[Multiplatform] SONIC UNLEASHED - FURFAG FANSERVICE

Can't we play all the stuff that lead up to Sonic battling Robotnik's robot army on his space battleship? That sounds like fun and lacking in crappy gimmicks. That opening was fantastic, but as far as Sonic Unleashed goes it just revealed that the werewolf stuff really does come out of nowhere.

FELIPE NO

I couldn't agree more, it seems like if nothing else the sonic 360 fanfiction game taught SEGA how to make epic cutscenes. Now with the gameplay slowly improving that just leaves their story writing skills to fix

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I'll second that.

BTW, Wii version is out. No glitches or bad controls, but nobody likes the werehog so I'm seeing average scores across the board. WiiS2 version also lack two fucking stages, so until the 360 version is out looks like I'll be missing any chance to watch the internetspaces to pirate the rather awesome soundtrack.

How ya doing, buddy?

I preordered the 360 version as well so I won't be getting my copy until Friday. That part about people not liking the werehog doesn't surprise me because it probably slows down the gameplay.

Anyone know why the PS3 version was delayed until December?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I've had the 360 version since Wednesday (and the picture I took of the game ended up getting spread around a few Sonic fan websites). I posted some impressions of the game on NeoGAF. I guess I'll share them here too.

Originally Posted by baka kitsune

Well, that was fun. I completed 3 daytime acts and 2 nighttime acts. I have mixed opinions on the 360 version so far.


What I like:
-This game is so pretty. Especially the daytime levels.

-Fantastic music. Of course this is known already.

-Decent cutscenes and voice acting. I actually like Chip's voice better in English since it isn't so high pitched. As others had said they play out kinda like a Saturday cartoon and are quite charming. The mouth movements are perfectly lip synced to the English.

- Daytime levels are a blast to play. The first two you could pretty much just speed through it without doing anything but you miss out on the medals that way.

- The game does a smooth transition between 3D and 2D play. It hasn't done any awkward switches that have caused me to die quite yet.

-World map is cool. You can move around quickly, change night and day before entering the hub, or jump straight into the acts you completed to find medals or get a better grade without having to go through the hub.

-Auto saving is here! You never save manually.

Mixed Feelings:
-Controls are both good and bad. I like how the homing button is separate from the jump button this time. Sonic controls pretty well in the daytime levels except for when it comes to platforming jumps. Sometimes he moves a little too fast when you're trying to jump and land him on different platforms. It takes a little getting used to. Sliding is hard and I still haven't gotten the hang of it yet. The homing seems a little broken at times. I died once or twice while swinging because instead of homing in on the spring in front of me it homed in on a swinging device below which caused me to fly into a pit to my doom.

- The camera is far from perfect and has its issues. Using the right analog stick you can freely move the camera around sonic in wide areas or in the hub world. In smaller rooms and hallways the camera is positioned in one spot and sort of follows Sonic behind him. You can use the right analog stick to look in different directions at these points but it's really jerky and kinda pointless. Sometimes doing platform jumps or swinging with weresonic can make the camera really jerky too. But I must say, this 3D sonic has the best camera system I've seen out of all the other past 3D Sonic games.

-Loading screens don't come up too frequently and they usually are either short or last up to 10 seconds. They really don't bug me at all. However, I'm installing the game now to see if they make them even shorter. Most of the load screens are kinda cool to look at. The great thing is you wait the 10 or so seconds for the level to load and that's it. You're playing the whole level without random 10 second interruptions like Sonic 06.

-Werehog levels are ok. At first I didn't like them but they aren't too bad. Lots of stuff you can break and things to find in the levels like medals, music CDs, and other neat collectibles. You can kill enemies and distribute EXP to improve the stats of Werehog and Hedgehog. The menu also has a list of all the movies you can use in werehog form. I have a ton of question marks in mine so there's plenty of new attacks to unlock as you play. Werehog areas also have plenty of platforming sections. You can hold down the left trigger to make him run. I just wish the levels were a bit shorter because when they drag on they get boring.

- Hub worlds are nice. You can look at the pretty graphics, talk to random people (they usually don't have anything special to say though), or buy food and collectibles from the various shops. Each continent has its own hubs to explore and I actually enjoy them. Reminds me of the good SA1 days. I feel sorry for the wii/ps2 owners who have the point and click stuff.

