Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Sonic Heroes

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Sonic Heroes

    Due to some french prat leaking a PAL master, Sonic Heroes is now "out".

    I'm playing the Xbox version, and its a mixed bag. This is what happens when the 2D Sonic mechanics are made 3D properly - a more advanced Sonic Adventure 2 with the teamplay system added on. Levels are again lengthy, linear, repeated bolted-on bits of track (how I'd kill for those individual lovingly-crafted Sonic Adventure style stages) which take half an hour to work through on your first go. The difficulty is frequently unforgivably high - I haven't seen a challenge like this since V.Hard GX Story mode. It isn't helped by the trademark slightly dodgy camera and pant-wettingly precarious grinding sections, some of which play out like puzzles. I liken it to the difficulty structure of Super Monkey Ball - some of the later levels will just present themselves as challenges (haunted house level, entirely interior) which will infuriate or challenge, depending on your mindset. It is probably impossible to beat any of the later levels on your first go without dying. Compared to previous 3D sonic efforts, this game is long and hard, like a huge cock.

    Teamwork is very clever indeed. The levelling up system (kinda like an RPG-lite-lite: literally, three levels of power for each character) has worked extremely well, adding tactics to the affair. The method of switching characters takes a fair bit of getting used to, even a few hours in, you'll still have to glance at the diagram; this is due to the button to say, select Knuckles, changes depending on who you currently have out.

    The teams are genuinely different and fun to play around with. Sonic Team being the default peg-it team, Dark being just remixes of the levels to make them harder, Rose offers easy cut-down levels and Team Chaotix have to do different challenges on each stage. Each plays the same route through the game, interspersed with tacky FMV. Most stages end with a set piece of some sort which are nice - peg it away from something, peg it down something, peg it towards something.

    Special Stages are nothing special. Running down the inside of a pipe, you need to get NiGHTS style Links to garner points in one variation, or catch up with a Choas Emerald in the other. These could be fun, but like the pinball sections, are ruined by the game using the same physics and handling of the standard stages shoehorned into these special sections. You'll see what I mean.

    The visuals are a step above SA2. Even on Xbox, there is still slowdown (unforgivably, immediately on entering the first stage, too!) - I dread to think what it is like on PS2. The drop in the frame rate on the split screen 2P modes make them almost unplayable. The music is nice, sound effects are spot on, particuarly in 5.1.

    The presentation is a bit pap though. The menus are poorly designed, look horribly garish and inconsisent - I have seen Graphics students knock up nicer ones - clearly no-one who had anything to do with the presentation of SA2 or SA2:B had anything to do with this. Even though the Japanese voices are on the disc, the Xbox one lacks the ability to select them. Unless you run your Xbox in japanese mode, where the text will also change. Stupid manufacturer standards. I am informed the situation is different in the Cube and PS2 versions.

    This isn't to say the game isn't fun. Its very challenging and refreshing, but you can't help wishing Sonic Team would let some talented dev house make a hi-res 2D Sonic again..

    #2
    Cant wait to play this, although i wanted a sonic adventure follow up rather than an SA2 follow up, whats the music like and the voices are they the same as SA1 or SA2? Still sounds like its worth playing and similar to the old sonic games. Any idea on completion time for one set of characters?

    Comment


      #3
      Team Sonic took me about 6-7 hours to beat I think. Then again, I was tarting about with other teams, so its just a guesstimate. The voices are of Sonic Adventure 2 - looks like I'm going to have to force the Japanese voices in - its just embarassing playing with the english voices on if you are beating the Team Rose story (of which you have no choice but to if you want to see the whole shebang). The music is pretty cool, pinkety plonk stuff for some of the stages, the usual grating tracks for the themes (but no "Hey Big Guy! Hey little Guy!" dammit), rather cool techno for BINGO Highway and some tunes that remind me of Goemon 64 for some reason...

      Comment


        #4
        Righto, just beaten this. Bloody brilliant.

        The ending is fantastic, well worth it. Now for the emblems!

        Comment


          #5
          I'd say this is the most enjoyable sonic game in a while too. Returns to the spirit of the original 16bit incarnations in terms of stages and gameplay. I really didn't get into the two sonic adventure installments, but this is a more "pure" sonic game all said and done, and should appeal more to the old-school fans.

          One real gripe I have with it though is the speech, especially that irritating little bast "Tales". Literally never shuts up throughout the entire game (or at least as far as I have got anyway). The speech is a constant irritation, and is completely un-necessary. It's there to help you in the form of tutorial instructions, but it only serves to annoy.

