Sonic Unleashed?

[K2J]

Can anyone make out what he's whistling? I think it's a bit of Can You Feel the Sunshine, but I'm not certain. It would at least be sort of clever if it is.

Angel Island Zone. AGAIN.

[Wooduck51]

Sometimes it's really hard to believe just how crazy the people handling Sonic's image must be. Or, alternately, how completely nonexistent they are.

I think this is what happened. It looks like they started listening to their critics and they probably ran into the notion that Shadow is disliked by a lot of people, who'd rather see a game where Sonic is the only playable character. But the kiddies like him because he's all dark and edgy. So the natural compromise, their marketing consultants pointed out, is to make Sonic dark and edgy. Justify it by making it temporary and throw in some ancient mythology to satiate the older crowd. An unfortunate miscalculation, it seems.

Which means they miss both points. Sonic should not be dark and edgy, and apparently they misconstrued horribly the reason people liked Shadow. Shadow was great in SA2 because he wasn't all angsty, he just got the damn job done, and it was a nice contrast to Sonic. Now all they have accomplished is half assedly recovering Shadow from the pit of angst in StH06 and adding the "dark and edgy" to Sonic they removed from Shadow.

So really I find it fascinating that SEGA would develop such a nice trailer whose only purpose is to crush hopes and dreams.

And I do not think it is angel island.

[Dasher]

I don't know, for me this is Sonic's official death.

bah! his death was in Heroes and his coffin was on Shadow the Hog.

This game is more like Maggots eating his decaying body.

[Isuka]

It sounds similar, but I wager it's the new game's main theme or something to that effect.
Maybe most people only care about Shadow's "style", not his "substance".

Now, that trailer... it's the totally closest to a movie trailer that I've ever seen in my life. And the funny part is, none of us even wondered about the possibility of a Sonic movie or series where he transforms into a "werehog".
This is terrible.

Dasher's getting annoying, and Flash should better stop cutting his wrists already.

EDIT: Locit... do you "know" Hudson?

[Wooduck51]

This game may cause more of this.

[Dasher]

That man was an a-hole.

Poor creature and Boy.

[Frieza2000]

Shadow was great in SA2 because he wasn't all angsty, he just got the damn job done

I don't remember if I've said this, but I whole heartedly agree and wish more people understood this. I love that there was even a part in SA2 where Shadow explicitly says he doesn't care about his past, or whether his memories are real or not. Then he spends an entire game trying to find them and bemoaning his fate.

[DackAttac]

The trailer's similar to the one for Shadow, where they showed classic Sonic gameplay, and then had bullets rip through the screen until only Shadow's gun-based gamplay was visible.

Similar except the gameplay we've seen isn't part of that dark contrast. It's actually hope-inspiring in a few ways. Yeah, the focus is definitely going to be on the were-hog on the overall, but maybe gameplay isn't going to take the brunt of it. (And if you play Sonic games for plot... damn, dude.) If there really is an entire were-hog story or mode equal in length to Sonic's own, don't you think they'd try to showcase that gameplay mode by now? We stand about six or seven months from release. Granted, there's the big display they have planned in May, but we've seen quite a bit of (arguably good) Sonic footage and none of the latest member of his doppelgänger family.

Don't get me wrong. Sonic Team will never automatically inspire confidence again unless they start shitting gold bricks out of nowhere, so I can't fault those who don't stock much faith in the game. But it seems way too much hope was lost over the course of a ten-second trailer. What did you think Were-hog's non-detrimental integration was going to be? "Tails, what happened?" "You blacked out, got all furry and mean, wreaked havoc on town, worked one out, blacked out again, and then you woke up normal. It was fucked up, to say the least." "Huh. Let's try to get shit straightened out before dusk, then." "OK, let's do that and never pay any mind to this again." Were-Sonic was always gonna be the plot, so if your opinions plummeted on this teaser alone, I suggest making peace with the concept now, because you sure missed the chance to do so the first time it was blatantly obvious. Save the big dismay for when (if, please let it be "if") they lift the curtain on were-Sonic gameplay.

