The Sonic E3 Mega Post: 2006 Edition
Yeah, I really should have done some big E3 post, but there's just so much and I don't feel like I'll ever be able to cover it all. Maybe I will eventually.
Anyway, I received a few requests to specifically report on Sonic stuff again this year, so that's what I'm going to do. I know a lot of people on my friends list are Sonic fans, so I'm making this one open to the public.
Now, since I did the conference program this year, I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked on the show floor. Between the more limited time and the crazy, crazy lines everywhere, all of the demos I played this year were much more rushed than what I got to play last year, but I'll give my thoughts on them anyway. There were three new Sonic games on the show floor this year, and my opinions are pretty mixed. Impressions, pictures, and a couple of video links after the cut.
The Sega booth was moved back a bit this year, though it still resided in the South Hall. The layout seemed slightly more chaotic, but that could be said for just about every booth this year. The PR and mobile stuff was pushed up against the back wall, and the game kiosks were scattered about in front. From across the walkway, you could see a huge screen hanging from the ceiling playing various trailers, and three kick-ass statues of Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, much like the Shadow statue from last year. The trio can be seen above, and here's a front view of Silver:
Also, for a back view of Silver and another look at the other statues, I took a short video:
(Quicktime, 7.62 MB)
As I was walking toward the booth, I caught the end of a trailer for Sonic Wild Fire, though, like all of the other Wii games at the show, I would have to brave the Nintendo booth to actually get a chance to play it. I then saw the trailer for the PS3/360 Sonic the Hedgehog and drooled for a while before my companions pulled me away. I believe the first Sonic game I actually got my hands on at the show was Sonic Rivals, over to the left of the Sega booth...
Game: Sonic Rivals
Platform: PSP
I got to play through one race in Rivals, and I came away with a pretty positive impression of the game, overall. It didn't excite me as much as Sonic Rush did last year, though. It certainly felt Sonic-y enough, but even with the 2D gameplay and 3D visuals, it didn't seem quite as fast and dynamic as last year's DS game. Of course, in Rivals, the focus isn't so much on getting to the end of the stage as quickly as possible as it is getting to the end as quickly as possible while beating the competition, and though I wasn't actually able to play a multiplayer game at the show, I imagine that this is where the game will probably shine. In the demo, I was playing as Sonic, and I was racing against Shadow. There seems to be a good bit of potential for strategically choosing the fastest path and sabotaging your opponent. It seems solid, but nothing too exciting or groundbreaking. It's something I'll probably end up getting when I eventually buy a PSP, but nothing I would buy a PSP for, specifically. Still, it had very solid controls, which, unfortunately, is more than I can say for some of the other games at the show...
Game: Sonic the Hedgehog
Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
This is the game that I was probably the most excited about playing this year, and ultimately the one I found most disappointing. I wanted this to be the game to make me go out and buy an Xbox 360 (sorry, not quite over the PS3 pricing thing just yet). I'm still hoping that it'll all come together before the end of the year, but after my disappointment with Shadow last year, I'm not exactly holding my breath.
The CG movie with gameplay clips played over and over above the kiosks, and it looks fantastic. I'm sure better versions are available on the net, but here's my mute little video from the show floor: (Quicktime, 21.7 MB) The gameplay in the trailer showed Sonic, Silver, and Shadow as playable characters, though there were only two demos available on the show floor, one for Sonic and one for Silver.
Now, the game is absolutely gorgeous. Both the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 versions were playable, but I didn't notice any difference graphically, just a different controller. I'm guessing that it was developed with the 360 in mind and is being ported over to the PS3, considering the issues with getting out PS3 dev kits in a timely fashion. But the first spot to free up was the 360 version, so that's what I played. There was a bit more load time than I was used to from playing Sonic on the Dreamcast and GameCube, but I guess it wasn't too bad. I started up the Sonic demo, and I was immediately impressed by the visuals. Unfortunately, then I started playing.
