09-24-2008, 04:21 AM
SUPA JOURNALISM NOTE: Because i'm bored and/or crazy, I've decided to merge all my Games Journalism threads to one handy-dandy topic. I'll work on making sure all the revies are linked in this first post, and trimming all the shitty spam posts. Enjoy~
So I uh, write for my uni's newspaper. And review videogames.
The first 3 issues were under an Editor so I got no say in layout, but now I'm the games Editor! Because it's good to archive the work you do, I saved .jpg exports of the pages I've done. I'm slowly getting better!
Issue 204: Torchlight Review and Interview with Indie Developer Tyvon
(It's my first ever professional publication, so this one's special to me.
)
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6654/firstlayout.jpg
Issue 205: Ace Attourney Investigations Review, Co-Op games Feature, and Horror-Games article by some other guy.
(This format and colourscheme I like the most so far. It was hard getting everything to fit...)
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/3415/issue205.jpg
Issue 206: Pokémon HGSS Review, Audiosurf Vs. Beat Hazard Feature
(Just finished this one todaty, so it's still needs proofing. This shouldn't be out yet! SHHHHHHHHH)
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/770/issue206.jpg
Issue 207: 4 Features more games need, and EU Summer release preview (2010)
(I was NOT in good shape when I made this. I'm a bit disappointed.)
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4764/issue207.jpg
Issue 208: E3 Coverage Article and Paper Mario retro feature.
(There was meant to be a guest writer, but the sonofabitch bailed on me. Oh well.)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/186/issue208.jpg
So what do you guys think? Any suggestions for further features?
In-Post Reviews:
Sonic Chronicles: See Below.
Time Hollow: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...1#pid39791
Indie Games & Cave Story: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...7#pid70337
My World, My Way: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...5#pid81775
5 Street: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...#pid137353
Retro RPGs & The Dark Spire: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...#pid137353
![[Image: 21eb5w8.jpg]](http://i33.tinypic.com/21eb5w8.jpg)
So the ROM was dumped yesterday, and I got the opportunity to play a little of it.
It didn't make me happy. See, as this game's been under Bioware's development instead of Sonic Team's, it seems to be suffering from a major case of schizophrenia.
For starters, the game can't decide on a single graphical style. Within the first 10 minutes, you're subjected to no less than 3: the overly dark and dramatic art you see on the boxart; a strange Sonic X style art that looks both drawn (and animated) in Adobe Flash; and the freakishly scary low-polygon models that you control in game. Everyone has HUGE eyes, like they're all high on weed.
![[Image: 2wq4jya.png]](http://i33.tinypic.com/2wq4jya.png)
Won't dust get into his eyes running at that speed?
Bioware doesn't seem to be too sure about what audience to pitch the game too, either. They try to appeal to the hardcore Sonic fans by having a huge-encyclopaedia that makes even spinoff games like Sonic Battle in game canon (which is actually rather impressive); and they've made the overall script and dialogue balanced and well written. You often get multiple choices of dialogue when talking as Sonic; some of which lead to some entertaining lines. But this is spoiled when they decide to bring the characters in new, edgy directions. Amy now has a boyfriend. It's not Sonic, either. I can hear the Sonic x Amy shippers raging now.
![[Image: i5ytk0.png]](http://i38.tinypic.com/i5ytk0.png)
Sonic Body Language 101:"No Amy, I don't want you touching me like that."
They try to appeal to the hardcore RPG set by having an extensive battle calculation system to the point where special moves are based on percentage variations of stats (I'm almost expecting Sonic's spindash to do 1d6 damage here...), but this is circumvented by clumsy and uninspiring battle mechanics. Chao (the cute little virtual pets that made Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 way more addictive than they should have been) are no longer interactive - they give your party members (passive) special effects instead. In a gaming market where monster-raising games are extremely popular (can you say Pokémon?), this was a wasted opportunity.
