Well, the time has finally come. After years of sitting in the den, stewing in the sauce of regretful-purchase marinara, Sonic the Hedgehog, known better as Sonic '06, has finally entered the PS3 for play. For the longest time, that game remained the only game purchase I ever legitimately regretted. After some time, my view has slightly changed. Maybe all those YouTube review that try to find the positives or are slightly deluded helped that out, a bit.
Anyway, I recently finished watching the Game Grumps play-through of the game and was inspired to do likewise. Play the game, I mean. Not record a hit LP and achieve millions of subscribers. (Although, that would be pretty rad.) Naturally, my play session began with the Blue Blur himself.
Uggh. Sonic controls weird. But I'm sure you've heard that in 99+ reviews and videos already. OK. How about this: you can't revisit levels on the world map. I know, Sonic's campaign makes you play the first level almost twice (Once as Sonic, with a little section as Tails, and again, partly through, as Tails.) but in Sonic Adventure, you could return to most levels from the adventure field to get a second and third objective. I know there's a speed trial option or something, but it's still a little annoying.
Or, at least, it would be if I wanted to play the levels again. Which I don't. It's hard for me to think of things that other reviews hadn't covered. I could point places where the game tries to be Sonic Adventure but fails. (Oh, side note. I'm probably blinded by nostalgia for Sonic Adventure. However, it is a B-/C+ effort in 3D platforming, where Sonic '06 is more of an D-)
For example, Sonic's first level features a segment in which he runs away from a whale, much like Adventure's first level. The last level, Robotnik's base, has some hallways that (it might be a bit of a stretch) remind me of some segments in Robotnik's Adventure base. Much like Adventure, '06 also forces you to play other characters, consisting of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Silver. No Amy yet, but that's later. Sonic's final boss taunts you and goads you into attacking it much in the same way that Sonic's final boss in Adventure did. (Some of the lines are verbatim the same, even!)
I beat Sonic's campaign/story/thing having gotten 9 Game Overs total. Not too bad, I think. The biggest drain was probably the mach speed sections. I just couldn't steer Sonic!
I suppose I can't close up and finish my "review" since I haven't played either Silver or Shadow yet. I'm not looking forward to the Silver fights, either side. That bit of the game harkens back to Sonic Shuffle - unfair CPUs. Or maybe Adventure 2's VS fights that give the other character powers that you never get to use yourself? Well, let's not get too afield here.
Sonic '06 - One third done. Let's see what the next part brings...
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Friday, December 5, 2014
Gaming Life - New Game (System) Blues
Why do I retrogame? A few months ago, I'd have a giant list of reasons, from aesthetics to nostalgia to music appreciation. Now, it's because I just plain can't afford games. I was willing to drop 50 dollars for a solid title. I got Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness at (or around) that price and did not regret it.
But apparently I've been out of the new-game-buying loop for too long. I logged on to my store account with Sony to see what kind of games I could direct my mother to get me. And when I saw the titles, the prices were there too: $59.99.
This might be a first for me. My first "that seems a little steep for a game" moment. This, unfortunately, will inevitably lead to the "when I bought new video games" moment. Indulge me for a moment, though.
I started buying my own games in earnest, I suppose, when I used my checks from Abrakadoodle to get mad loot during discount sales at Blockbuster. We had a particular Blockbuster nearby that had a pretty decent video game selection. (I've written about this store before, I believe.) I even got an N64 there as the systems were being phased out for the Gamecube. That N64 was not more than 50 dollars. (I can't remember how much exactly, but I was used to jockey lot and thrift store console prices, if that tells you anything.)
I got an entire console for less than a single modern game. Anyway, my "when I bought new video games" moment (if it even was that) is over. Back to today:
I wouldn't be so annoyed if it weren't for the recent rash of crappy games pushed out by AAA companies. Sonic Boom, supposed to be a big, hopeful event for the blue blur, turned out to be a buggy mess. Case in point: the character Knuckles has a move than can be exploited to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Assassin's Creed: Unity saw major glitches and errors.
In the Playstation Store, Assassin's Creed: Unity, the game that has been panned for being buggy and full of glitches, is still $60.00! The real kicker is that the listing is for a download version of the game. Maybe I'm being too harsh, or don't understand the costs behind releasing digital versions of games, but it seems a little ridiculous to have a rushed game, download only, and not discount the price somehow.
Maybe I want too much out of a game for a 'mere' $50. After all, I want story! Maybe some action! And great music, too.
In short, I'll be keeping to emulators and my old consoles for now. To be honest, there's a giant backlog of games I still haven't played. Most recently, I've felt some pull in the Saturn and Dreamcast direction. And I still have to complete the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword! So while my friends buy and enjoy next gen games, I'll be discovering classics on the Dreamcast or the SNES.
But apparently I've been out of the new-game-buying loop for too long. I logged on to my store account with Sony to see what kind of games I could direct my mother to get me. And when I saw the titles, the prices were there too: $59.99.
This might be a first for me. My first "that seems a little steep for a game" moment. This, unfortunately, will inevitably lead to the "when I bought new video games" moment. Indulge me for a moment, though.
I started buying my own games in earnest, I suppose, when I used my checks from Abrakadoodle to get mad loot during discount sales at Blockbuster. We had a particular Blockbuster nearby that had a pretty decent video game selection. (I've written about this store before, I believe.) I even got an N64 there as the systems were being phased out for the Gamecube. That N64 was not more than 50 dollars. (I can't remember how much exactly, but I was used to jockey lot and thrift store console prices, if that tells you anything.)
I got an entire console for less than a single modern game. Anyway, my "when I bought new video games" moment (if it even was that) is over. Back to today:
I wouldn't be so annoyed if it weren't for the recent rash of crappy games pushed out by AAA companies. Sonic Boom, supposed to be a big, hopeful event for the blue blur, turned out to be a buggy mess. Case in point: the character Knuckles has a move than can be exploited to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Assassin's Creed: Unity saw major glitches and errors.
In the Playstation Store, Assassin's Creed: Unity, the game that has been panned for being buggy and full of glitches, is still $60.00! The real kicker is that the listing is for a download version of the game. Maybe I'm being too harsh, or don't understand the costs behind releasing digital versions of games, but it seems a little ridiculous to have a rushed game, download only, and not discount the price somehow.
Maybe I want too much out of a game for a 'mere' $50. After all, I want story! Maybe some action! And great music, too.
In short, I'll be keeping to emulators and my old consoles for now. To be honest, there's a giant backlog of games I still haven't played. Most recently, I've felt some pull in the Saturn and Dreamcast direction. And I still have to complete the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword! So while my friends buy and enjoy next gen games, I'll be discovering classics on the Dreamcast or the SNES.
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