To say the game was broken would be a bit of an understatement. I've always been a bit forgiving when it comes to 3D Sonic games. I was never bothered by the camera in Sonic Adventure or Sonic Adventure 2. Hell, Sonic Adventure 2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and part of that is due to its fairly tight controls in the Sonic/Shadow stages. Then Sonic Heroes came along, and I had some issues with the controls, especially with Sonic feeling really "loose," but it was ultimately pretty playable. Then I played Shadow at E3 last year, and I remember actually complaining about the controls to someone working at the booth. Shadow still had that loose feeling from Heroes, with some clunkiness added on top of it when using weapons. Now with this new Sonic, I'm seriously starting to wonder if Sega even bothers to test their games anymore. Sonic is a bit too fast for his own good. It's great that he can run fast, but it would be even better if he could maybe stop running so that he didn't go flying off the edge of the stage. The loose controls are back. Now if it was just that, I could probably adjust. I've done it before. But our old friend the homing attack, which, by the way, was necessary to complete the demo stage, didn't work. It just didn't work. I mean, sometimes you'd get lucky and it would kind of work on an enemy, but then you'd get to a part where you'd need to trigger an air stream and then grind it or something by doing a homing attack at it, and you just kept flying past it. The Sega guy working the booth even admited that the homing attack wasn't quite working properly yet.
Now, this is a major flaw, and pretty sure it's more a result of a rushed demo than an accurate representation of the final game. But I've been hurt before, and I just feel the need to be cautious. I'm just afraid that the rush to get this game out by the end of the year to celebrate Sonic's 15th anniversary might override a proper QA treatment. But with that said, apart from these jarring control issues, the level looked great and appeared to be well designed. If the controls are tightened up, it could very well be amazing.
On to Silver's demo. Unlike Sonic's very, um, Sonic-like level, Silver's stage looked like something closer to one of the stages in Shadow the Hedgehog, featuring a post-apocalyptic city and lots and lots of fire coming out of god knows where. Now, since Silver doesn't run nearly as fast as Sonic, running off the edge of the stage was not a problem. Silver can also float a bit, which was also quite easy to control. Using his telekinesis abilities could be a bit awkward, but I imagine it'll just take some getting used to. Though having large cars and boulders following him around did seem a bit weird and clunky. Not bad, but it needs some polish.
I know I'm being a bit harsh on the control issue, but it seems to be becoming a problem for a series. The games may still be good, but they should be great. There's a lot of promise in this one, and I'm very excited about the direction of the storyline, but I don't want to have to suffer through shoddy controls in order to enjoy it. Just give me what we had back in SA2, and I'll be ever so grateful.
Game: Sonic Wild Fire
Platform: Wii
Finally, Sonic Wild Fire. Whatever you heard about the line to get into the Wii booth was probably true. I made it in there twice, but both times were for very brief periods (well, brief considering that the lines to play the games once you were actually inside the booth were another 20-45 minute wait...). Though the first time I was in there, I sort of cheated and got in with a classmate sporting a intricate Zelda tatoo on each arm who had sweet talked someone into getting into the Zelda booth last year and was able to do the same this year. But this was at the end of the day, so my time was very limited (I would have my hours of line fun the following morning). But one of the games I got to see this first day was Sonic.
I'll start by saying that the graphics on the Wii are just what everyone says they are, just a little better than something you'd see on the GameCube/Xbox and no where near as detailed as the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. With that said, Sonic Wild Fire still looks pretty sharp. The demo starts out with a sort of storybook-like intro and then plops you into the ation. The control is sort of weird. Sonic just starts running, and it's up to the player to guide him on the correct path. You play by holding the Wii controller sideways and tilting it left or right. You only use one button, and that's to stop/jump. Sonic will keep running forward if you do nothing, but you need to tilt the controller to avoid obstacles and choose different paths. The button to stop and jump are the same, which I thought was kind of odd. You hold the button to stop, and then when you let go, you jump. And there's some super jump thingy that I think you do by tilting the controller toward and away from you really fast, but that part is kinda fuzzy. Like most Wii games, it was fun, but it's going to take a bit of getting used to before I can really determine if it's going to be long-term entertaining.
Compared to the 360/PS3 game, Wild Fire is pretty linear because Sonic is constantly moving, and you don't really get a chance to explore. But in a way that makes it more like the 2D games, so I don't know if it's really a bad thing. It's just different. And it looks as though there are branching paths in some areas, so it's not completely linear. Also in the demo, there's an area where you have to stop running and you end up creeping along a wall, trying to avoid spikes. It was pretty cool, overall, but I need to see more.
Back at the Sega booth, there were a couple of other Sonic-y things to see. Here are a couple more pictures:
Sonic merchandise. Different stuff than what there was last year. This looked like mostly stuff available in the US, whereas last year I think there was more Japanese stuff.
Sonic representing the cell phone games. I didn't get to see if there were any Sonic games in particular. But I did get to listen to Sonic ringtones from Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic Heroes over in the Namco booth (still trying to decide which one to buy).
