet (aside from Sonic Jam).

Regarding bottomless pits, they actually don't bother me that much, I just think that they're a cack attempt at making levels harder.

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Post by Green Gibbon! »

Y'know, while I am relieved that they're trying something more Sonic Adventure-esque, I'm gonna go back on what I said before and point out that a prettier Sonic Adventure 1 is not enough. That's a 7-year old mechanic designed for hardware less than half as powerful. There's a difference between "reinvention" and "rehash".

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Post by PSMad »

If games in general don't get you excited anymore I'd take a serious look at why you are still running this website.

I've seen enough to get me excited... the fact that this is the first Sonic game we've seen so much of in recent times at *such* an early stage is enough to make it seem like they are serious about making this great, and guiding us very closely about how they are going to do that. That and real time lighting effects, real physics, real looking stages and a better looking Sonic show they are trying things they couldn't on the other consoles.

It needs a bit of work but I'll be snapping this up.

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Post by firemario1001 »

I was hoping they where going to use physics in the gameplay sense, not for just visual reasons.

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CM August
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Post by CM August »

I end up agreeing with GG here. Especially since Naka has boasted that they're "returning to our starting point" and "reinventing the attitude and speed that made our hero a legend." But that's neither here nor there.

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Post by SuperKnux »

Green Gibbon! wrote:By dropping all the pretense and having the balls to call it straight-up "Sonic the Hedgehog", they're really talking the talk. Like, "Yeah, we're doing it for real this time" - I'm afraid if they blow this one, all future hope, at least for years and years, will be lost.
Yes. I agree. If they want to me to keep on shedding out tons of money on their products, they need to really impress me with this title. It's been hard being a Sonic fan these past few years. So, this better be the one thing that'll make me feel proud again.

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Esrever
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Post by Esrever »

After watching this footage, I think I'm about as excited as I could possibly be about a new Sonic game. Cautiously optomistic. I've been burned too many times to ever assume a new Sonic Team game is destined to be good. But at least this time it looks like they are trying.

It's hard to talk about much other than the graphics at this stage, since it's hard to infer much from that tiny snippet of level design. But boy, it really is beautiful to look at. I'm glad that we're finally starting to see some next gen games that look like an actual significant leap in graphics... before TGS, I was starting to get a little disheartened.

And even though the art direction steps away from the surrealism of the original games, it still seems... honest. It's not being x-treme-ified or edgy or whatever. It looks like an artistic decision, not an economic one. And Sonic himself looks just fantastic. There are a couple of kinks in his animations here and there, but overall it's just such a great rendition of the character... maybe the best I've ever seen in 3D. The foot-tapping was perfect!

(...)
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Post by (...) »

Just watched the footage....

- The physics are AWESOME
- The character work is beautiful
- The day for night transitions are amazing (Green Hill Zone in sunset=beautiful), but I don't see where they are going to use them. The game is obviously not free-roaming (I'm sure I saw a finishing animation on one of the gamespot trailers), so what use is a day for night transition?
- The level design...I don't know. It's harder to make a game feel fast when you constantly have to stop and look around to find out where you're going next (which is why the Sonic stages of SA2 were better than SA1).
- The world art is SHITE! Look at the tech demo, then look at the TGS trailers. Please let this be early development stuff (because the world art is pretty much the only aspect of the graphics that they couldn't just cut and paste from the demo).

As for the whole "it's a prettier Sonic Adventure" argument, as long as there are no adventure fields, no NPC's, no treasure hunting, NO FISHING, no shooting levels, and as long as Sonic doesn't talk, I can deal. :)

Also, to the people who claim that the surrealism of the earlier games has been lost in the new art-style, wait until you see the special stages. Those are the sort of levels that CAN'T be rendered realistically.

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Post by big_smile »

(...) wrote: Also, to the people who claim that the surrealism of the earlier games has been lost in the new art-style, wait until you see the special stages. Those are the sort of levels that CAN'T be rendered realistically.
According to Naka (in a Gamespot article) the theme of this game is "What if Sonic actually existed in real life?", which explains why the landscapes lack the fantasy of the Mega Drive games. I guess this means that, as with the Adventure series, we won’t see the more surreal aspects of the series, such as the special stages.

---
I’m a bit more optimistic after seeing the Gamespot videos and I like the fact that mushrooms, plants and trees are used to flesh out the landscapes. However, I would have preferred it if Sonic Team had taken a more fantasy approach.

