Presumably designed to take advantage of the recent Playstation 3 launch delay, the UK Xbox 360 games tour offers the chance to play the ‘best games’ on the system. Sega are supporting the tour with a demo of the Kingdom level valley from Sonic the Hedgehog which features all 3 main characters.
The tour commenced in the Manchester Trafford Centre on Friday and will be visiting 6 key shopping centres until the 3rd of December.
Xbox representatives will be present to answer any questions about the system. There is also prize draw to win the console.
More details can be found at Xbox UK
[UK] Sonic, Silver and Shadow demo at the Xbox tour
I was at Trafford Centre yesterday and was able to play the demo.
Perhaps the biggest surprise about the demo was that I was actually able to play it. Sunday is the centre’s busiest day and hordes of people gravitated to the tour area, which only contained two Sonic machines. Although people were excited to see Sonic, Shadow and ‘Super Sonic’ (the colloquial term for Silver), they only spent 2 minutes playing. Hence, I was able to occupy a machine for 15 minutes, which wasn’t possible on the other games.
The control system is too sensitive and was probably the reason for the short play sessions. It felt like playing a hyper-speed version Sonic World with the Saturn’s digital d-pad. The level design only aggravates this, as the paths are too narrow making it easy to fall. In the 2 minute sessions that most people played, it was common to see Sonic dying 3 to 5 times.
The Sonic demo seemed to be identical to X-Box live version (although not owning an Xbox I couldn’t say for sure) and my impressions are the same as those posted earlier. Aside from the controls and the level design, a key problem is that many of the set pieces have been recycled from previous games making the level feel tired and overly familiar.
Silver’s game was more interesting. The control system is very easy to use: Pressing the shoulder button picks up objects which can then be thrown with the X button. Silver moves at slower pace and the level design accommodates for this by using many lock-and-key sections. Often the ‘key’ consists of robot that needs to be destroyed and the player has a variety of ways to achieve this. In one instance, there was a giant mech that blocked the entrance to the door. Silver could deflect its bullets back to it, throw rubble from the area, or search for a crate of explosives to use as a projectile.
Silver’s powers can also access areas that Sonic cannot, much like Knuckles' wall breaking abilities in Sonic & Knuckles. For example, at the start, there were bars to bend that led to a unique area. The biggest problem with Silver’s game, however, is that level is too linear with the game dictating exactly when to use the physic powers. It would have worked better in an open-ended environment where the player has the freedom to construct their own unique path through the level. There wasn’t much variety in the demo either, and so the experience quickly became repetitive.
Surprisingly, the Shadow demo did not feature any weapons and vehicles. Shadow’s controls were less sensitive compared to the Sonic demo, making him easier to control. However, his jumping system was more frustrating. Press the jumping button once causes him to rise up as if he is about to perform a Chaos blast. Holding down the button allows him to float around, while pressing it again will perform the homing attack. The Chaos Blast-like pose makes it difficult to judge when to press the button for homing attack, making it harder to aim. The floating ability, however, makes it easier to avoid the bottomless pits.
On the hi-res screens, the demo looked beautiful. I was originally concerned that the graphics were too realistic for a Sonic game, but the use of springs and speedway-like areas help to create the same blend between the surreal and real that was present in Sonic Adventure.
Technically the demo was very weak. Each character level took over a minute to load and, as many players weren’t accustomed to pre-release code, they took this to be a weakness of the console. The frustration of the bottomless pits was increased by the fact that Shadow and Silver would not always die immediately and could spend a minute falling through empty space before the game would reload.
It’s hard to see why Sega has chosen to demo the game. The Sonic brand clearly possesses enough appeal to sell the game on its own and this demo only serves to disappoint players instead of encouraging them. Of course, a 15 minute play session in a crowded shopping centre isn’t the best way to sample a new game. But surely that should give Sega even more motive to minimise frustrations.
Perhaps the biggest surprise about the demo was that I was actually able to play it. Sunday is the centre’s busiest day and hordes of people gravitated to the tour area, which only contained two Sonic machines. Although people were excited to see Sonic, Shadow and ‘Super Sonic’ (the colloquial term for Silver), they only spent 2 minutes playing. Hence, I was able to occupy a machine for 15 minutes, which wasn’t possible on the other games.
