Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (Wii, PS3, 360, iPhone)

[Trask]

After what I've seen thus far and read from everyone's posts, I have gotten to this point in how I feel about this game: I am indifferent to how this game will turn out.  The visuals, the game play, the weight of the title of Sonic 4...that doesn't seem to matter to me at all.  I play games based on interest level.  If I become interested in it, then I will give it a try.  If it doesn't catch my interest or I lose interest for whatever reason while playing, then I'll move onto something else.  That's my playing style.  I realize others have different styles and different appeals for what they want in a game or game series, and I respect those styles and appeals because that's who they are.

Anyway, I've only seen a few screens and a teaser trailer, so it hasn't really caught my interest yet.  Maybe it will, maybe it won't.  I'll have to wait and see.

[Jericho]

On a funny related note, I was recently watching the LP of Sonic Unleashed, and I've come to one hell of an epiphany, something that really deserves a "derp" on my end. The Sonic fanbase is so incredibly jaded. Seriously, how wasn't that game better received?

[Solar]

Seriously, how wasn't that game better received?

Werehog

[Flame]

I think the werehog, (inexcusable fail at terminology aside,) was pretty fun. (360/PS3 ver.) 1 or 2 awkward camera angles here or there, but it was an enjoyable experience. I loved levels like Skyscraper scrapmer night, among others. And if the prospect of werewolf Sonic was that annoying, then squint and imagine you are playing Knuckles. With stretchy arms.

[Gotham Ranger]

Wait, what? Do I see the wrecking ball boss?

[Fxeni]

I think the werehog, (inexcusable fail at terminology aside,) was pretty fun. (360/PS3 ver.) 1 or 2 awkward camera angles here or there, but it was an enjoyable experience. I loved levels like Skyscraper scrapmer night, among others. And if the prospect of werewolf Sonic was that annoying, then squint and imagine you are playing Knuckles. With stretchy arms.

... The camera was horrible in the night stages. Ho.rri.ble. That does not qualify as just "1 or 2 awkward camera angles here or there", pretty much any spot where you needed to make a precise jump it was placed in such a way that you can't judge the jump properly. It wasn't just that, the game had it's fair share of other problems. You could drown while standing on dry ground, for [tornado fang] sakes. This was all on the 360 version too, so don't go telling me it's because it's the Wii/PS2 version. Those night stages would have been unacceptable to me even if it wasn't a Sonic game. How that's better than the little miniscule mistakes they're making in Sonic 4's freaking beta version that you haven't even played, I don't even want to know.

All that said, I got all those complaints of Sonic Unleashed by actually playing it. It's the same shenanigans here as when MM9/MM10 were announced; you ingrates are impossible to please just because of unattainable expectations. You want it to be a carbon copy of the older games, but guess what? That's not possible. Game Design philosophy has changed so much over the years that it would be impossible to properly reproduce the old style. Even then, people still manage to complain if they take something straight from the older games! What kind of nonsense is that? You people don't know what the [tornado fang] you want.

[Flame]

Y'see, I never noticed all that terribleness when I played Unleashed. Like I said, camera only pissed me off once or twice, thats it. Mainly in Skyscraper Scamper night, actually.
I enjoyed the Wolfhog. (the gimmick was stupid, but it ended up fun)

[Gotham Ranger]

Werehog nearly kills Unleashed for me. Maybe because I enjoyed when it was called Devil May Cry

[Kieran]

Devil May Cry?  Wow.  That's the stupidest comparison I've ever heard.

Also, that's not what killed Sonic Unleashed.  What killed Sonic Unleashed was retarded [tornado fang]ing level design, in the day and night stages.  When you drop into a bottomless pit in the first 1.5 seconds of a stage, you know the designers failed utterly.

Having Sonic run so fast that it's impossible to see what you're doing was also a stupid decision.

[Waifu]

@Jericho It seemed like a good idea at the time but considering what you said about the fanbase. 

What prevented me from even touchign the game are the human characters, they look like they belong in another platform game created for the system but they just threw in Sonic for more money.

[Bag of Magic Food]

Haven't you ever heard the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?"

Yes, but I disagree with it.   

[Mirby]

My friend the Sky Fish (that's what I call him) has Unleashed. He hates the Werehog (should've been Knux; could've been S&K2) and Chippy or whatever his name is.

[Flame]

Also, that's not what killed Sonic Unleashed.  What killed Sonic Unleashed was retarded [tornado fang]ing level design, in the day and night stages.  When you drop into a bottomless pit in the first 1.5 seconds of a stage, you know the designers failed utterly.

Having Sonic run so fast that it's impossible to see what you're doing was also a stupid decision.

Its called sucking less.

What prevented me from even touchign the game are the human characters, they look like they belong in another platform game created for the system but they just threw in Sonic for more money.

We had human characters since SA1. And, for the sake of argument, since Sonic 1, if we include Eggman. The human characters are very ignorable. Only really important ones are Pickle and whatsis name his assistant. (and the shop folks)

[Mirby]

First off, it's called looking ahead for future hazards. Secondly, human characters? We've always had them (counting Eggman). We only started seeing the rest of them in SA1.

[HyperSonicEXE]

Its called sucking less.

