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• 2Feb 08

  Rant: Majority of Sonic fans are idiots?

  Yes, that's it. You read right! After spanning across hundreds of sites, and talking to others, and living through the 'crisis' period of the Sonic series, I've come to the conclusion that yes, lots of Sonic fans, believe it or not are idiots! But are the fans just to blame for Sonic's current situation? Or is it also the Sonic Team, and the reviwers? Read on...

  Let us begin our journey with the the introduction of Sonic Adventure.

  Sonic Adventure was released on December 23rd 1998, in Japan, and then around 6 months on everywhere else. It recieved incredibly high scores from websites such as IGN, and Gamespot, magazines and television programmes. However, it was one of the most flawed games of its time, and although enjoyable, is still a very flawed game. For starters, the camera was incredibly bad, which often rendered the game near impossible to play in some areas. There were hugh clipping problems which often killed the player, and there were too many characters to choose from. E102 was a great change from the same gameplay formula, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles gameplays were similar to their Megadrive counterparts, the only real differences being the timelimit on Tails, and the Emerald searches on Knuckles. Amy's gameplay was similar to Sonics in many respects, which wasn't really needed, and Big the cats missions... well... sucked! They weren't fun as a minigames, they weren't fun as actual levels, and they weren't fun if you were into fishing games. They were just crap, too long, and too hard (Giggity).

  That said, EVERYONE, including Sonic fans lapped it up, and whilst game reviewers have slightly changed their opnions on the now old game, most Sonic fans haven't. Their Bias toward the game spawned Sonic Adventure DX later on, which wasn't much more improved.

  The success of the original Adventure meant that Sonic Team had to churn out a sequel in 2001- Sonic Adventure 2. This game was an improvement over the first in almost every way. No more Adventure field stuff- it was more like a classic game, albeit with cutscenes. The music and dialogue was also greatly improved, as were the graphics, clipping issues (there were basically none) and the camera was also awesome! (although very occasionally it spazzed out for a few seconds). Knuckles and Rouge levels now had a better hunting system, The tails and Eggman levels were similar to Gammas Adventure stages, although 100% better. Sonic and Shadow's stages were less linear, and had less bottomless pits, and introduced new concepts, such as 'Rail grinding'. This game for some reason wasn't as well recieved by game reviewers, dispite Bigs levels being removed. The same was said for Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, which recieved an even lower score, dispite being released only a year later, which bonus features and improvements that you can shake a stick at. Game reveiwers becoming biased a litle bit?

  However, the majority of Sonic fans lapped this game up (and why not? It was a genuinely awesome game). The success of the new characters Shadow and Rouge, and the impact of the ending meant that Sonic Team HAD to revive Shadow (as was always planned). Sonic Heroes arrived. An Old-School 3D-platformer. The graphics were improved, the gameplay was improved, the game now focused on Sonic and Shadows 'gameplay elements' from the Adventure series rather than any other characters. The camera was evolved yet again, and was greatly improved from Sonic Adventure 2 Battles. All of the fan favorites were back without changing the gameplay. Even Big was likable. There were tonnes of unlockables, and the emphasis on the storyline was minimal (The majority of fans wanted a retro storyline, which more emphasis on gameplay rather than story).

  But were the fans happy? No, they weren't. As soon as Heroes came out, they complained about the lack of variety (something they didn't like in the Adventure series). A Lack of a proper storyline (even though there was one, even more so than the Megadrive/Genesis's) and complained the levels were too repetitive (as there were 4 teams). I never saw a problem, but the fans were too hypocritical, and too indescisive. After all their effort to evolve the series, it seemed that in the end the fans threw it in their faces. Heroes however, became a hit with the reviwers overall, and was still in the PS2 charts (the worst version) over a year after the games release. It became a hit on all consoles, with Platinum, Players Choice and Classic status.

  Shadow's popularity also heightened again, and the storyline from Heroes prompted "Shadow The Hegdehog". The game was rushed like hell, and recieved bad scores. The Camera seemed more dated than Sonic Adventure's, the graphics seemed so too, as did the controls. There were more glitches than Sonic Adventure too, and the voice actors had been swapped, also making them sound worse than Sonic Adventures (Which at the time were bad due to the VA's still finding their characters personalities). There were less gameplay styles, and Guns were introduced (which were actually a nice little extra).

  The game split the fans into two: The haters and the lovers. Many of the haters saw this as Segas downfall, and avoided the series altogether, the lovers continued to praise it, and lap up everything it had to offer. The game wasn't great, but the amount of "lovers" kept the game high in the sales charts. Sonic team took this as a "We're doing less to get more" approach and created Riders, which was okay, but was too short, too hard, and just not deep enough (giggity). The graphics were also pretty average too, and only the CG movies looked nice. The voice actors again were rubbish, and the gameplay had many flaws (such as signs popping up everywhere on corners, which often stopped your sight and drove you off the edge). There were also many translation errors (as with Shadow The Hedgehog).