And since I'm sure this post has gone on long enough, until next time... :)
Anyway, I received a few requests to specifically report on Sonic stuff again this year, so that's what I'm going to do. I know a lot of people on my friends list are Sonic fans, so I'm making this one open to the public.
Now, since I did the conference program this year, I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked on the show floor. Between the more limited time and the crazy, crazy lines everywhere, all of the demos I played this year were much more rushed than what I got to play last year, but I'll give my thoughts on them anyway. There were three new Sonic games on the show floor this year, and my opinions are pretty mixed. Impressions, pictures, and a couple of video links after the cut.
The Sega booth was moved back a bit this year, though it still resided in the South Hall. The layout seemed slightly more chaotic, but that could be said for just about every booth this year. The PR and mobile stuff was pushed up against the back wall, and the game kiosks were scattered about in front. From across the walkway, you could see a huge screen hanging from the ceiling playing various trailers, and three kick-ass statues of Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, much like the Shadow statue from last year. The trio can be seen above, and here's a front view of Silver:
Also, for a back view of Silver and another look at the other statues, I took a short video:
(Quicktime, 7.62 MB)
As I was walking toward the booth, I caught the end of a trailer for Sonic Wild Fire, though, like all of the other Wii games at the show, I would have to brave the Nintendo booth to actually get a chance to play it. I then saw the trailer for the PS3/360 Sonic the Hedgehog and drooled for a while before my companions pulled me away. I believe the first Sonic game I actually got my hands on at the show was Sonic Rivals, over to the left of the Sega booth...
Game: Sonic Rivals
Platform: PSP
I got to play through one race in Rivals, and I came away with a pretty positive impression of the game, overall. It didn't excite me as much as Sonic Rush did last year, though. It certainly felt Sonic-y enough, but even with the 2D gameplay and 3D visuals, it didn't seem quite as fast and dynamic as last year's DS game. Of course, in Rivals, the focus isn't so much on getting to the end of the stage as quickly as possible as it is getting to the end as quickly as possible while beating the competition, and though I wasn't actually able to play a multiplayer game at the show, I imagine that this is where the game will probably shine. In the demo, I was playing as Sonic, and I was racing against Shadow. There seems to be a good bit of potential for strategically choosing the fastest path and sabotaging your opponent. It seems solid, but nothing too exciting or groundbreaking. It's something I'll probably end up getting when I eventually buy a PSP, but nothing I would buy a PSP for, specifically. Still, it had very solid controls, which, unfortunately, is more than I can say for some of the other games at the show...
Game: Sonic the Hedgehog
Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
This is the game that I was probably the most excited about playing this year, and ultimately the one I found most disappointing. I wanted this to be the game to make me go out and buy an Xbox 360 (sorry, not quite over the PS3 pricing thing just yet). I'm still hoping that it'll all come together before the end of the year, but after my disappointment with Shadow last year, I'm not exactly holding my breath.
The CG movie with gameplay clips played over and over above the kiosks, and it looks fantastic. I'm sure better versions are available on the net, but here's my mute little video from the show floor: (Quicktime, 21.7 MB) The gameplay in the trailer showed Sonic, Silver, and Shadow as playable characters, though there were only two demos available on the show floor, one for Sonic and one for Silver.
Now, the game is absolutely gorgeous. Both the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 versions were playable, but I didn't notice any difference graphically, just a different controller. I'm guessing that it was developed with the 360 in mind and is being ported over to the PS3, considering the issues with getting out PS3 dev kits in a timely fashion. But the first spot to free up was the 360 version, so that's what I played. There was a bit more load time than I was used to from playing Sonic on the Dreamcast and GameCube, but I guess it wasn't too bad. I started up the Sonic demo, and I was immediately impressed by the visuals. Unfortunately, then I started playing.