^_^

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Esrever
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Post by Esrever »

That video clip with the thumbnail graphic on Gamespot is considerably more interesting that the other! I find it curious that none of these clips feature much... well, running. Odd move for a Sonic game! I'm sure they'll be plenty of it in the final game, but I hope these videos are a sign that there will be more platforming in the mix this time around.

I've always preferred the surreal style, but the "Sonic in real life" concept is admittedly one I've always kind of wondered about in the back of my head. Anyhow, it looks like they are on to something here... visually, at least!

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Rlan
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Post by Rlan »

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sim/wor ... media.html

The second day wrapup footage has some Sonic stuff in it, apparently.

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CM August
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Post by CM August »

Maybe I'm missing something important here, but haven't they been using the "Sonic in Real Life" angle since, well, Sonic Adventure? That was my initial impression when it was unveiled, at least. I'm curious as to how much further this will go.

For instance, Sonic Team took inspiration from many real-life locations while creating SA. Does this mean we'll see ACTUAL real-life locations in Sonic The Hedgehog? And it's a given the Havok engine is being used to give it more realistic physics. The day-night lighting looks spot on, too.

But... I dunno. Haven't we tread this ground before, albeit with lesser technology?


EDIT: I've been reading through that article a few times. By the way he showed this stuff off, Naka gives the impression graphics/physics IS what he's talking about WRT "realism." Which I thought was a given considering this is a next-gen title.

EDIT EDIT: Just saw the stuff Rlan posted... the part that features Sonic is essentially the "Gameplay Footage 1" movie clip featured at Gamespot's section. After that and a brief look at MGS4 (nothing new) they focused on the many cosplayers at TGS. May God have mercy on us all.

Anyway, I think it's safe to say we've seen all of the footage revealed so far.

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Post by Popcorn »

You know what, actually... I've thought about it a little bit more, watched the videos again, and decided that I'm quite happy about the game's art direction. I wouldn't actually suggest that the level design isn't fantastical or surreal-- it looks quite wondrous and fantastical to me, but less in the psychadelic manner of Sonics past. As for Sonic himself... well, I've always been a defender of Sonic's dynamic, anorexic look and I think this is a really good rendition of that approach.

As other people have expressed, though, I am a little concerned at how much this looks like the Sonic Adventure series in mechanical terms. I'm gonna echo Silver's lament that Sonic seems to have regained none of the physics-driven momentum that made him so unique to play as on the Mega Drive: I really miss rolling around as a ball. I mean, wasn't that the reason he was made a hedgehog in the first place?

I'm also a little concerned regarding the presence of SA-style scripted features. In the 2D games, running around a loop was a real-time application of the aforementioned physics; if you didn't have enough momentum, you just wouldn't make it. In the Adventure games, as soon as you hit a loop Sonic is guided around it automatically, which was a quick fix that worked in 1998 but one that I am now quite disillusioned with. Along similar lines here, Sonic seems to hit robots from one direction only to have them obediently fly off at a right-angle and hit a wall. In one of the Gamespot videos, the player (presumably) has to hit those robots to make a bridge collapse, but it looks utterly artificial.

But it's pretty, and fast, and it's still early days. I am definitely aroused.

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Post by Double-S- »

I still say there's too many bottomless pits.

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Post by Spazz »

Rlan wrote:http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sim/wor ... media.html

The second day wrapup footage has some Sonic stuff in it, apparently.
Heh, I noticed that the host said "The game looks to retain the magic that made Sonic the Hedgehog fun <i>all those years ago.</i>"

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Post by LOUD-TREE »

Double-S- wrote:I still say there's too many bottomless pits.
Agreed very much so. Sega needs to learn about free roaming and shit.

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Post by plasticwingsband »

I'm liking the way this looks, so I'll try to keep an open mind. Seems like I'll have to buy a next-gen console after all.

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Post by Brazillian Cara »

Why would you HAVE to buy it? It's just a videogame.

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Post by plasticwingsband »

Because the man here says i have to he's got a gun at my head please send help quick my location is buttse.cx hurry i don't have much time ok

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Post by Gwilym »

:O

That would be the lamest fucking ransom ever. A man on the edge - with an insatiable desire for Sonic games.

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Post by plasticwingsband »

thanks for the urgency guys it'll take me at least 6 months to get all of the blood and bits of brain and skull off of my monitor and keyboard you guys are like such good friends like a turd is a good friend

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Post by Frieza2000 »

I don't mind if it's not surreal, I just want it to look animated. Shiny colors make me feel sunny inside.

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Post by Baba O'Reily »

Frieza2000 wrote:Shiny colors make me feel sunny inside.
A pair of sunglasses and an asprin will take care of that.

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