  The fans loved this again.

  Then Sonic The Hedgehog came out. What the HELL happened? The graphics were incredible (I thought), and the storyline was okay. But the GAMEPLAY was BAD. No, not even bad, DISGUSTING! The controls were equally as disgusting. The voices were getting slightly better, and some of the levels were inspiring, however, many people didn't even reach the second level, let alone the last. What the hell were Sega thinking? They ruined Sonic's 15th Birthday, and they dented his name.

  Although it was reviewed negatively overall, fans still lapped the game up in many areas of the world (Mainly America), with some fans giving it 10/10. The bad sales from the game overall though led Sega to revise their ideas, and with the WIP "Wildfire" coming out for the Wii, Sega had to put all their efforts into making this one game enjoyable- and it was.

  The final product 'Sonic and the Secret Rings' became a huge hit. It was fun, the graphics were great, the controls were inspired, the storyline was unique, and the voices were great! Sonic and the Secret Rings single handedly pushed Sonic back to the top as one of the greatest game Characters of all time. The games afterwards, Sonic Rivals 2 and Sonic Rush Adventure were also reveiwed favourably, keeping Sonic in technological bliss- up from falling back into the Labrinth of filth he was once in.

  So, Where Did It Go Wrong?

  The Dreamcast era. It was an exciting time. Sonic Adventure was one of the first NEXT GEN games. More importantly, it was the first real Sonic The Hedgehog game in yonks! For its time, the game was incredible! Everyone was able to overlook the more unliked elements (Bigs Fishing, the difficulty of some missions, clipping and camera issues) because the Sonic, Tails and Knuckles levels are great! Not only that, but THEY SPOKE! Sonic was cool again. He was fast. He was in pretty sweet 3D and he felt old school. Sonic Adventure DX is not the reason why the GAMES have taken the direction they have, but the reason why the FANS have taken the direction they have. It introduced more realism, a bigger storyline. Humans, GRAFIXS! and LONE characters.

  Fans complain about having to be other characters to beat the game in later games (Sonic Adventure , etc.), but the problem was already there. So you could just play through Sonics storyline, but that wouldn't beat the game. It would beat Sonic's story. In order to get to the Super Sonic level, you'd have to beat all the individual characters stories anyway, which consumed much more time, and angered the player (BIG THE CAT!). Sonic fans are majorly involved in Sonics past downfall. For starters, half of them are too blind to see what's in front of them. Cosmetics seem to matter the most. Sure Sonic The Hedgehg 2006 had awesoem graphics, but the gameplay execution sucked! Sure Sonic Heroes had a button to switch characters, but all it really did theoretically is switch attacks and moves. In the Adventure games, buttons were used to switch moves anyway, the only difference being that another character didn't take Sonics place. Sure Shadow The Hedgehog poorly gave us Shadows past, but it was barely a pre-release candidate in some areas.

  I'll tell you what fans want. Fans don't want old school graphics (Shorter Sonic, more Manga styled)- They say they do, but if it happened, the game would just look dated. They say they want certain characters in the game- rubbish. As long as Sonic holds the main spotlight from now on, i'll be fine. Blaze is an awesome character too. Sure, we'll need Tails, Knuckles and Shadow in the future, but they're taking a break, they'll appear in the Riders games, and party games, but we'll see them in the future in some 2D action (well, possibly NOT Shadow, which is what he needs). In the same way we don't want TOO many characters, we don't want TOO little. Sonic, and one or two others in a game is fine.

  More coming on this rant SOON!

  • Posted Feb 2, 2008 7:21 am GMT
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• 7Aug 07

  My Two 'cents', if you will, on Video Game Violence and the argument.

  http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6176274.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0

  
  What a big bunch of balls! I've never read soemthing so stupid, (if you miss out the newstory of Elton John wanting to shut down the internet). Where's the parents in all of this!? A Game is much like a Film on DVD. They have ratings, they should not be sold to customers under the age rating!

  I disagree with the statement "games make Young Children violent". Bollocks they do! I've been playing killing and fighting games my whole life, I've never once gotten into a huge fight or smashed someone's head in! I'm also pretty normal. It's down to the parents to make sure they look out for what their children are playing, and it's up to the goddamn children tohave the common sense to realise a few polygons from a real-life situation. You often see in situations like these the parents will say; "It's terrible, we had no idea...". Well of course you didn't, you didn't even bother with your child, did you? I'm not going to offend American society here (hopefully), but why is it always in America where the violence takes place!? The kid a few years back who shot cars and killed people 'after' playing grand Theft Auto is a perfect example here. I think it's time Children there were taught properly the rules, and given proper censoring. or perhaps Guns should be made less avaliable in America in real life. Although having said that it's not just America, but I haven't yet heard a story like this over in Britian. Maybe I need my memory jogging.

