Sonic the Hedgehog

[rolesfamily]

Now that's just cool.

[Master]

Not sure if you folks have seen this already, but if not, have a gander:

[OCG]

Not sure if you folks have seen this already, but if not, have a gander:

Video is private.

[Master]

Weird, guess they must've made it private in the intervening time from when I posted it.

[OCG]

What was video about? I can't read title due to white thumbnail.

[Master]

It was a 6 minute video detailing some of level types of the game. They mentioned some gameplay aspects, how the co-op was meant to work, and some of the smaller details, such as Eggman's animations in a boss fight as the robot he was piloting took more damage.

[OCG]

Did anyone save video?

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

To be perfectly honest, I'm not feeling it. It looks fun, but it doesn't look Sonic fun. I know Sonic isn't just about speed, and I know that this is a spin-off, but the game looks slow. The combat looks flashy, but it looks to slow down the pace, it kind of reminds me of the Werehog, which, while I enjoyed, didn't fit in a Sonic game. Sonic seems to run like any other platformer character, I was hoping the game would at least keep a fast-pace, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Sonic isn't all about speed, but it's still a huge part, keeping it only to automated running sections is not good.Also, I'm not a guy to complain about graphics, but the game in terms of visuals looks worse than what we were shown in February. I'll still keep an open mind, but I'm not that impressed.

[sonicbrawler182]

GameXplain did upload new videos where André talks about the games, but there is no footage. Apparently the private videos have footage, and SEGA didn't want them being shown yet.

I'll just list off the main points he mentioned about each version:

Wii U version:

-Full Title is "Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric".
-Split up into three types of stages (excluding hub worlds) - Adventure Stages, Speed Stages, and Boss Battles.
-Adventure Stages don't really have any of Sonic's trademark speed and have a lot of combat. Very comparable to a LEGO game by the sounds of it. Each character has unique abilities and the stages are apparently big and wide open in scope. Adventure Stages also have a scanning gimmick using the Wii U GamePad, to better assess your environment. Tons of secrets are in the levels. These levels are being compared to Jak & Daxter by people who caught the footage before it was made private.
-Speed Stages are more linear and action-platforming focused, play somewhat similarly to Sonic Unleashed's day time stages. They serve as gateways to the Adventure Stages.
-Boss Battles are exactly what they say on the tin, but are a longer and have more spectacle.
-The game has four-player co-op in all types of stages and each character has multiple special abilities, though there are points where characters are split up as part of the story. In single-player, you can switch characters at will and the CPU will control the ones you aren't.
-The "Ener-Beam" gadget will play a huge role in all types of stages. It's essentially a rope made out of electricity, you could see it in the TV Show trailer and in the early game footage.
-Character models have been updated since the teaser trailer and look much better, you can see this in the recently released press screenshots. They are apparently animated in a cartoony fashion with exaggerated facial expressions and limbs that squash and stretch a lot. Eggman stretches his mustache to an insane length at one point.
-Characters will constantly banter and crack jokes and such even during gameplay, similarly to Sonic Heroes.
-The game is currently unstable and suffers from severe frame rate drops, as well as clipping glitches. However, this was not present in the footage GameXplain uploaded initially.

3DS version:

-Full Title is "Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystals".
-Split up into 3 types of stages - Adventure Stages, Tube Races, and Rival Races.
-No Hub Worlds, just a conventional world map screen.
-Adventure stages are 2D side scrollers, but are extremely open ended and have a lot of hidden goodies. These stages are actually somewhat Metroidvania inspired - you even have a Metroid style map. However, there is sawtoothing, as there are devices that fling you off to a new area of the stage with it's own map and you can't return in that single run. So just make sure to explore each area as much as possible before moving onto the next. In terms of movement speed and pacing, it plays very much like any other 2D Sonic game. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles have abilities that work similarly to other 2D Sonic games.
-Tube Races are essentially Temple Run/Sonic Dash-esque stages where you run along a tube and switch lanes to avoid stuff, as well as use your Ener-Beam to navigate some sections (Ener-Beam is present in other types of stages too).
-Rival Races are more linear levels where you race against another character along a challenging obstacle course. It sounds comparable to Sonic Rivals.
-Adventure Stages allow you to switch between the different characters on the fly, but only one is visible on screen at any time.
-Characters have unique abilities.
-As part of the story, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy are kidnapped by the main villain (Lyric). They can be rescued and added to your party, though it seems Amy will stay kidnapped until the end, so whether or not she is playable at all is unclear. Sticks will replace her as the fourth main playable character for your main party, though. She can throw her boomerang around and directly control it.
-There will be some sort of customisable gadget system, and said gadgets can be used to find secrets, such as a remote controlled submarine scouting through water for you.
-The game is in a very polished state right now, no technical problems were encountered in the demo.

Also, the two versions will have some kind of connectivity, and are completely separate stories, taking place at different points within the Sonic Boom canon.

[OCG]

I found mirrors of videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nxgDyPlTTQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNkDV_e-t0k

[Master]

Hmm, having caught the video meself, I can't really see the Jak and Daxter in them, but to each their own. I do agree with the LEGO vibe, though.

[sonicbrawler182]

After seeing the footage, the 3DS version is looking more impressive right now. As for the Wii U version, I'll wait for more details at E3.

BTW, Nintendo is streaming multiple events at E3 next Tuesday. The final event is actually a collaboration with SEGA, all about Sonic Boom. So look out for that.

[Master]

Huh, I didn't see the 3DS version, I'll have to echo the preference for the 3DS version currently.

[Dart]

Both look good, but I think I'm leaning toward getting the 3ds one.

[OCG]

I'll eventually buy both probably. Both versions look like one of the better Sonic games, my opinion gameplay wise changed much on better.

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

Here's the new villain, Lyric.

About time we got a snake character.

[OCG]

I have to compliment for this villain creation because he looks very cool designed and unique for Sonic antropomorphic standards. I never expected snake character to be designed like this and I am saying it in very positive way

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

Again, I'm not the kind of guy to complain about graphics, but what happened?

[sonicbrawler182]

Again, I'm not the kind of guy to complain about graphics, but what happened?

It's completely plausible that they may have been discovering some limitations of the Wii U and had to tone things down.

At the same time though, screenshots are never going to do it justice. I know that Mario Kart 8 looks so much better in person than with screenshots.

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

It's completely plausible that they may have been discovering some limitations of the Wii U and had to tone things down.

At the same time though, screenshots are never going to do it justice. I know that Mario Kart 8 looks so much better in person than with screenshots.

Screenshots never do games justice, I agree, but it seems like a really major jump. One is filled to the brim with detail, and the other just looks more simple. If I'm not mistaken, the Wii U is more powerful than the PS3 and 360, and those can run CE3 perfectly fine. I'm sure the game will look fine overall, but going from the first image to the second feels like a tease.