Now, once again, I reiterate, there's nothing wrong with holding no hope for Sonic Team and this game. But the sweeping "Sonic is dead forever, I declare it so" eulogies over a promo snippet don't make you sound like a snarky, sarcastic, razor-tongued realistically cautious editorialist, it makes you sound like a drama queen who just finished a good 45-minute cry over your favorite game series in the whole wide world not being perfect anymore, and how unfair that is to you.

[DackAttac]

Titty rapist. I meant to edit my post. Not quote it in a new one. Shit.

Where's the goddamn delete key? Wasn't there one at one point?

[FlashTHD]

Flash should better stop cutting his wrists already.

Cute. That's coming from where, you say? Or didn't?

I love that there was even a part in SA2 where Shadow explicitly says he doesn't care about his past, or whether his memories are real or not.

Reading that, it occured to me: right off from being let out, Shadow seems pretty eager to show Eggman the way to the cannon. And he's not supposed to interpret Maria's last words as a vengeance wish until before Radical Highway, right? Is there any better (read: official) reason why Shadow would tell the doc to go to ARK before vowing revenge and all that i'm missing, or is it another plothole?

If there really is an entire were-hog story or mode equal in length to Sonic's own, don't you think they'd try to showcase that gameplay mode by now? We stand about six or seven months from release.

Well remember, after showing 06 at E3, they withheld everything about Shadow's gameplay besides the jeep action until August.

[Isuka]

Someone go get the guys behind Sega Superstars Tennis and put them in charge. Right now. Or several months ago.

...why?

Uhmm yeah, right there. It looks to be a pretty decent game, and it has none other than Sonic, himself, in its box art. Damn rad.

Barring any sarcastic-yet-not-that-funny-anymore comments, it looks like the only person that actually "thinks" that Sonic (a seemingly surreal concept) is somehow dead, is Dasher.

[DackAttac]

Yeah, I know.

Reading that, it occured to me: right off from being let out, Shadow seems pretty eager to show Eggman the way to the cannon. And he's not supposed to interpret Maria's last words as a vengeance wish until before Radical Highway, right? Is there any better (read: official) reason why Shadow would tell the doc to go to ARK before vowing revenge and all that i'm missing, or is it another plothole?

I can't believe I'm splitting hairs over this, but I got the impression that he had already made that interpretation. It wasn't so much as a "Wait, what did that chick I liked say before she died, and what did it mean?" as much as it was a "I am internationally wanted now. Fuckin' A. Why am I doing this shit again? Oh yeah. Duh."

[FlashTHD]

Someone go get the guys behind Sega Superstars Tennis and put them in charge. Right now. Or several months ago.

...why?

Uhmm yeah, right there. It looks to be a pretty decent game, and it has none other than Sonic, himself, in its box art. Damn rad.

So Sumo seems to have awesome programmers. Knew that. I asked because one too many times i've seen pleading that a nonstop nostalgia overload would undeniably (pfft) be the universal "fix" and Sega Superstars Tennis happens to be full of that. And good god am I sick of it.

[Locit]

Someone go get the guys behind Sega Superstars Tennis and put them in charge. Right now. Or several months ago.

...why?

I just think they "get" Sonic in the same way Sakurai did in Brawl. Sonic started with an image and a certain degree of, yes, attitude, and both developers I mentioned seem to understand the persona that made the character popular in his heyday much more than Sonic Team does now. I mean, can you imagine two more videos more opposite in tone than the new Unleashed teaser and the one for Sonic in Brawl or that of Superstars? Really, though, this suggestion underlies my super-secret, most fondestest wish of all: just throw Sonic out there and let every damn developer in the company even a little bit interested make a concept game in a battle for the rights to the Sonic Team throne.

Like my "listen to feedback on an early demo" idea it'll never happen, but I really think it's one the best things they could do for him- he's lost almost any sense of self over the last few "main series" games, and I'd like to see a bunch of new, unique (at least relative to Sonic Team's efforts) takes on the series that are actively competing against one another. It would shake the series out of its complacent, amnesiac state and maybe even jar Sonic Team into actually putting some thought into their output.