![[Image: abt5rp.png]](http://i34.tinypic.com/abt5rp.png)
Sonic! He's the fastest (laxative) alive!
However, what really marrs the battle system are the 'chase scenes'. In some battles, the foe will try and run away. You give chase in a track and field-like minigame, where you tap on your party members to hop obstacles. This completely halts the battle, and you have to catch up to your foe to continue. What's more, the scene can’t be skipped, which artificially lengthens the scrap by a whole lot; and there's no real reward for sitting through it. Catching up to the foe in 5 seconds bears no difference to taking 5 minutes, aside form the increased sense of boredom in the latter. For goodness sake, this is Sonic! The fastest thing alive! No way it should ever be this slow to fight enemies.
![[Image: 23uu26t.png]](http://i33.tinypic.com/23uu26t.png)
After the first game, Mario refused to show up in any more olympic events with Sonic.
I got my hopes up when the game places me in the middle of Green Hill Zone at the start of the game. I was eagerly anticipating a cool remix of one of the most well known Sonic themes ever. It never came. In fact, they don't play any classic Sonic music of any kind. Instead we get the tinniest, limpest, MIDI tunes imaginable. They're actually awful. Not just bad, awful. Other Sonic games have had questionable or cheesy music, but they've all met up to good production standards. They’ve had the same composers doing Sonic music for years, and they’re nowhere to be seen here. Even the classic jumping and spring sound effects aren’t the real thing, just sloppy approximations.
There are quite a few things about the game that give the feeling of 'unpolished', actually. The music is one, but the angular character models, how everything reacts ever-so-slightly juddery to the stylus input, and how the game ignores pretty much all face button input are also valid gripes. Even the small things - like how there's a half-second pause between pressing the menu button, and when it opens; or how saving the game will show you a splash screen with the chapter title on it for a good 3 seconds - snowballs into a constant torrent of "We didn't have time to playtest this!" syndrome.
I would have been able to put up with the game a whole lot more if it actually FELT like a Sonic game, but it’s Sonic in name only. A total disappointment; and although there are often complaints with the games Sonic Team have released as of late, I’ve never wanted their work more. Roll on Sonic Unleashed.
So I uh, write for my uni's newspaper. And review videogames.
The first 3 issues were under an Editor so I got no say in layout, but now I'm the games Editor! Because it's good to archive the work you do, I saved .jpg exports of the pages I've done. I'm slowly getting better!
Issue 204: Torchlight Review and Interview with Indie Developer Tyvon
(It's my first ever professional publication, so this one's special to me.
)http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6654/firstlayout.jpg
Issue 205: Ace Attourney Investigations Review, Co-Op games Feature, and Horror-Games article by some other guy.
(This format and colourscheme I like the most so far. It was hard getting everything to fit...)
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/3415/issue205.jpg
Issue 206: Pokémon HGSS Review, Audiosurf Vs. Beat Hazard Feature
(Just finished this one todaty, so it's still needs proofing. This shouldn't be out yet! SHHHHHHHHH)
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/770/issue206.jpg
Issue 207: 4 Features more games need, and EU Summer release preview (2010)
(I was NOT in good shape when I made this. I'm a bit disappointed.)
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4764/issue207.jpg
Issue 208: E3 Coverage Article and Paper Mario retro feature.
(There was meant to be a guest writer, but the sonofabitch bailed on me. Oh well.)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/186/issue208.jpg
So what do you guys think? Any suggestions for further features?
In-Post Reviews:
Sonic Chronicles: See Below.
Time Hollow: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...1#pid39791
Indie Games & Cave Story: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...7#pid70337
My World, My Way: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...5#pid81775
5 Street: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...#pid137353
Retro RPGs & The Dark Spire: http://www.spriters-resource.com/communi...#pid137353
It didn't make me happy. See, as this game's been under Bioware's development instead of Sonic Team's, it seems to be suffering from a major case of schizophrenia.