The control system is too sensitive and was probably the reason for the short play sessions. It felt like playing a hyper-speed version Sonic World with the Saturn’s digital d-pad. The level design only aggravates this, as the paths are too narrow making it easy to fall. In the 2 minute sessions that most people played, it was common to see Sonic dying 3 to 5 times.
The Sonic demo seemed to be identical to X-Box live version (although not owning an Xbox I couldn’t say for sure) and my impressions are the same as those posted earlier. Aside from the controls and the level design, a key problem is that many of the set pieces have been recycled from previous games making the level feel tired and overly familiar.
Silver’s game was more interesting. The control system is very easy to use: Pressing the shoulder button picks up objects which can then be thrown with the X button. Silver moves at slower pace and the level design accommodates for this by using many lock-and-key sections. Often the ‘key’ consists of robot that needs to be destroyed and the player has a variety of ways to achieve this. In one instance, there was a giant mech that blocked the entrance to the door. Silver could deflect its bullets back to it, throw rubble from the area, or search for a crate of explosives to use as a projectile.
Silver’s powers can also access areas that Sonic cannot, much like Knuckles' wall breaking abilities in Sonic & Knuckles. For example, at the start, there were bars to bend that led to a unique area. The biggest problem with Silver’s game, however, is that level is too linear with the game dictating exactly when to use the physic powers. It would have worked better in an open-ended environment where the player has the freedom to construct their own unique path through the level. There wasn’t much variety in the demo either, and so the experience quickly became repetitive.
Surprisingly, the Shadow demo did not feature any weapons and vehicles. Shadow’s controls were less sensitive compared to the Sonic demo, making him easier to control. However, his jumping system was more frustrating. Press the jumping button once causes him to rise up as if he is about to perform a Chaos blast. Holding down the button allows him to float around, while pressing it again will perform the homing attack. The Chaos Blast-like pose makes it difficult to judge when to press the button for homing attack, making it harder to aim. The floating ability, however, makes it easier to avoid the bottomless pits.
On the hi-res screens, the demo looked beautiful. I was originally concerned that the graphics were too realistic for a Sonic game, but the use of springs and speedway-like areas help to create the same blend between the surreal and real that was present in Sonic Adventure.
Technically the demo was very weak. Each character level took over a minute to load and, as many players weren’t accustomed to pre-release code, they took this to be a weakness of the console. The frustration of the bottomless pits was increased by the fact that Shadow and Silver would not always die immediately and could spend a minute falling through empty space before the game would reload.
It’s hard to see why Sega has chosen to demo the game. The Sonic brand clearly possesses enough appeal to sell the game on its own and this demo only serves to disappoint players instead of encouraging them. Of course, a 15 minute play session in a crowded shopping centre isn’t the best way to sample a new game. But surely that should give Sega even more motive to minimise frustrations.
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Light Speed
- Sexified
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- Location: Park City, Utah
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It controls absolutley FINE. It's just when you run on boost pads it turns a little odd (you can't turn until half a second of running). The only problems I have are general bugginess with gravity, and the lack of speed without dash pads. What I mean by gravity is really momentum. You can run up walls without gathering any speed before hand, and you can run as fast up hill as down hill. It's just unrealistic. The many routes are a blessing though, just for exploring. You can nearly re track back through the whole level. Fighting enemies is funner too. It really feels like you're wacking them hard, instead of a little soft attack. How they fly back and explode and their pieces fly everywhere, it's wicked.
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Plorpus III
- Posts: 186
- Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 2:10 am
Sonic's controls are a bit loose, and the homing attack has been changed. The game doesn't really explain how to aim the homing attack either, resulting in complete frustration for the first time player. Once you realise you need to point the control stick towards the enemy and that the jump dash is gone, it becomes easy. After plying the horrid PS3 demo (Dual Shock control sticks blow) I felt comfortable with the 360 demo, and even moreso with the XBOX Live demo (Though it was a bit glitchier.)
So yes, in my opinion, it plays worse than SA2 and better than Heroes/Shadow, but only after you get used to the changes.
Did they fix the glitch where Shadow fell through the floor in the version you played?
So yes, in my opinion, it plays worse than SA2 and better than Heroes/Shadow, but only after you get used to the changes.
Did they fix the glitch where Shadow fell through the floor in the version you played?