It's not sucking less; that camera and the jump and Gimmick physics were messed up completely. Even the Demo was unplayable trash.

[Flame]

Then how come I, and many other people, had no problems?

[HokutoNoBen]

Then how come I, and many other people, had no problems?

Probably for the same reason that others didn't have such problems in the Rush games. You either liked what you had in that game, or Sega-Sonic Stockholm made you overlook it. 

[Gaia]

Y'see, I never noticed all that terribleness when I played Unleashed. Like I said, camera only pissed me off once or twice, thats it. Mainly in Skyscraper Scamper night, actually.
I enjoyed the Wolfhog. (the gimmick was stupid, but it ended up fun)

Now I know I'm not the only one who ignored the camera. I have the PS2 version, I thought it was barely noticeable (never really made it far due to Lack of Intrest).

[Flame]

Probably for the same reason that others didn't have such problems in the Rush games. You either liked what you had in that game, or Sega-Sonic Stockholm made you overlook it. 

touche

[Satoryu]

Then how come I, and many other people, had no problems?

Well you don't seem to have a problem with any Sonic game. You almost sound like one of those blind fanboys that buy the game solely cause it has Sonic in the title.

[Flame]

Haha, Yes and no. Im a Sonic fan, so I do buy most Sonic games. (I do draw the line though, and things like BK I dont buy.) But the thing is, I LIKE them. I might find a flaw here and a problem there, but they really dont detract from my overall fun experience. Like I said before, some people cannot seem to grasp the concept of a flawed game still being fun to play.

Going back to Unleashed, like I said, I really didnt notice any problems with the camera. (Skyscraper scraper is the only place it gave me some trouble)

'06? LOTS of flaws. But still a very fun game. Reminds me of the adventure games.
ShTHH? the gimmick and premise are the main flaw here, but I liked it. has replay value. (and a soundtrack I really liked)
Heroes? I fail to see what the fuss is about. It was frustrating at points, but nothing to cry over.

[Satoryu]

some people cannot seem to grasp the concept of a flawed game still being fun to play.

Next to Shelly, I'm probably the biggest defendant of X6. And I really enjoyed Secret Rings. So you're preaching to the choir here.

It's not so much the flaws that are the detractors, but how to work around them. Which I can't do with Sonic games as of late. And while gameplay is the most important part, the experience does factor in a lot for me. Which again, these games don't really do much for me in that department.

• I didn't have too much of a problem with Heroes. The game plays fine. It's just no one would shut up, the story itself was garbage, being forced to play the stages four times to unlock everything gets tiring, and it just didn't have the lasting effect games like Adventure 2 had on me. I loned it to a friend, never got it back, and am in no rush of doing so.
• Shadow took that repetitive problem and raised it to the nth power. I could only stomach 2 story paths, no way was I going to do all of them. There's a big big difference between a game giving you the drive to want to play stages over and over again, and FORCING you to do so. The premise and story are dumb. It played okay, the guns never really got in my way too much. But again, it's lasting appeal was nonexistant. So I sold it.
• I find 06 has way too many technical issues to be considered playable. If Knuckles can't jump off a [tornado fang]ing wall, there's a problem. The game's slower than it should be. And of course the story's garbage and the load times are too long. Given I haven't played the entire game, just the majority of Sonic's campaign. But I've played and seen enough to tell me it's not a game I could ever recommend to anyone.
• I can't even get behind Unleashed that much. I can give the game a LOT more credit than the previous 3, but I got tired of looking for the sun+moon medals, then just got bored with it. The Werehog stages, while nowhere near as bad as people say they are, do get repetitive really quickly, and the fight song plays too much. Never really had a problem with the camera either, really, but I do recall some of the Werehog platforming being trickier than necessary.
• Then there's Rush Adventure, which never really got anywhere. The stages all felt samey; hold right until you reach the goal it was for a long time. The ship stages are boring, too. Hell, even the music I found under par. But unlike a lot of people, the gravity never really got in my way in this or Rush. So that's one less thing I'll likely be complaining about in 4.

[Mirby]

Finally! Complaints with evidence to back them up instead of complaints that are false and seem to have been made for the sake of complaining!

[Satoryu]

I'm sure I've made these complaints in the past. They're probably scattered around the other Sonic boards.

[Kieran]

Yes, because poor level design and too much damn motion blur to effectively see what you're doing aren't legitimate complaints.

[tornado fang] you.

Sonic Unleashed is the only Sonic game I've ever gotten so frustrated with that I actually returned it to the store--and I still own Shadow The Hedgehog.  There were a few good stages, but 90% of the daytime stages that I was able to actually play through I didn't like--I specify "that I was able to play through," because I never actually managed to get to Eggmanland.  I was like 25 medals short of opening the stage with the boss key for the continent prior to Eggmanland, and I never managed to collect enough of the damn things to open the door.

That's another thing that pissed me off about it.  Yeah, requiring pickups to open stages isn't a new thing by any means, but I think it was poorly executed in Unleashed.  The sudden huge leap in medal numbers required to even progress beyond that point was ridiculous.  Usually when pickups are mandatory they're the entire goddamn point of the game, not something so easilly missed as the medals in Unleashed.