Sonic Unleashed Discussion thread (new article)

Seeing as how Sonic Unleashed news continues to trickle out I thought we could start a discussion thread for the game to avoid having too many Unleashed topics cluttering up the board, but here's another bit of news from Sega.

http://gonintendo.com/?p=41142

They go on about how this will "make fans love Sonic again" and how this will "reboot the series" and yet they said all this prior to the release of Sonic Next Gen. I can't help but fear Sega is doing it all over again.

I was wondering when someone would create a general Unleashed topic. *stickies it*

I don't blame Sega for getting the fans excited, but when that excitement turns sour on launch day, that's when we shake our fists, show the finger, and yell all means of profanity. This optimism from Sega could be meant for publicity, or they could actually be telling the truth... for a change.

As of right now, Sega's words mean almost nothing to me. Like kbaily said, all of this same excitement and energy came from Sega right before Sonic Next Gen and of course we know what happened there. Once the game is released and I am able to test it myself, then we'll see if what Sega says is true, or if this is Sonic Next Gen 2.

I'll wait for reports from the upcoming trade shows and then we'll see more actual gameplay and see how this whole werewolf thing works out. And if the announcement comes up that Sega might have to delay the title, I will be pleased. As of right now there's still a lot we don't know and we're not as foolish as we were back when Sonic Next Gen was first shown.

I know something... Tails and Knuckles will be playable. Good thing? Who knows.Hyper_Hedgehog

Now see, what I heard was that Tails, Knuckles, Shadow and Amy were only part of the story and not playable, so now I'm confused.

Now see, what I heard was that Tails, Knuckles, Shadow and Amy were only part of the story and not playable, so now I'm confused.

kbaily

That makes sense. See: Secret Rings.

That's similar to what they said about Secret Rings. I think Secret Rings didn't go as planned.shadow_17705

Well perhaps Unleashed has a multiplayer mode as with Secret Rings meaning you play as Knuckles and Tails but only in multiplayer, but if that's true I suspect that Sega in their boneheadedness will once again leave online play out of the Wii version.

[QUOTE="shadow_17705"]That's similar to what they said about Secret Rings. I think Secret Rings didn't go as planned.kbaily

Well perhaps Unleashed has a multiplayer mode as with Secret Rings meaning you play as Knuckles and Tails but only in multiplayer, but if that's true I suspect that Sega in their boneheadedness will once again leave online play out of the Wii version.

If Knuckles and Tails are playable, they definitely need a few new attacks like Sonic is getting.

I wouldn't mind playing as Knuckles or Tails if Sega actually made them fun to play. Tails was fun to play as in Sonic Adventure when he was able to attack using his Tails, unlike in Sonic 06 where he threw that gay little ring box. Same with Knuckles. It's fun to watch him jump and glide around and climb buildings like a wannabe Spiderman. But most of the other characters I'd rather not play with. However I like Blaze but that's only because in Sonic Rush she played like Sonic for the most part. Same with Shadow, he was the most fun in SA2 because he was fast and didn't shoot guns and drive around in awkward vehicles.

Still my argument has been, if you want me to play as Tails, make a sequel to Tails Adventures (GG) and if you want me to play as Knuckles, make a sequel to Knuckles Chaotix. This has been Nintendo's take on the Mario cast with spinoff games such as Yoshi's Story, Luigi's Mansion, and Super Princess Peach.

I wouldn't mind playing as Knuckles or Tails if Sega actually made them fun to play. Tails was fun to play as in Sonic Adventure when he was able to attack using his Tails, unlike in Sonic 06 where he threw that gay little ring box. Same with Knuckles. It's fun to watch him jump and glide around and climb buildings like a wannabe Spiderman. But most of the other characters I'd rather not play with. However I like Blaze but that's only because in Sonic Rush she played like Sonic for the most part. Same with Shadow, he was the most fun in SA2 because he was fast and didn't shoot guns and drive around in awkward vehicles.