  

  "Lookit that Foxy chick!? Don't you wish you were there? Unfortunately many young gamers do,

  and don't have the sense to realise right from wrong. Should we impose harsher laws on parents!?"

  Anyway, these types of stories majorly **** me off. I might go kick a puppy! opps.... well I'll blame Nintendogs for that one shall I?

  TQ_NintyNoE

  • Posted Aug 7, 2007 2:16 am GMT
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• 8Jul 07

  Edge Presents: The top 100 Video Games

  Edge has presented us with their 100 Top games. As you can see below, the list if chock-full of great games. However, they've missed out a 'few' games I believe should be in there. WHERE THE HELL is Sonic!? Where the HELL is The Wind Waker? What the bloody hell has happened to Super Mario Bros 3? Or Even Super Mario Bros!? Where's Everything or Nothing? It was tonnes better than Goldeneye. Where is Command and Conquer? Spyro? Where's DOOM!? I mean DOOM, not DOOM 2 or 3!.

  D'ya know, this list sucks BIG TIME! Infact only the Top 10 got it even half right! I can deal with the fact SA2B isn't there, but the Original Sonic the Hedgehog!? That was a groundbreaking game, one of the most popular games of the 90's. And last of all...where the Bleedin' Heck is Pokemon!? The games which sparked off a huge Phenomenom, the games which are loved around the world, and the games which are some of the most challenging and fun to play....

  Sim City 2000 is probably in the right place mind, it's a superb game, deserves to be at 25, or possibly moved up even further!

  100. Crackdown

  99. Psychonauts

  98. Sensible Soccer

  97. Tekken 3

  96. Wipeout

  95. God of War

  94. Gitaroo Man

  93. Paper Mario: Thousand-Year Door

  92. Resident Evil

  91. Super Smash Bros Melee

  90. Devil May Cry

  89. Tomb Raider

  88. Sega Rally Championship

  87. Mr Driller

  86. Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast

  85. Silent Hill 2

  84. Phantasy Star Online

  83. Nights Into Dreams

  82. Lemmings

  81. Robotron 2084

  80. Virtua Tennis 3

  79. The Secret of Monkey Island

  78. Doom 2: Hell on Earth

  77. Football Manager 2007

  76. Ikaruga

  75. Burnout 2: Point of Impact

  74. Thief: The Dark Project

  73. Puzzle Bobble

  72. Killer7

  71. Ninja Gaiden Black

  70. Ridge Racers 2

  69. Pilotwings 64

  68. GTR - FIA GT Racing Game 2

  67. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved

  66. F-Zero GX

  65. Darwinia

  64. System Shock 2

  63. Lumines

  62. Jet Set Radio Future

  61. Manhunt

  60. Pac-Man VS

  59. Star Fox 64

  58. Tempest 2000

  57. Soul Calibur

  56. Guitar Hero

  55. Counter-strike

  54. Chrono Trigger

  53. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

  52. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

  51. Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire

  50. Shenmue

  49. Animal Crossing

  48. Puyo Pop Fever

  47. Far Cry

  46. Quake III

  45. Company of Heroes

  44. Super Monkey Ball

  43. Bomberman

  42. Rome: Total War

  41. Gran Turismo 4

  40. Warioware, Inc: Minigame Mania

  39. Secret of Mana

  38. Virtua Fighter 5

  37. StarCraft

  36. Battlefield 2

  35. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

  34. R-Type Final

  33. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

  32. Project Gotham Racing 2

  31. Katamari Damacy

  30. Shadow of the Colossus

  29. Deus Ex

  28. Perfect Dark

  27. Rez

  26. Advance Wars

  25. SimCity 2000

  24. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

  23. Metroid Prime

  22. World of WarCraft

  21. Okami

  20. Civilisation IV

  19. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

  18. Final Fantasy VII

  17. Goldeneye 007

  16. Street Fighter Anniversary

  15. Pro Evolution Soccer 6

  14. Super Mario Kart

  13. Ico

  12. Grant Theft Auto: Vice City

  11. Yoshi's Island

  10. Super Metroid

  9. Tetris

  8. Final Fantasy XII

  7. Halo: Combat Evolved

  6. Zelda: A Link To The Past

  5. Super Mario World

  4. Half-life 2

  3. Super Mario 64

  2. Resident Evil 4

  1. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

  Well anyway, majorly Pee'd off! Your thoughts or Comments about this!?

  • Posted Jul 8, 2007 3:40 am GMT
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