http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177817
2.5D Sonic? Hellz Yeahs!
Episode 1? Ummm…
I know I shouldn’t hold my breath for this but if this sticks to 2D gameplay this could be awesome.
Anyways, discuss.
No, it can’t. Shut up. We all do this every single fucking time. There’s a reason it’s called the goddamn Sonic Cycle, we keep falling for it every single time when they release the first data only to have all our hopes smashed into the ground and sodomized once more information comes out until they release a festering turd of a game. We should know better already. If by some unholy convergence of stars this does happen to not blow, we can all rejoice on launch day, but until that happens, you are only hurting yourself.
Sonic has been failure after failure for over a decade. I’m taking this news with a huge grain of salt.
While I agree that almost every Sonic game made in the last 15 years has sucked horribly, the only exceptions to this rule have been the two 2D GBA games. If they stay the fuck away from useless sidekicks (better yet sidekicks in general) and stick to strictly 2D gameplay this might actually work.
Now whether Sega will fuck this up is another question, but until then I just want to believe (especially since it looks to be a PSN/XBA/WW title and thus not as prone to the whole “We’ve got to make this 3D epic” mentality that comes with working on the console proper).
I don’t know a bout the horrors of any Sonic game past Sonic 3 & Knuckles (except for that damned RPG), but if they’re as bad as I’ve heard, it’s gonna take a lot more to impress me than what they’ve shown thus far.
Here’s what we know:
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No sidekicks: This is stupid as fuck, and I think people overreact. I’ve heard that sidekicks from other Sonic games are dumb and add nothing to fast gameplay. So what? Tails and Knuckles were just fine. This is overcompensation on Sega’s part, and it gives me the feeling that this game is going to be “retro for retro’s sake”. Sure, most people will cream their pants over that, but I think it’s not doing the gaming industry any favors to remake a game we made in 1994.
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Concept art of enemies and background stuff: Seriously, Sega released some concept art the other day of a Sunflower and a Palmtree. …What does that have to do with the game? Are people so desperate for a new Sonic game that doesn’t suck, that a picture of a fucking FLOWER is enough to excite them?
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Name of the game is Sonic 4: I called that from the time I heard they were going to do an “official announcement of Project Needlemouse’s title”; it’s the only thing that they could have called it. Still, I think people are buying too much into the hype - this game is going to be considered a success before people even play it, which annoys me.
I’m not saying this game will definitely be bad, but nothing I’ve heard really makes me think I should be excited yet. While it’s true that I’ve never played any of the bad Sonic games, I feel like this is sort of playing on peoples’ desperation. I’ll see what I think when I play the demo.
The 2 DS Sonic games were pretty decent too.
(I say 2 because to my mind, that Bioware Sonic RPG never existed. It sucked so hard it just sucked itself out of reality)
Part of the reason people are so excited about this is the simple fact that the Sonic series is at its best when it’s blasting through levels at lightning speed, chaining routes together to get the fastest time possible through a stage… which Sonic 4 seems to be all about. Sure, the sidekicks were fun in Sonic 3 & K and had their place, but in the end I always found myself playing as Sonic. Same with Sonic Adventure and SA2, and the enforced sidekick sections of Sonic 2006- not to mention the fact that only 1/3 of the time spent playing as Sonic involved the typical Sonic action, when you weren’t carrying the princess (!!) or forced into high-speed sections where you couldn’t attack enemies (!!!)- were one of many nails in that travesty’s coffin.
As always I’ll be apprehensive- to all those of you who cite ‘Sonic was good on the GBA/DS’, play Sonic Genesis for half an hour and then see if you agree with me- but I’ll still pick this up on launch.
As much as I want to be excited, I can’t really be. Not much can beat S3&K in my mind, when it comes to the Sonic series.
I’d argue they should’ve done a fully 2D game, but then again, it’s Sega.
Besides, the Sonic Cycle is in effect.
Oh God! I’m coming down! sigh 
Besides changing the name to Sonic 4, how is this going to be different from the DS games?
It will not be for the ds /obtuse
Er, on other news I think the first time I heard about it it was 360/ps3 only. Seems a Wii port had been added to the list.
I’m not getting too excited about it (I think the first two games were the apex of the series), so I’m waiting for the reviews.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177985
Updating to note that it’s the team that did Rush and Advanced instead of Sonic Team. And yes, I know we’re still on the loop here, but still, that’s the best damn news for this yet.
If it goes like their other games, it’ll be good, but not captivating.