Still my argument has been, if you want me to play as Tails, make a sequel to Tails Adventures (GG) and if you want me to play as Knuckles, make a sequel to Knuckles Chaotix. This has been Nintendo's take on the Mario cast with spinoff games such as Yoshi's Story, Luigi's Mansion, and Super Princess Peach.

kbaily

A sequel to Tails Adventures would be an interesting project for Sega to undertake. Tails in his own game with 3d levels might be a good thing. Moving back to Unleashed, I think Sega should bring back the flying gauge from Sonic Heroes. That way there's no question about how far Tails can fly before becoming tired.

The game needs to have a simple plot and not be changed and not add pointless characters and make them playable it spoils the experience. Sonic games are all about speed its what made the Genesis games and Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 so good.

Here's a new article courtesy of Play magazine.

http://wii.kombo.com/article.php?artid=11846

We see a few new screens and apparently the Wii version is being made by a different team than the 360/PS3 version. The team making the Wii game are the same folks who designed the Sonic Rush series on the DS. This is good as the Rush series were some of Sonic's best games in recent years.

Also it's good to hear that they have different teams for different consoles as one of the major complaint the developer of Sonic 06 was he simply didn't have enough staff to make the game for both platforms in time for the deadline.

Excellent find with excellent info. Things may be looking up after all...I'm not going to jump to conclusions though.Greatness86

The Wii version' supposed to have more side-scrolling too. Yay!

i hope this game becomes a hit. seeing that sonic turns into a warewolf would be exciting:D

Does this game reboot the whole series or just Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Sonic and the Secret Rings?

Does this game reboot the whole series or just Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Sonic and the Secret Rings?

Beardie99

I have no idea. I'll see if I can find out though.

Maybe Sonic Team can pull it off. They seem to be putting a lot of care into this game. I just hope it doesn't reboot the series.

P.S. For those who don't know Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Sonic and the Secret Rings have been removed from canon.

Maybe Sonic Team can pull it off. They seem to be putting a lot of care into this game. I just hope it doesn't reboot the series.

P.S. For those who don't know Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Sonic and the Secret Rings have been removed from canon.

Beardie99

Firstly, Sonic Next-Gen was supposedly (I've barely played it.) a disaster, and everyone wants to forget that it took place in the Sonic universe anyway. Secondly, Secret Rings was basically a dream. Literally.

How come you don't want the game to serve as a "reboot"? I can understand if you think the game's going to fail (but I doubt you are), because if it does, Sega would be kicking itself in the face. Which is bruised as it is, I might add.

[QUOTE="Beardie99"]

Maybe Sonic Team can pull it off. They seem to be putting a lot of care into this game. I just hope it doesn't reboot the series.

P.S. For those who don't know Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Sonic and the Secret Rings have been removed from canon.

-SpikyBlueHero-

Firstly, Sonic Next-Gen was supposedly (I've barely played it.) a disaster, and everyone wants to forget that it took place in the Sonic universe anyway. Secondly, Secret Rings was basically a dream. Literally.

How come you don't want the game to serve as a "reboot"? I can understand if you think the game's going to fail (but I doubt you are), because if it does, Sega would be kicking itself in the face. Which is bruised as it is, I might add.

Because I don't want 16 years of storyline to just go away. I've enjoyed most of the Sonic storyline. I'm glad that Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 got removed and I didn't care if Sonic and the Secret Rings stays in canon or not. It wasn't a bad game I just don't care about it. But everything else should stay in the plot.

I always thought of Sonic's storyline like Mario's or Link's. It's not really interconnected very tightly and I mean, when you think about it SPOILER, at the end of Sonic 06, Sonic and Elise put out the Solaris flame which reset everything back to the day of the festival, so actually nothing in that game happened (too bad we couldn't reset it so we didn't play it) and as Spikey said, Secret Rings, appears to be just a dream Sonic had.

There is some connection between certain series such as Sonic 2, Sonic 2 and Sonic and Knuckles all centered around Robtnick's Death Egg. In Sonic 2, Sonic destroys the Death Egg ship which crashes into Angel Island, then of course the two following games dealt with Sonic, Tails and eventually Knuckles, stopping Robotnick from using the Chaos Emeralds to get it flying again.