Things I hate:
-Game starts off slow. It's a bit linear. The game teases you with two daytime Sonic levels then it forces you to do a Werehog level, a mini-game, cutscenes, hub exploring, more werehog, and cutscenes before it finally gives you the freedom to redo acts and explore on your own. I was pissed because I got a C on the second daytime Sonic level and couldn't redo it for the longest time. I wanted to play my daytime level a few times only to be forced through 2 werehog levels.


I can't really compare to the Wii/PS2 versions since I haven't played them. I'm glad I purchased this game though. While it's still far from being the Sonic game we've been wanting it's a fairly decent game. The game is fun and I think anyone who liked the Sonic Adventure games will like this one. It definitely has a much higher level of polish than the last 3 console Sonic games. I haven't encountered any stupid glitches yet besides just a few camera ones from me controlling it.

The camera does a good job at giving you a good view of everything in both stage types. It can get glitchy though when you try to control it in some areas.

Sonic is a bit hard to control when it comes to platforming bits but you get adjusted to it. I was slightly annoyed at first until I got used to it. He's really easy to control in hub areas with townspeople since he walks slower.

Originally Posted by baka kitsune

Played a few more levels tonight and came across some more annoyances:

One of the Werehog levels featured a bit of platforming parts were you could fall to your doom. At this point the camera was locked in a bad position where you couldn't control it to see how to grab the enemies in order to cross the gap. So you'd have to guess how to line up with them before making the jump and hope you did it correctly or else you die and completely fuck up your score. I got an E on a 25 minute level because this part was at the very last checkpoint and dying resets your score.

Another bit on the platforming... it's hard to see his shadow so you can't tell if you're landing on a platform or about to fall to your doom. More guesswork is needed because of this.

The later daytime sonic levels require you do this stomp attack you get on these ground switches in order to open gates and proceed. Only problem is landing on them in order to stomp them down. I spent 15 seconds trying to get speedy sonic on this tiny button to stomp it down. Once again it doesn't help that there's no shadow to look at so you can't even tell if you're jumping on the button or not. They could have fixed this by letting you lock onto it like enemies and springs. =\

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

From the reviews I've been reading the general belief seems to be that generally the wii version is the better of the 2, but some of these reviews places are so biased now who can you trust these days?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Got the game today for the 360 looks freaking beautiful and the cutscenes are damn good. The story is okay so far and the gameplay isn't bad. The werehog levels are a bit long though, I feel they could've shortened them down a bit.

Most amazing jew boots

Funny that. Wii version has split apart the Werehog stages and by extension made them longer. And there are less day stages.

It looks like the 360 one is better, but the Wii one will sell more.

And of course, no sig for me.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I was surprised to read in an ad today that Unleashed for the Wii was compatible with the Wii Balance Board, probably to replace the Left and Right Bumpers in the 3D sections of the day stages.

Most amazing jew boots

Soundtrack of the year, perhaps second only to Brawl.

YouTube - Sonic Unleashed OST: Empire City Day Stage

Now if anyone knows where I can bypass his douchery and download this song (and the night version as well) I'll be grateful.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by SuperSonic

I was surprised to read in an ad today that Unleashed for the Wii was compatible with the Wii Balance Board, probably to replace the Left and Right Bumpers in the 3D sections of the day stages.

I heard that was a mistake.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Sin Ansem

Soundtrack of the year, perhaps second only to Brawl.

YouTube - Sonic Unleashed OST: Empire City Day Stage

In which bat-shit-insane parallel universe are you living? If that linked song is at all indicative of the soundtrack's overall quality then it must be terrible. I put up with about 40 seconds of that song, but that was 40 seconds too long.

Any chance a non-Sonic-loving fanboy has played this and has an opinion on it? As someone who loved the original Sonic games and enjoyed Sonic Adventure I'd love to see a return to form for the blue hedgehog, but I get the distinct feeling that any praise being lavished on this is just because it's better than the monstrosities of late that have been masquerading under the Sonic name, and that isn't good enough for me.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well, if you enjoyed Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 I'd say this one is at least worth a rental. This is the most polished 3D Sonic game I've ever played and the daytime levels are just so amazingly awesome. The game manages to look beautiful as you speed through an act at 300mph with little slowdown. The daytime levels focus on speed and fast reaction times. The first few levels you could mostly just hold the speedboost button and win, but the later ones do require actions on your part in order to win without dying so it isn't just a "Hold up on or right on the analog stick and hold the boost button".

