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 Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:57 pm
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:03 pm
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 7:23 am
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FEED
Spoilers;
Text starts here; I have now completed SC biggrin B. Yep, I bought it yesterday evening. Assuming you struggle, like I did, it'll take you a maximum of 11 HOURS to complete. I struggled in Metropolis for two hours, and in Green Hill for one, so you could actually do it in 8 hours. So much for the 20-25 hour BioWare promised. This game is very short. This isn't for you if you want immersive, deep stories.
To go through in order; We start off at Green Hill Zone. The story is told to Sonic, he goes through a bit, and he meets Amy, who smashes the boxes out of the way. This is the pre-cursor for the first problem - There is no such thing as "optional" characters or "team choice". This game thrusts characters upon you way too often, and the only one of the characters who is truly optional in the sense of getting them is Cream, and even she isn't so off the beaten track that you need to make a big effort. Often, your second player is also forced, but it gets even worse - you often have to have a certain character in your party, even if they're supposed to be purely by choice. Want to navigate through Mystic Ruins or N'yygal? Big is compulsary. How about Alpha and Beta? Shadow or Shade. Any level with metal crates? Amy (She has more smash power than Knuckles or Omega. How does that work?).
Anyways, you get to Central City, you find Rouge guarding some place, and you have to do things for her. Problem #2; The puzzles are often vague. This doesn't sound too big a deal, right? Just get a hint. One hint is 30 rings, and levels have anywhere from 40-120 rings. Add to this the cost of buying items for health or power-ups, and these puzzles turn out to be quite costly.
After getting Rouge on your team, you get to Mystic Ruins and you get Big on your team. You see Shadow, but that's not important, for now. You find Knuckles, after a bit of work, and then you hunt down Eggman. To find the locations of his devices, you must look at the screen and try to figure out where you're supposed to be going. Problem #3; The missions can be so vague, they leave you clueless. I spent two hours trying to find Omega, but that's for later.
You fnd Eggman. He (until chapter 6, at least. He doesn't stay long at all) joins you after you find him, and it's off to Blue Ridge. You fight Shadow and, after revealing that he's looking for Omega who's in Metropolis (you will see why Omega is the pinnacle catastrophe, later), he joins you. You find Shade in her battle armour down near the exit to Metropolis...only for her to reveal the fact she is an echidna just one line later. Why did they keep this so secret before? All that hype, and she reveals herself just a second after you get to speak to her? The heck? She also never wear her helmet, the only time you see her like on the cover is on the level up screen. What was the point of the helmet, then?
After this, you solve a (dang hard) puzzle, and get into Metropolis. This is the first of two instances where you have to have two fighting teams. One has Sonic/Knuclkles in it, the other has Tails/Eggman. After that, it's your choice. So, you get to the air hangar to get shot down by Tails/Eggman's cannon onto Angel Island...which does not look like Angel Island. Problem #4; The old levels are often connected in name only. Fans of Sonic 2 may remember Metropolis, and it is NOTHING LIKE this one. Same with Green Hill, Angel Island, Mystic Ruins and Central City (all the old levels). I don't know what Blue Ridge s, though.
Sonic/Knuckles are confronted by Shade and Ix (the main baddie) who just throw wave after wave of grunts at them.
Problem #5; Characterisation? What's that? While this game gives more attention to detail for Sonic and Knuckles (and maybe Tails and Eggman), the other don't get anything? Amy is obsessive and paranoid to lunacy, which she should have gotten past in Sonic Battle (she was actually BETTER in that and Sonic Heroes). Cream is all too keen to confront the enemies (remember that rabbit who wouldn't get involved in combat unless absolutely necessary? She's not here.). Big gets the power of poison, when he isn't ever suggested to be dirty, at all (and he's no smarter. Bioware said he would be, remember?). Rouge just flirts, gets grossed out and makes the occasional quip about GUN.
Why am I saying all this, now? Well, the next section arguably one of the funniest bits of the game ever seen...and it's not even intentional humour.
After being confronted, you switch back to Tails/Eggman. All you have to do is get to the teleport and teleport up. Easy. By this time I had clocked about ten minutes in Metropolis. So you get to the teleporter to beam up...
--WARNING: Your minds may explode after this paragraph.--
Shadow: *Looking really pissed* Hey! We haven't found Omega, yet. You will find him before you get up here.
...That quote there just shows you exactly what you're going to be doing for the next TWO HOURS; finding that damn tin can. This is where the mission problem REALLY shows, since you have no idea where Omega is, or how to get to him. Cue frustration abound. After these two hours, you are treated to the pinnacle of flipped up characterisation...
*I've now found Omega*
Shadow: Omega!
*Some more dialogue*
...Eggman: Don't bother. He's been a thorn in my side for years.
Shadow: Quiet you, or I'll--
Tails: He's still functioning!
Tails: I can fix him using the parts from the guardian robots.
Shadow: Do it.
Eggman: I never agreed for that faulty machine to--
Shadow: Silence, Eggman. Now.