For starters, the game can't decide on a single graphical style. Within the first 10 minutes, you're subjected to no less than 3: the overly dark and dramatic art you see on the boxart; a strange Sonic X style art that looks both drawn (and animated) in Adobe Flash; and the freakishly scary low-polygon models that you control in game. Everyone has HUGE eyes, like they're all high on weed.
Won't dust get into his eyes running at that speed?
Bioware doesn't seem to be too sure about what audience to pitch the game too, either. They try to appeal to the hardcore Sonic fans by having a huge-encyclopaedia that makes even spinoff games like Sonic Battle in game canon (which is actually rather impressive); and they've made the overall script and dialogue balanced and well written. You often get multiple choices of dialogue when talking as Sonic; some of which lead to some entertaining lines. But this is spoiled when they decide to bring the characters in new, edgy directions. Amy now has a boyfriend. It's not Sonic, either. I can hear the Sonic x Amy shippers raging now.
Sonic Body Language 101:"No Amy, I don't want you touching me like that."
They try to appeal to the hardcore RPG set by having an extensive battle calculation system to the point where special moves are based on percentage variations of stats (I'm almost expecting Sonic's spindash to do 1d6 damage here...), but this is circumvented by clumsy and uninspiring battle mechanics. Chao (the cute little virtual pets that made Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 way more addictive than they should have been) are no longer interactive - they give your party members (passive) special effects instead. In a gaming market where monster-raising games are extremely popular (can you say Pokémon?), this was a wasted opportunity.
Sonic! He's the fastest (laxative) alive!
However, what really marrs the battle system are the 'chase scenes'. In some battles, the foe will try and run away. You give chase in a track and field-like minigame, where you tap on your party members to hop obstacles. This completely halts the battle, and you have to catch up to your foe to continue. What's more, the scene can’t be skipped, which artificially lengthens the scrap by a whole lot; and there's no real reward for sitting through it. Catching up to the foe in 5 seconds bears no difference to taking 5 minutes, aside form the increased sense of boredom in the latter. For goodness sake, this is Sonic! The fastest thing alive! No way it should ever be this slow to fight enemies.
After the first game, Mario refused to show up in any more olympic events with Sonic.
I got my hopes up when the game places me in the middle of Green Hill Zone at the start of the game. I was eagerly anticipating a cool remix of one of the most well known Sonic themes ever. It never came. In fact, they don't play any classic Sonic music of any kind. Instead we get the tinniest, limpest, MIDI tunes imaginable. They're actually awful. Not just bad, awful. Other Sonic games have had questionable or cheesy music, but they've all met up to good production standards. They’ve had the same composers doing Sonic music for years, and they’re nowhere to be seen here. Even the classic jumping and spring sound effects aren’t the real thing, just sloppy approximations.
There are quite a few things about the game that give the feeling of 'unpolished', actually. The music is one, but the angular character models, how everything reacts ever-so-slightly juddery to the stylus input, and how the game ignores pretty much all face button input are also valid gripes. Even the small things - like how there's a half-second pause between pressing the menu button, and when it opens; or how saving the game will show you a splash screen with the chapter title on it for a good 3 seconds - snowballs into a constant torrent of "We didn't have time to playtest this!" syndrome.
I would have been able to put up with the game a whole lot more if it actually FELT like a Sonic game, but it’s Sonic in name only. A total disappointment; and although there are often complaints with the games Sonic Team have released as of late, I’ve never wanted their work more. Roll on Sonic Unleashed.
![[Image: SonicChroniclesNinjaYeah.png]](http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f126/Nintendo_6444/Pokemon%20sprites/SonicChroniclesNinjaYeah.png)
![[Image: 15356.png]](http://button.desura.com/play/outline/games/15356.png)
![[Image: banner.png]](http://navigator.digitalhaven-ent.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/banner.png)
![[Image: IGBanner.png]](http://indiegamesroulette.com/images/IGBanner.png)
![[Image: prinsig.png]](http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/116/prinsig.png)