To say the game was broken would be a bit of an understatement. I've always been a bit forgiving when it comes to 3D Sonic games. I was never bothered by the camera in Sonic Adventure or Sonic Adventure 2. Hell, Sonic Adventure 2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and part of that is due to its fairly tight controls in the Sonic/Shadow stages. Then Sonic Heroes came along, and I had some issues with the controls, especially with Sonic feeling really "loose," but it was ultimately pretty playable. Then I played Shadow at E3 last year, and I remember actually complaining about the controls to someone working at the booth. Shadow still had that loose feeling from Heroes, with some clunkiness added on top of it when using weapons. Now with this new Sonic, I'm seriously starting to wonder if Sega even bothers to test their games anymore. Sonic is a bit too fast for his own good. It's great that he can run fast, but it would be even better if he could maybe stop running so that he didn't go flying off the edge of the stage. The loose controls are back. Now if it was just that, I could probably adjust. I've done it before. But our old friend the homing attack, which, by the way, was necessary to complete the demo stage, didn't work. It just didn't work. I mean, sometimes you'd get lucky and it would kind of work on an enemy, but then you'd get to a part where you'd need to trigger an air stream and then grind it or something by doing a homing attack at it, and you just kept flying past it. The Sega guy working the booth even admited that the homing attack wasn't quite working properly yet.
Now, this is a major flaw, and pretty sure it's more a result of a rushed demo than an accurate representation of the final game. But I've been hurt before, and I just feel the need to be cautious. I'm just afraid that the rush to get this game out by the end of the year to celebrate Sonic's 15th anniversary might override a proper QA treatment. But with that said, apart from these jarring control issues, the level looked great and appeared to be well designed. If the controls are tightened up, it could very well be amazing.
On to Silver's demo. Unlike Sonic's very, um, Sonic-like level, Silver's stage looked like something closer to one of the stages in Shadow the Hedgehog, featuring a post-apocalyptic city and lots and lots of fire coming out of god knows where. Now, since Silver doesn't run nearly as fast as Sonic, running off the edge of the stage was not a problem. Silver can also float a bit, which was also quite easy to control. Using his telekinesis abilities could be a bit awkward, but I imagine it'll just take some getting used to. Though having large cars and boulders following him around did seem a bit weird and clunky. Not bad, but it needs some polish.
I know I'm being a bit harsh on the control issue, but it seems to be becoming a problem for a series. The games may still be good, but they should be great. There's a lot of promise in this one, and I'm very excited about the direction of the storyline, but I don't want to have to suffer through shoddy controls in order to enjoy it. Just give me what we had back in SA2, and I'll be ever so grateful.
Game: Sonic Wild Fire
Platform: Wii
Finally, Sonic Wild Fire. Whatever you heard about the line to get into the Wii booth was probably true. I made it in there twice, but both times were for very brief periods (well, brief considering that the lines to play the games once you were actually inside the booth were another 20-45 minute wait...). Though the first time I was in there, I sort of cheated and got in with a classmate sporting a intricate Zelda tatoo on each arm who had sweet talked someone into getting into the Zelda booth last year and was able to do the same this year. But this was at the end of the day, so my time was very limited (I would have my hours of line fun the following morning). But one of the games I got to see this first day was Sonic.
I'll start by saying that the graphics on the Wii are just what everyone says they are, just a little better than something you'd see on the GameCube/Xbox and no where near as detailed as the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. With that said, Sonic Wild Fire still looks pretty sharp. The demo starts out with a sort of storybook-like intro and then plops you into the ation. The control is sort of weird. Sonic just starts running, and it's up to the player to guide him on the correct path. You play by holding the Wii controller sideways and tilting it left or right. You only use one button, and that's to stop/jump. Sonic will keep running forward if you do nothing, but you need to tilt the controller to avoid obstacles and choose different paths. The button to stop and jump are the same, which I thought was kind of odd. You hold the button to stop, and then when you let go, you jump. And there's some super jump thingy that I think you do by tilting the controller toward and away from you really fast, but that part is kinda fuzzy. Like most Wii games, it was fun, but it's going to take a bit of getting used to before I can really determine if it's going to be long-term entertaining.
Compared to the 360/PS3 game, Wild Fire is pretty linear because Sonic is constantly moving, and you don't really get a chance to explore. But in a way that makes it more like the 2D games, so I don't know if it's really a bad thing. It's just different. And it looks as though there are branching paths in some areas, so it's not completely linear. Also in the demo, there's an area where you have to stop running and you end up creeping along a wall, trying to avoid spikes. It was pretty cool, overall, but I need to see more.
Back at the Sega booth, there were a couple of other Sonic-y things to see. Here are a couple more pictures:
Sonic merchandise. Different stuff than what there was last year. This looked like mostly stuff available in the US, whereas last year I think there was more Japanese stuff.
Sonic representing the cell phone games. I didn't get to see if there were any Sonic games in particular. But I did get to listen to Sonic ringtones from Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic Heroes over in the Namco booth (still trying to decide which one to buy).
And since I'm sure this post has gone on long enough, until next time... :)