There's little relation between SA 1 and 2 aside from one scene in SA2 where they read an article about Tails receiving an Emerald as a gift for saving the city, which he did at the end of his mission in Sonic Adventure, but that appears to be the only connection between the two.

In Heroes, what little story there is, the main connection between it and SA2 is in Team Dark's storyline, when Shadow had amnesia and was trying to remember things, like when Rouge mentions space and Shadow goes "Space?..." Then of course all loose ends between Heroes and SA2 were tied up in Shadow's solo outing.

Still the story connections aren't that deep. It's not like Kingdom Hearts where you have to play the series in order to know what's going on (and I think you still need cliff notes to understand that storyline).

Also the Rush games your battling both Eggman and Eggman Nega in Super Sonic and Super Blaze. The only game in 2D you are not facing Eggman as the last boss is Sonic Advance 3. He helps you in that game.

Can I also say look at the Paper Mario games as well. You can land attacks on the final bosses then they get stronger and recharge and you can touch them and you use the Star powers to have a chance of weakening the bosses play the first 2 games and you see what I mean. The only time in that game you didn't see the last boss refill their HP was Super Paper Mario.

IGN has a new hands-on article regarding the game and they seem excited for it and from what they said, it already shows a lot of polish and no much reminscence of the old, clunky 3D games we've endured for a while. There was some slowdown here and there, but there's time to fix this.

The Wii version, while they didn't see it yet, will have control for the Wiimote/nunchuck but will also support the claSSic and GC controllers (I refuse to give into using my old GC controller unless I absolutely have to!) Luckily I also have a 360 so if that is the better one, then I'll get it.

There was no werewolf gameplay featured, just plenty of Sonic running fast, though linear 2D/3D worlds which is what we've wanted for years now.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/874/874202p1.html

Also I love reading user comments like this moron from Sonic Opposite Land:

OMG WHAT THE HELL R U PPL TALKIN ABOUT?!!!! The other sonic games rocked!!!! Except for sonic and the secret rings. That game sucked so bad that i regret buying. And the 2006 game was amazing!! This game isnt looking too good. U mostly play as sonic? sidescrolling? A different developer for the wii version? What the hell is Sonic Team thinking?!! They're probably gonna ruin the game so that it uses some motion that isnt even that fun, like they did with Sonic and the Secret Rings!! I think that this game is going to shatter sonic completely. I dont trust sonic team anymore. Im gonna have to read the hands-on articles of ps3 and wii when they come, just to see if Dimps has ruined it or not."

But the rest of the comments are from normal, intellegent people.

IGN has a new hands-on article regarding the game and they seem excited for it and from what they said, it already shows a lot of polish and no much reminscence of the old, clunky 3D games we've endured for a while. There was some slowdown here and there, but there's time to fix this.

The Wii version, while they didn't see it yet, will have control for the Wiimote/nunchuck but will also support the claSSic and GC controllers (I refuse to give into using my old GC controller unless I absolutely have to!) Luckily I also have a 360 so if that is the better one, then I'll get it.

There was no werewolf gameplay featured, just plenty of Sonic running fast, though linear 2D/3D worlds which is what we've wanted for years now.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/874/874202p1.html

Also I love reading user comments like this moron from Sonic Opposite Land:

OMG WHAT THE HELL R U PPL TALKIN ABOUT?!!!! The other sonic games rocked!!!! Except for sonic and the secret rings. That game sucked so bad that i regret buying. And the 2006 game was amazing!! This game isnt looking too good. U mostly play as sonic? sidescrolling? A different developer for the wii version? What the hell is Sonic Team thinking?!! They're probably gonna ruin the game so that it uses some motion that isnt even that fun, like they did with Sonic and the Secret Rings!! I think that this game is going to shatter sonic completely. I dont trust sonic team anymore. Im gonna have to read the hands-on articles of ps3 and wii when they come, just to see if Dimps has ruined it or not."