The only thing that might turn people off is the werehog stages. Now, I actually like them myself since they play out like god of war (except with a lot more platforming bits) but these areas make up about 40% of the game and you have to do them in order to make progress. You can get a lot of experience to level up different areas of the werehog and learn new button combos so you have a much better variety of attacks to use. Later on in the game it's so fun just to quickly tear through a huge room of enemies because of how powerful you've become. :3

Having played all the past 3D Sonic I'd say this is the best entry since Sonic Adventure 2. And I though Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic 06 were mostly pieces of shit.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Yeah, I agree. Seems some Sonic fans have shit taste for music.

The Spogonia stages seem to sound a bit better and have a bit of the old Sonic flair.

YouTube - Sonic Unleashed OST: Spogonia Day Stage

YouTube - Sonic Unleashed OST: Spogonia Night Stage

Just a bit.

Anyway despite some not so steller tracks I really admire hearing some tracks that aren't some dudes singing about the level and rocking out to how Sonic has passion or some shit. Considering Sonic has borrowed a bunch of anime shit I'm surprised he hasn't gotten an amazing giant robot show burning passion song yet. Anyway, high five for some actual stage music.


From what I keep hearing about the game is that the night stages are a bit ho-hum and not fleshed out well enough (too repetitive MASH BUTAN TO WIN) and too frequent. The day stages are supposed to be really really good though but infrequent. So basically this would be Sonic's version of Star Fox Assault or something.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

As someone who liked some of Sonic 06's music, precious few of Sonic Adventure/2's music, most of the 16bit gen music, adores the shit out of the Sonic 3d Blast music, loves the Sonic Rush/Rush Adventure music, Enjoys the Sonic CD US/JP music...

I like the music in this game. A LOT. Where in hell are people getting those soundrips. GEIV

Most amazing jew boots

This game's pretty good. It's essentially a new SEGA CD game hanging out of someone's prolapsed arse. SEGA's done a fantastic job with the graphics; making the boring, real world settings seem slightly less boring than they should be. There's almost no gameplay at times during the Sonic levels and the werewolf stages are horrible jokes that drag on for far too long. They play just like all those games you avoided in the past because they were shit.

It has a chili dog reference in though, so whatever, all is forgiven!

How ya doing, buddy?

Really? Chili dog reference? Details!

FELIPE NO

Apparently you can collect/buy souvenirs in the game and one of them is a chili dog which is marked as "Sonic's favorite food."

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Ugh, once again I'm in the minority of Sonic opinions, even as far as the fans go. Sonic 06 had perhaps the best soundtrack that year, but the rest of the game blew chunks so nobody noticed. Likewise I think Tomoya Ohtani is one of the better Sonic composers but of course since it's not 1994 nobody will notice.

And I know you're probably nowhere near serious but in the 0.0001% chance you are, if you're only liking the game for the chili dog reference you seriously need to leave and ignore Sonic games forever.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Sin Ansem

Ugh, once again I'm in the minority of Sonic opinions, even as far as the fans go. Sonic 06 had perhaps the best soundtrack that year, but the rest of the game blew chunks so nobody noticed. Likewise I think Tomoya Ohtani is one of the better Sonic composers but of course since it's not 1994 nobody will notice.

Actually I think the problem is that Ohtani thinks it still IS 1994.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Sin Ansem

And I know you're probably nowhere near serious but in the 0.0001% chance you are, if you're only liking the game for the chili dog reference you seriously need to leave and ignore Sonic games forever.

Quote:

Infernal Monkey

Quote:

serious

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I'll just take that as a large fucking NO and quietly move on.

ADDITIONAL SPAM:

Yep, looks like my initial gesture was right.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Seems that Miles has got the 360/PS3 build pretty much covered, but I haven't seen anything said about the Wii version yet so I'll go ahead and give out a few quick thoughts on that one.

• You WILL be seeing a lot more of the "Werehog" levels than the more familiar speed oriented day stages. The split gives the day levels about 1-3 unique sections in each continent and the night levels about 3-5(6?) sections in each.
  
• The speed levels are definitely more fun and feel right, but the Werehog levels are not as bad as the rap everyone is giving it. Reading Mile's description of it will fill you in on this aspect.
  
