Sonic the Hedgehog (nextgen) media

Recent happenings of pertinence to Sonic fans.
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Popcorn
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Sonic the Hedgehog (nextgen) media

Post by Popcorn »

Finally, someone has spilled the beans: IGN has a series of screenshots and videos showing the new Sonic title.

Image

UPDATE: As Rlan has pointed out, IGN also have an article talking about the demonstration in detail. The article mentions that the game will use real-time, realistic Havok physics, and discusses things that are not seen in the videos available at the time of writing.

Somewhat confusingly/alarmingly, IGN also claims that the game is being directed by Masato Nakamura-- the guy who did the music for Sonic 1 and 2 on the Mega Drive-- although it seems difficult to believe that this is anything other than a mistake. I mean, he's got 'Naka' in his name...
Last edited by Popcorn on Sat Sep 17, 2005 4:48 am, edited 3 times in total.

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CM August
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Post by CM August »

This is Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 with the latest in graphical technology.

Just wanted to point that out.

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Post by Popcorn »

Yeah. I think you're right. It very much looks like Sonic Adventure 1, with all the same kind of design approaches... like the scripted 'smashing through walls' idea. My only other complaint is that Sonic looks a bit strangely animated at the moment when jumping, but I'm sure that will be addressed.

Nonetheless, I'm very optimistic. It at least looks fabulous, which is more than I could say about Sonic Heroes. I just hope that it manages to actually take the series in any kind of new direction.

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Post by Gaz »

Disappointing. As was pointed out this is just Sonic Adventure with better graphics. While it might still be good it doesn't look like the reinvention that was being promised. Still I guess you can't really judge the game from one early video but it has lowered my expectations a bit.

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Post by Rlan »

There is a writeup over here too:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/651/651720p1.html

The graphics look VERY pretty, but the game is almost in slow motion. The brick breaking looks great, but the demo has some of the worst enemy designs since the E-2000 [or was it 3000? The red flying bitch from Heroes?], I hope they go for something with a bit more personality design wise.

And the rope jumping is CLEARLY early. It'll probably end up being a little like the pole swinging in SA2.

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Post by j-man »

Looks sexy to me.

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Post by big_smile »

The graphics do look good, but the stage design is rather bland. It looks a little too realistic and lacks the sense of imagination and vibrancy of previous games. Even traditional level objects such as springs and rings seem to be very sparsely used, with items such as power-up boxes, spikes and floating platforms being completely absent.

Still, the demo was extremely brief and is at a very early stage so hopefully Sonic Team have plans to flesh out the level designs a bit more.

^_^

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Post by Popcorn »

big_smile wrote: Even traditional level objects such as springs and rings seem to be very sparsely used, with items such as power-up boxes, spikes and floating platforms being completely absent.
But it's got crates.

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Post by j-man »

CRASH BANDICOOT?????////

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Post by Popcorn »

Image

This screenshot (showing Sonic grinding) seems to indicate that we're still missing some of the footage shown of the game... IGN better get their act together or I'm going to start a viral marketing campaign that suggests that they are, in fact, gay.

As I said before, I'm a little worried that this will add little to the series except some nicer graphics (which is at least a better addition than controlling three characters at once; I already much prefer the art direction to that of Sonic Heroes). I'm wondering if the game will innovate in areas other than the more obvious field of base mechanics. There's some speculation, for example, that it will have a continuous, GTA-style world, a theory probably based on the presence of real-time night and day transitions. I'm also wondering if they'll be able to implement the licensed (and impressive-looking) Havok physics in any meaningful manner.

Either way, I can confirm, at this early stage, that the game will almost certainly not be laaaaaaaaame.

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Post by Gwilym »

I really really really hate that jump straight upwards and then launching in a straight line towards something stuff. They've taken all the weight out of jumping, and Sonic seems so light and airy fairy when he's in midair. I would really like to see a return to jumping up and just coming back down again with some weighty force.
Another thing I really dislike is those go-faster pads on the roads. They should be used really sparsely, but they're placed all over the joint, which ends up with an experience where you're guided about the levels rather than actually, y'know, playing.

So sure it looks really pretty, but surely somebody's seen in the videos that this also has a lot of bottomless pit action on all sides too.

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Post by Gaz »

GameSpot have 3 gameplay movies as well.

EDIT: The first movie shows another part of the level, the 2nd movie is identical to the IGN one but slightly extended and the third shows some grinding followed by the day to night transition part.
Last edited by Gaz on Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:44 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by Ritz »

Badamn.

For the first time in years, I'm actually optimistic about a Sonic game. I mean, I'm actually looking foward to this. However, after several years of disappointment, I have taken the liberty of rigging myself to an explosive that will go off if I am unable to maintain a consistent flow of adrenaline during the course of the game. The bomb is also rigged to an orphanage. And implosion stains are like, a total bitch to clean. I want everyone to suffer. :(

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Post by Double-S- »

Looks nice.

However, it also looks slow. I already saw lots of bottomless pits. And the level design is not looking imaginative.

Even though I assume the slow part ought to be fixed, that's still more negatives than positives.

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Post by Zeta »

Well, while I would kick a puppy for a better version of Sonic Adventure, the stage looks a little bland for that level of creativity. Still, like others - I am wary. Although I have to say that I haven't been this interested in a new Sonic game since, well - Sonic Adventure 2.