But the rest of the comments are from normal, intellegent people.

kbaily

R U SAYIN MY COMENT WAS STOOPID??!! SECRIT RINGS RLY DID SUK, AND THE 2006 1 WAS AWSOME!!! U DONT NOW ANYTHING!!!

...

I'm still anticipating Werewolf details. Sega's probably too nervous to reveal anything new about him.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Fiddlesticks! I thought I had you convinced. >_>

Maybe Sonic Team can pull it off. They seem to be putting a lot of care into this game. I just hope it doesn't reboot the series.

P.S. For those who don't know Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Sonic and the Secret Rings have been removed from canon.

Beardie99

We know at the end of Sonic 06, history was sorta reset, and in Secret Rings, the adventure was inside a book, s they couldn't effect the series anyway.

So the locations of the stages are based on real world locations. This will be interesting for a change! Can't wait to play for myself. :D

I want to get both the Wii version, and one of the more powerful versions. I can't decide on whether to get a 360 or PS3. Their powers are equal it seems. I've heard far too much about Microsoft screwing fans over, and on top of that, making them pay for internet which they are already paying for from their service providers. (Bill Gates getting greedy much?)DocEggmanNega

This real world association gimmick was used in SA2, right? The designers were inspired and influenced by San Francisco and the surrounding areas if I recall correctly, so this isn't anything new. Now, if the stages actually take place in "our" world, this'll be something truly interesting, indeed.

If I were you, I'd pick up a PS3, Doc. I've heard that it's much more reliable than the 360 in terms of failure rates; it can handle Blu-ray movies; some models are backwards compatible; Internet gaming is offered free of charge; and there're a bunch of other reasons why it's a better choice over the 360. Plus, LittleBigPlanet is coming, and in case you haven't heard, it's a PS3-exclusive, and looks incredible. Not to mention you could finally try Sonic Next-Gen for yourself... O_O

Yeah, I'm talking about actual real world locations. City Escape is the only stage in SA2 that directly referanced a specific location. Everything else was either generic, or out in space somewhere.

I'm wanting PS3 more right now as well. I don't care about Blu-Ray. I just like its overall stability, it's equal power with 360, free web access, and some exclusives appeal to me a little more. (strangely, I don't care for PS1/2, though) I have my eyes on Metal Gear Solid 4, Sonic Unleashed, some other games like Heavenly Sword and Ridge Racer. (I like arcade *styIe racing :D )
Lastly, PS3 got the worse version of Sonic06, but I'd still buy it cheap if it is still in stores at a used price. Why? I must form my own full opinion on the entire game.

Actually, I've heard that the "Route" stages were drawn from the actually highways around San Fran as well. Oh, yeah, and I made a huge mistake; a ton of Sonic's games did take place on "Earth". "Mobius" is practically another term for our world, set in the future. Where has my head gone to? :-B So, perhaps Unleashed will discard the exotic names we're accustomed to in exchange for real locations.

I, too, wish to play Next-Gen in its entirety to form myown personal opinion on the game. Who knows? I might actually enjoy it... but probably not. LOL

what systems is unleshed gona be on ????neko424

Actually, I've heard that the "Route" stages were drawn from the actually highways around San Fran as well. Oh, yeah, and I made a huge mistake; a ton of Sonic's games did take place on "Earth". "Mobius" is practically another term for our world, set in the future. Where has my head gone to? :-B So, perhaps Unleashed will discard the exotic names we're accustomed to in exchange for real locations.

I, too, wish to play Next-Gen in its entirety to form myown personal opinion on the game. Who knows? I might actually enjoy it... but probably not. LOL

-SpikyBlueHero-

I played the demo of Sonic06 many times, and it failed to impress me in the gameplay. It must get harder, so I can imagine it must be pretty bad.

Well, it's another type of Earth, sure. BUt the screenshots show a more real world look to the game. In most Sonic stages, the worlds look more like a fantasy or an impossibility.

I played the demo of Sonic06 many times, and it failed to impress me in the gameplay. It must get harder, so I can imagine it must be pretty bad.DocEggmanNega

Yeah, I took a go at the demo as well, and I left feeling disappointed.

