The GHZ Forum

The latest issue of UK publication Nintendo Official Magazine includes a 6 page feature on Sonic Wildfire.

Despite being billed as an ‘exclusive preview’, few new details are revealed in the article. It does however contain an interview with director Ogawa Yojiro and a small selection of new screenshots.

Yojiro, who previously worked on Gems Collection and Kimishine mostly regurgitates the contents of previous press releases in the interview. He does, however, reveal that he is planning a new Wii game which will take “full advantage of the… controllerâ€￾. Suggesting that new game may not be connected to Sonic, he describes it as “whole new title that no one has ever seenâ€￾. He hopes to start working on the mysterious project after completing WildFire.

Moving back to the present, Yojiro states that the story of WildFire will be different from existing games. Amusingly, he then hints that Eggman may not be the villain, which has been a trend in recent games.

The article details the new control system. Those worried that the title may be too linear will be pleased learn that Sonic is able to backtrack.

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Game is starting to sound slightly more interesting. I think I'll be kind of happy if Eggman isn't in it, it seems like it'd make more sense for them to have someone fresh anyway what with the ridiculously odd story concept and all.

This DOES look a lot prettier than the E3 build did. Not quite a Sonic 2k6 level of detail, but far and away much, much better than any Sonic game from the GC/PS2/Xbox generation.

I think I might actually be getting kind of excited.

BlazeHedgehog wrote:This DOES look a lot prettier than the E3 build did. Not quite a Sonic 2k6 level of detail, but far and away much, much better than any Sonic game from the GC/PS2/Xbox generation.

I think I might actually be getting kind of excited.

This pretty clearly IS the E3 build, it's the exact same segments and looks identical, it's clear they've only played through the E3 demo as well. They just obviously used good shots of the game which look significantly better when shrunk down into small magazine images.

This game does look really pretty in some areas, especially the water areas with its greenery and lighting. I'm still a little concerned about the method of control though.

During E3 I saw numerous videos and although you could say its because the player wasnt used to the method of control, there were many instances where Sonic moved to the left or right in an exaggerated fashion. I didn't think a lot of it really until I saw a video last night when Sonic had to navigate his way across a narrow bridge and the guy couldnt do it and fell into the water because he jerked to the right. Judging from this you must have to hold the controller incredibly still with really subtle movements to achieve a successful run and I don't like the rigidness of that at all.

James McGeachie wrote:

BlazeHedgehog wrote:This DOES look a lot prettier than the E3 build did. Not quite a Sonic 2k6 level of detail, but far and away much, much better than any Sonic game from the GC/PS2/Xbox generation.

I think I might actually be getting kind of excited.

This pretty clearly IS the E3 build, it's the exact same segments and looks identical, it's clear they've only played through the E3 demo as well. They just obviously used good shots of the game which look significantly better when shrunk down into small magazine images.

The segments look the same, but the graphics look better, somehow. More polished. Sonic looks smoother.

BlazeHedgehog wrote:The segments look the same, but the graphics look better, somehow. More polished. Sonic looks smoother.

James McGeachie wrote:They just obviously used good shots of the game which look significantly better when shrunk down into small magazine images.

Yeah. "Shrunk down". The size these scans are, they aren't really that shrunk down...

Are you being sarcastic? Because you're pretty wrong.

The controls and entire concept (essentially an on-rails Sonic game) still look terrible. As in, like poo.

It's pretty much the same kind of games we have now but with the unnecessary freedom stripped away. Heroes is pretty much on rails. All that the ability to easily stop and look around gives you is a look at the narrow platform around you. There's nothing to <i>do</i> with that freedom of movement. Wildfire just appears to be a streamlined version of the obstacle course style gameplay we've had since SA2.

The controls and entire concept (essentially an on-rails Sonic game) still look terrible. As in, like poo.

Yeah I don't get it either. But that said, EVERYONE who has played the next gen Sonic games favours Wild Fire over Sonic2006. Maybe it plays better than it sounds?

Maybe its because Wild Fire ignores holding up on the anolog stick, seeing as Sonic runs automatically, So you just concentate on reacting to the environment.

Or maybe its just a well put together Wii demo title. So when compared to Sonic 2K6 which was a bit dodgy apparently, Wild Fire won.

I could not care less about this game.

I could.

But why. But WHY! It's all on rails and it's going to have balls controls!

In other news, that new Portal gun looks pretty badass. It's like it took Prey's clever idea and shit all over it with goodness. Also I'm quite excited that all the HL2's are coming to the 360. Now I won't really have an excuse not to play it.

Damn straight. Portal (see <a href="http://www.xboxyde.com/news_3186_en.html">trailer</a>) looks awesome, no more, no less. Much cooler than that Narbacular Drop thing it's a pseudo-sequel to, mostly because, in that program, there's a rendering error with the portals on my computer, making objects further away from me get drawn last - or in front of what should be in front, making things look VERY weird.

I wonder if the name of that gun has any particular meaning. I mean, it's the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device... ASHPD... A. SHPD...

Maybe it's just a passing HL:Op4 reference, I dunno.

Popcorn wrote:But why. But WHY! It's all on rails and it's going to have balls controls!

I haven't seen anything to indicate balls controls, and I think you might be familiar with my friends Rez, Panzer Dragoon, Sin & Punishment, and Outrun 2. Rails are hot!

I'm kind of with Popcorn. The impression I get is overblown tech demo. It strikes me as a very lazy use of the unique controller and an altogether limited premise.

I still think Wild Fire looks better than the 360/PS3 Sonic game but I can't see it being anything more than a fun but shallow arcade-style game. That said I don't really think there's anything wrong with that. I recently bought Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast and it's one of the most fun games I've played in ages yet when it comes down to it it's a fairly shallow game. If done right I can see Wild Fire working in a similar way.

Light Speed wrote:In other news, that new Portal gun looks pretty badass. It's like it took Prey's clever idea and shit all over it with goodness. Also I'm quite excited that all the HL2's are coming to the 360. Now I won't really have an excuse not to play it.

Portal really does look strikingly good. Valve are rivalled only by the Ico guys in the 'best developer currently operating' stakes, I think.

It's not even really the simplicity of Wild Fire that bothers me, I just think it's a half-baked idea. Maneuvering a character through a fixed platformer obstacle course by wiggling the controller around does not sound like fun to me, at least not once the initial novelty wears off (and it may not even have that unless it happens to be the very first Wii game you play).

There's quite a bit on the Wii that's caught my eye but Sonic isn't among them.

Agreed. I don't much fancy the ambiguity of the control mechanism in dealing with something as precise as a platform game. But we'll see!

I can't see it being anything more than a fun but shallow arcade-style game

Shallow arcade games are what Sega does best! ;)

Virtua Fighter would not count as shallow. It has one of the most, if not THE most, deepest, most complicated fighting systems in the entire genre.