[Esrever]

I thought the teaser was cute! It's nice to see them playing the werewolf angle in a kind of fun, cartoony way... it doesn't seem at all like an attempt to be serious or extreme or dark or angsty. (At least not yet.) If anything, what little we've seen of "werewolf" Sonic reminds me more of the Tasmanian Devil, or the various Looney Tunes Jekyll and Hyde adaptations:





Which is still a weird creative decision... but not exactly one that screams "cashing in on the latest gaming trend" like Silver's post-apocalyptic future or Shadow's various lovely firearms. That makes me want to give them the benefit of the doubt... at least until we see how this is all going to be worked into the gameplay.

[Frieza2000]

I can't believe I'm splitting hairs over this, but I got the impression that he had already made that interpretation. It wasn't so much as a "Wait, what did that chick I liked say before she died, and what did it mean?" as much as it was a "I am internationally wanted now. Fuckin' A. Why am I doing this shit again? Oh yeah. Duh."

I got the same impression, though I don't think he was having that memory intentionally. The way he looks when it cuts back to him (at 5:52) makes it seem more like he's having a traumatic flashback set off by the flashing red lights of the police cars, which remind him of the ARK's red alarm lights. Of course it's actually his subconscious trying to get him to remember the scene right. "NO, NO, NO, she said SAVE them, not KILL them!"

[P.P.A.]

Weren't his memories manipulated by Prof. Gerald Robotnik after he went insane?

[Dasher]

And then they messed up the story even more on Shad the Hog. ugh.

Aliens, Genies and now Werewolves...this is getting stupid and the worst thing is, Eggman isn't the bad guy anymore.

[WW]

From the looks of things, Eggman zapped the holy shit out of Sonic, making his super form vanish, and then he splits the world apart. Definately not a bad guy, right?

[Frieza2000]

Weren't his memories manipulated by Prof. Gerald Robotnik after he went insane?

Probably; he needed some way to make sure Shadow carried out his revenge. He certainly wouldn't plant a fake memory of Maria telling him to save everyone though. That'd be the existing memory he manipulated.

[Yami CJMErl]

From the looks of things, Eggman zapped the holy shit out of Sonic, making his super form vanish, and then he splits the world apart. Definately not a bad guy, right?

From what I can infer, he'll probably be the one behind the whole "Feral Sonic" shit too.

[DackAttac]

You know, it's funny. All Sega's attempts to make horrific monsters in the past few years have been a snoozefest, but that picture of mutant-Tweety still scares the unholy fuck out of me.

[Opa-Opa]

Wow. Seeing those SA2 videos sure brought back some memories of good that story was. The good thing about that game is that you actually cared about what was going on. Even though you had to play the alternative gameplay parts, those were at least fun. Plus, the game doesn't treat you as if you were a dumb bastard. A great example of that would be Rouge's story, the whole thing about her working to the President isn't actually mentioned, but you can get that from two or three lines of dialogue of the entire game. That is very rare in videogames. Heck, that is even rare in the movies.

About the whole Were-Sonic thing... I still don't know. I know I should just lay back and accept this as the main story line and all, but... I guess part of me still believes this whole beast fiasco is some kind of prank. It's just to much for me to believe that anyone would be able to risk all that in a franchise that has suffered so much lately.

Hah... and you guys complained about Sonic Heroes... Sonic Heroes was a breath of fresh air compared to later stuff. I've been playing Sonic '06 and the only parts that aren't awful are the CGs. Barely.

[Locit]

the only parts that aren't awful are the CGs. Barely.

Oh, man, you ain't seen nothing yet.

[Opa-Opa]

Oh, man, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Shit. So you mean things get worst than those stupid loading times each time you say yes to a mission, then "talk" (just text, actually) to the same person about the mission you just agreed doing, and then finally proceed to complete it, all exactely in the same scenario you were?