Gee, I wish some new info would trickle out soon... Blame it all on those blasted "Sega ninjas". >_>

Then we'd have to summon Espio to do a bit of espionage for us. ;-)

Then we'd have to summon Espio to do a bit of espionage for us. ;-)

-SpikyBlueHero-

Or have Rouge break in and steal the blue prints for the game.

I have considered picking up Sonic06 for the 360 now that it's cheap. I played a demo of it for a while and was truly amazed at how bad it was and it's almost one of those games I want to play to see how bad it really is. I wish my local video store would get a copy so I could just rent it.

Back to Sonic Unleashed. I thought I'd share this article courtesy of EGM in a section titled "Retro Revivals."

Sega's Mascot isn't some long-forgotten has-been getting a lucky second shot at the big time. Nope, Sonic's a true industry bell-wether who's managed to remain continuously popular over the last 17 years, retaining relevancy through near constant reinvention and relentless spinoffs (four different Sonic games shipped in 2007 alone). Yet the quality of the core Sonic titles has been consistently waning ever since the first Sonic Adventure(DC) And Sega's most recent attempt to turn the series around-2006's eponymous ps3/360 offering-served only to exacerbate the downward spiral with frustrating gamelay and a distasteful cross-species romance.

Why Revive the Series Now?

Even if his recent games haven't been gems, Sonic still commands a massive fan base-Sega would be foolish to stop milking their cash cow now. Coming fresh from his long awaited pairings with Mario in both the Olympic games and SSBB, Sonic's poised for a comeback. The Bioware developed DS role playing game Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood wil kick off his umpteenth revival this September but Sega's hopes that November's Unleashed will put him back on top.

Sonic fans have endured countless empty promises in the past, but Unleashed appears to finally offer fixes for some of the franchises most notorious problems. First, the previous game's overbearing, pretentious storylines have been completely axed, replaced by a refreshingly simple premise in which Dr. Eggman breaks the world into pieces in order to nab chaos emeralds. Sega has also forged an upgraded graphical engine to the project-even in an unfinished state, it already runs cirlces around the last title's clunky, slow loading tech.

The recent proper Sonic games have all suffered from frustrating, slipperly controls that left you either careening wildly out of control or automatically advancing on autopilot. Unleashed tackles this problem with a decidedly retro solution: Much of the game's platforming will take place from a 2D perspective. Sega promises seamless transistions between the 2D and 3D bits, as well as a lifelike day/night cycle that surely factor into gameplay...thanks to Sonic's (possibly ill-advised) new werewolf form. Hey, we'll reserve judgement on this new transformation (one of several we wager) until we find out if it means a reprive from cameos from embarassing Sonic hanger-ons like Charmy Bee and Cream the Rabbit.

Also Game Informer had a short paragraph on it as well.

Sonic Unleashed

We may be foolishly optimistic, but we have a feeling that 2008 will be the year when Sonic jumps back into the spotlight. Sure this prediction could be based solely on him appearing in Smash Bros., but the lengthy three-year development cycle Sega has applied to Sonic Unleashed is already showing great promise. From what we've seen, the game features a fair amount of side-scrolling platforming challenges, as well as some Rachet and Clank like rail riding sequences where Sonic bounces between rails to avoid hazards. The game also marks the debut of the new "hedgehog engine"- Unreal 3 beware! It will be available this holiday for Xbox 360, Wii and PS2 and 3.

Ok Sega, you've got us cautiously optimistic, don't f--- it up again!

Horray! Kbaily's returned with walls of text for us to read! *claps and cheers enthusiastically*

With Unleashed spanning all of the current home consoles, more folks will have the opportunity to play this entry, thus, a propensity for stronger sales. If he does a splendid job, his expectation meter will rise, more people should anticipate more games like this one, and Sega will need to continue raising the bar and hiring more ninjas if Sonic's popularity and fame rises to the peak of his early-'90's glory. If he fails, it's another agonizing two-year vigil until the next multi-platform release. If that's the case, hopefully we'll have the pleasure of playing the inevitable Sonic Rush and Sonic Riders trilogies...