          Other than that though, I rate it highly. Finally, a sonic game that really feels like a sonic game.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by edandersen
            The visuals are a step above SA2. Even on Xbox, there is still slowdown (unforgivably, immediately on entering the first stage, too!) - I dread to think what it is like on PS2. The drop in the frame rate on the split screen 2P modes make them almost unplayable. The music is nice, sound effects are spot on, particuarly in 5.1.
            From the packaging, I saw that XBOX Sonic Heroes only supports 480i aka D1, probably the first title for the console that I've seen in awhile which doesn't go beyond that. Also, I noticed that they used Renderware middleware instead of the CRI middleware they were using previously in development (the same one used for the multi-format development of Soul Calibur II). The PS2 rev did look pretty bad at E3 but if the final product with Renderware is about the same and renders the XBOX version worse, then what's the point? ft:

            Comment


              #7
              GC Demo was ****e, tho there wasn't a bit of slowdown on the first level. it practically played itself the only good thing I could find with it was the nice sonic style music.

              Sounds like they've had a big turn around since then...or the GC ver is completely different to the PS2 an Xbox ones.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Shou
                The PS2 rev did look pretty bad at E3 but if the final product with Renderware is about the same and renders the XBOX version worse, then what's the point? ft:
                ps2 version looks absolutely terrible, looks like a PSOne game.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Shou
                  Originally posted by edandersen
                  The visuals are a step above SA2. Even on Xbox, there is still slowdown (unforgivably, immediately on entering the first stage, too!) - I dread to think what it is like on PS2. The drop in the frame rate on the split screen 2P modes make them almost unplayable. The music is nice, sound effects are spot on, particuarly in 5.1.
                  From the packaging, I saw that XBOX Sonic Heroes only supports 480i aka D1, probably the first title for the console that I've seen in awhile which doesn't go beyond that. Also, I noticed that they used Renderware middleware instead of the CRI middleware they were using previously in development (the same one used for the multi-format development of Soul Calibur II). The PS2 rev did look pretty bad at E3 but if the final product with Renderware is about the same and renders the XBOX version worse, then what's the point? ft:
                  The Gamecube version supports prog scan (at least, the NTSC versions do), I've seen the text in the game files. I'm pretty sure the Xbox one has it too, but I've only been playing on a telly at the moment, I need to hook it up to the monitor.

                  CRI middleware is simply ADX sound, the Softdec video codecs, a file system and some speech animation scripts. Soul Cali 2 uses most of them, as does Heroes in conjunction with Renderware. Namco the elegant bastards designed their multiplatform engine themselves, and whored it out again for R:Racing methinks. I'm sure CRI doesn't provide any graphics middleware, could be wrong though...

                  Comment


                    #10
                    My 2p based on about 2 hours of play on the US GC version...

                    This game is fast, colourful, aggressive fun. In many respects I'd say it's the most successful translation of a 16-bit character and game style to the current generation of consoles. Like the MD game it's designed to encourage you to go too fast only to smack into a baddie or miss something that you'll need to try the level over again to get. The teamwork element works surprisingly well.

                    There are glitches, especially around the camera, but I personally found the first 30 mins of this soooo much more compelling than the first 30 mins of something like Mario Sunshine. This game wants to impress you whereas Mario Sunshine wants you to take it easy, learn the controls and sagely nod about the learning curve. In the end Mario Sunshine is probably the better game but this tries so much harder to entertain you.

                    I love the way that Knuckles appears to say '****!' every time he punches something

                    So...check it out.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      No, the speech in Heroes cheapens the game I think, they need to add squeeky animal voices, something like Starfox64 or something. That camera is still no good either, needs to be more instinctive. Lots of bugs too. I like to stop and admire the enviroments around me, and while very pretty at first, it doesn't feel 'alive'

                      Comment


                        #12
                        original message deleted by author

                        Comment


                          #13
                          message deleted by author

                          Comment


                            #14
                            So far I'm enjoying it and though I'm in a minortity here so far its below SA1 and SA2 though for me. I like the structure of the game better but the camera is cringingly close in which is fine at breakneck speed but for close in battles it just doesn't show enough of the area. Plus, though I'm getting used to it the team battle system is too clunky. Now, take back the camera a tad and make it just Sonic and your away.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Sorry but it is utter tripe.

                              It plays nothing like the lvels in SA1 or even SA2 which was developed by the same team. Sorely disappointed, the problems are:
                              The Music, it just doesnt fit in with the game, the pace has slowed down a lot now and you do have more control over the levels but the music is just dull, always fast which kinda doesnt fit with the slower paced action.
                              Weight, characters have no weight, you'll constantly die due to falling off the edge as the character floats around.
                              Levels, they are all middle of the sky style platforms, you'll only ever die because you didnt make a jump or missed a grab or feel off due to the moves which mean your character flies around, even beig on the rails feels different to SA2 and not as comfy.

                              It just doesnt feel like sonic, i loved Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 was pretty good as well (for sonics levels) but this one just seems dull, even the levels, they seem like bits bolted on, there doesnt seem to be a smooth flow with you going forwards, you just end up going round in circles, least thats how it feels.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X