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Post by PSMad »

You've got to remember the game is *very* early in development. It looks slow and floaty because thats something thats not been tweaked yet. Apparently the game will look better when ready and hopefully play better than any 3D Sonic game to date. If it learns from Heroes, rids itself of bugs and sticks with single characters I'll be happy.

Oh, and Sonic himself is looking better than in the trailer... with fur and stuff rather than looking a bit plain. How Sonic looks and the day/night lighting has excited me a lot.

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Post by Frieza2000 »

Personally, I don't think realistic graphics are the way to go. I'd much prefer bright, contrasting colors. Something that actually looks animated. But I agree that as long as the dialogue and story are bearable, this will be better than Heroes.

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Post by G.Silver »

When it said it would make use of the Havoc physic engine I assumed that meant all Sonic's moves would be uncanned and player controlled, something different and exciting in the gameplay. I didn't think it would just be for the visual fluff of ragdoll physics and collapsing walls. But I guess that's all people care about anymore...

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Post by Green Gibbon! »

This does look alot like Sonic Adventure 1, which I think is a good thing because that's still the closest they've ever come to a totally successful 3D Sonic. I have no complaints with the graphic style - it looks beautiful to me, especially the changing daylight, and I notice in the first video that Sonic is tapping his foot, which makes me happy.

The control looks a bit floaty and slow at this point, but it's still early (I assume one of the reasons the game wasn't playable).

It would be difficult, I think, to say I'm excited - certainly not as excited as I was for Sonic Adventure - but I don't think I really get excited about games anymore, a fact that the PS3 and Xbox 360 have kind of driven home. Still, I don't see anything here to outright offend me, so I am cautiously optimistic. I don't believe this will be an outright "rebirth" so much as an, "Oh yeah, sorry about all that Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes nonsense, here's a real sequel to Sonic Adventure 1." Which is fine by me.

Y'know, this really has to be good, though. 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.

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Post by SegaSonic »

Green Gibbon! wrote:This does look alot like Sonic Adventure 1, which I think is a good thing because that's still the closest they've ever come to a totally successful 3D Sonic. I have no complaints with the graphic style - it looks beautiful to me, especially the changing daylight, and I notice in the first video that Sonic is tapping his foot, which makes me happy.

The control looks a bit floaty and slow at this point, but it's still early (I assume one of the reasons the game wasn't playable).

It would be difficult, I think, to say I'm excited - certainly not as excited as I was for Sonic Adventure - but I don't think I really get excited about games anymore, a fact that the PS3 and Xbox 360 have kind of driven home. Still, I don't see anything here to outright offend me, so I am cautiously optimistic. I don't believe this will be an outright "rebirth" so much as an, "Oh yeah, sorry about all that Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes nonsense, here's a real sequel to Sonic Adventure 1." Which is fine by me.

Y'know, this really has to be good, though. 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.
same here.

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Post by Ritz »

You're a man of many words, SegaSonic.

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Post by TSSZNews »

--Grinding? Star Springs?

Wait a minute.

At this point <i>anything</i> involving a throwback to SA2 or Sonic Heroes in this new Sonic has me worried. Don't get me wrong--I liked them both (Heroes a bit less, but I still played it) but I can understand other gamers' concerns that the games were just meant to appease the "hip" standard. By the same token, if this is Sonic in the "real" world, a problem lies in there as well, simply because that's a concept only recently came to visual fruition...I don't think it went over too well, especially with SA2.

If, however, this can become a nice mesh of photorealistic graphics paired with those imaginative things we've grown accustomed to over the years, executed better than in Heroes (like a casino, for example) then I see hope.

By the way, is it just me or does Sonic's character model look eerily similar to Shadow's in the new screenies? Maybe I'm just seeing things. Also, I think something similar with day/night was tried in Chaotix...right?

I believe there needs to be more shown of this game before a "final" judgment can be passed. I've heard reports saying a lot of crowds at TGS were disappointed in the new Sonic and I can't recall the last time that's happened on a large Sonic Team project. From there, either there needs to be much more in the "innovation" sense for this game to succeed, or there needs to be more of that flashback to fantasy; a true return to the Sonic format we've loved for so many years.

Sonic in a Shenmue world, no matter how pretty the graphics are or how exquisite the physics handle, probably won't cut it. Right now, that's the picture I get in my head.

-Tristan

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Post by Gwilym »

A post from a parallel universe!

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Post by Locit »

The existance of bottomless pits still frightens me.

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Post by LOUD-TREE »

Green Gibbon! wrote:This does look alot like Sonic Adventure 1, which I think is a good thing because that's still the closest they've ever come to a totally successful 3D Sonic. I have no complaints with the graphic style - it looks beautiful to me, especially the changing daylight, and I notice in the first video that Sonic is tapping his foot, which makes me happy.

The control looks a bit floaty and slow at this point, but it's still early (I assume one of the reasons the game wasn't playable).

It would be difficult, I think, to say I'm excited - certainly not as excited as I was for Sonic Adventure - but I don't think I really get excited about games anymore, a fact that the PS3 and Xbox 360 have kind of driven home. Still, I don't see anything here to outright offend me, so I am cautiously optimistic. I don't believe this will be an outright "rebirth" so much as an, "Oh yeah, sorry about all that Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes nonsense, here's a real sequel to Sonic Adventure 1." Which is fine by me.

Y'know, this really has to be good, though. 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.
Amen.

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