• Glitches. It's a Sonic game, whaddya expect? Although, Sonic Team (along with Dimps) have made a relatively stable title this time around. Naturally, this means that it is still riddled with little hiccups here and there. Surprisingly, though, the Day/Speed stages rarely have a problem. Just an odd input problem or clipping of graphics - nothing gamebreaking. Oddly enough, the slower moving Werehog stages have far more glitches. The worst of which is collision detection of the Werehog when near edges. At times, for some stupid reason, when approaching an edge the Werehog will "stick" to the ground and not allow you to jump. I say "stick", because as you run off for not being able to jump, he'll awkwardly reorient himself to "stand" on the downward slope of the cliff until he inevitably falls. You could abuse this in your favor while jumping towards cliffs, though, because if you fall short, you can mash the jump button and try to "climb" up the sticky cliff. There are more glitches, but this is the most problematic since it creates problems during platforming sections.
  
• Stages have been cut out. They make this very apparent by sending you to Africa, having you watch a cutscene, and then after talking to the villagers you go straight to a boss fight. NO ACTION STAGES.

I'll finish up by saying that the overall presentation is pretty good. Sonic's running levels really give you a sense of speed, and the Werehog certainly seems plenty strong. The cutscenes are definitely an improvement taking a more lighthearted approach, and it seems like somebody actually sat down and thought about how to direct the movies this time around making them seem more natural and fun to watch.

I think the number one thing that makes a Sonic game feel wrong is when it takes itself too seriously. Thankfully this title avoids that, while still managing to include the requisite "end of the world" scenario, and the "friendship is the ultimate power" morality.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Sin Ansem

if you're only liking the game for the chili dog reference you seriously need to leave and ignore Sonic games forever.

Yeah Infernal, there's no messing around when it comes to Sonic. Sonic is serious business.

Unagi: great little summary there, but there's one phrase of yours that concerns me, and touches on a concern I have with this game in general: "the Werehog levels are not as bad as the rap everyone is giving it". OK so they're not as bad as some people are making out, but that doesn't mean they're good, perhaps tolerable. When did whole sections of a game being tolerable become OK? Don't get me wrong, I know most game have weaker bits, but I can't think of many great games that have sizeable chunks best described as 'not that bad'.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Quote:

Unagi: great little summary there, but there's one phrase of yours that concerns me, and touches on a concern I have with this game in general: "the Werehog levels are not as bad as the rap everyone is giving it". OK so they're not as bad as some people are making out, but that doesn't mean they're good, perhaps tolerable. When did whole sections of a game being tolerable become OK? Don't get me wrong, I know most game have weaker bits, but I can't think of many great games that have sizeable chunks best described as 'not that bad'.

The main issue I've seen that people have with the Werehog levels is simply that it's not Sonic and that the whole transformation idea is ridiculous. I'd have to agree with them for the most part; but Sega managed to take this stupid idea, and make it as NOT stupid as possible.

For one, they don't take it seriously like the trailers leading up to the game suggest. Sure, Sonic looks like Beast all Hulked up with Mr. Fantastic's stretchy arms - but the game treats the concept in a way that seems to acknowledge how goofy it all is. Sonic still acts like Sonic, there's no Mr Jekyll/Mr Hyde syndrome with Sonic destroying lives and property at night and him being all remorseful during the day. That'd suck (at least the way Sega would do it). You can see it in the way they introduce his stretchiness by having him catch an ice cream cone that his companion drops far off from him. Sonic looks somewhat surprised and simply says, "Whoa, that may come in handy!"

But I don't think you care about that, you wanted to know about the gameplay.

It's adequate. People have related it to God of War due to the somewhat similar combo system with far reaching weapons - they even have the glowing orbs you get from breaking jars or killing enemies! ...But it's not God of War. It's an arena style brawler with platforming/gimmick elements in between. You've seen it before, but Sonic Team manages to pull off a decent attempt for a first try at it.

In short: If you aren't too busy pulling your hair out over how it's not Sonic, you should be able to complete these sections with potential for at least some mild enjoyment.

Quote:

Don't get me wrong, I know most game have weaker bits, but I can't think of many great games that have sizeable chunks best described as 'not that bad'.

Thing is, this is not a great game. Heck, MOST of the game is the Werehog with the speed levels being the minor part. I'd go so far as to say (in gaming time) a 3:1 split. It's okay, but I definitely would not purchase a game that was entirely Werehog. In my opinion, this game isn't worth the money unless you like Sonic and want to add some decent 3D Speed levels to your collection as well as experience the oddity that is the Werehog. It's the game you'll point at on your shelf many years in the future when Sonic has good games and say, "Remember when Sega tried making Sonic a furry, uh, furrier beast?"

FELIPE NO