See, Amy Rose comes off as really obsessive and defensive of the love of her life with that dialogue, doesn't she? It's not even Amy Rose. It's someone who is known to keep his nerve and cold attitude in any situation, he even kept it in Mystic Ruins and Blue Ridge. But now that Omega is in his senses? He can't stop thinking about him. That robot's more to him than Maria ever was. If life could be a paradise, sitting next to Omega would provide eternal bliss. Omega is like God, Allah, Vishnu and every other deity rolled into one.
Now what the hell were they thinking? It's even funnier in-game (goodness grief...).
...You get onto Angel Island and blow up the rest of Ix's grunts (you on't even have to fight them). He reveals that he wants to conquer everything, and Shade does a heel face turn. And we haven't even finished Chapter 5, yet. All the characters are obtainable by less than half-way through. What does that say?
After that, you go through the now-ruined Metropolis, go into space, run around fixing the problems of five planets (with Kron, Zoah. N'yygal and some jelly fish creatures), get the Chaos Emeralds off them and get to Nocturne. There, they get split again (into Sonic/Tails and Knux/Shade) and they get to Ix (after facing re-coloured Gizoids) and both teams fight...and then you have to ight powered-up Ix with Super Sonic (arguably the lamest use of SS, ever. I don't even like him). There, four chapters in one paragraph. They obviously couldn't be bothered, by this time.
The ending is that Nocturne is blown up, you fly home, and Eggman has enslaved the planet, while you were gone. Eh?
The credit roll...uh...speak, and the "The End?" tag pops up. After, the game tells you;
"Now you can restart the game with your more powerful Sonic and see if you can get different chao".
...That's it? You can't explore the other levels with your formed team? You can't get the chao you missed before?
What a jip. You don't even get to catch anymore rings. All the other characters have to be unlocked again, which means that those who wanted to do some free exploring with Shade or Omega are flipped severely. You have to EVERY mission again and just hoe you don't run out of rings, in the process.
Proper review criteria;
Graphics: 7. Generally detailed, with some nice artwork. The flaws can sometimes become aparent and obstrutive, though.
Sound: 5. The music is unmemorble and basic for GBA standards. Voice work...non-existant. The grunts and sound effects are decent, at best.
Storyline: 6. While confusing on paper, it is actually okay in the game. There are some retcons, and the obvious fact that it's supposed to follow from Sonic Battle, of all games, does not help.
Gameplay: 8.5. The actual gameplay is great. All the commands for the characters are clear, and moves are easy to learn. The fact that the mission system is faulty and the fact a lot of characters are compulsary drag it down, though.
Replayability: 2. Very little to do after completeing a game, as it makes you start a new one. People who really like the chao system may find it fun going through again to find them all, but that's even limited.
My score: 6/10. While the gameplay is excellent, the other things, technical or fan-wise, just drag it down to mediocrity. A non-sonic fan may get more enjoyment out it though, so it's a 7/10, for them. Text ends here.
There we go. just a little bit on my thoughts.
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 6:19 pm
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 7:03 pm
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:52 am
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:12 pm
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:13 am
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 3:48 pm
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:17 pm
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:17 pm
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:28 pm
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xweek Here's Xweek, keeping up to date with the latest revelations Some irrlevant text, just skip over it. "Plot; 4000 years ago, the two rival clans of the dominant race Echidna lived side by side in relative harmony. The fragile peace that persisted between the two clans for centuries threatened to be broken at any time. The borders of the empire of Knuckles Clan and the Clan Nocturnus began to encroach one on the other, and neither side is ready to cede the slightest piece of territory. In the war for expansion that followed, an unforeseen cataclysm caused the fall of Clan of Knuckles, raising Angel Island from the surface of the Earth. The Clan Nocturnus did not experienced a much better fate: the entire clan disappeared, taking with it everything that was associated. Nobody has been seen since. All traces of the existence of Clan Nocturnus have now been eliminated, with the exception of a small robotic survivor, its name lost in history. On the other hand, time has elapsed since the crushing defeat of Eggman at the hands of Sonic and his friends. Nobody has reunited thereafter, and they are presumed disappeared forever. Without any chaos and terror that mad scientist liked to spread, the world has become pleasant, quiet and prosperous. Sonic, meanwhile, spent most of his time to explore the farthest corners of the planet, since it no longer has to play super-hero who saves the world. His wanderings have been suddenly interrupted when he received a call from Tails on the frequency reserved for emergencies. Central City is in turmoil, while Knuckles has been kidnapped! Sonic and his friends are able to discover that the events of the past can still influence the future. Could it be that there is a link between the fate of the two echidna clans and the problems Knuckles is facing today?" In other, more important news, it is 3 days until SC biggrin B comes out in Britannia. Get those mice ready, because I'll be up a long while, giving you the latest feed, until it comes out in NA. Xweek, over and out. THAT WAS THE MOST BITCHIN' PLOT EVER.
I ******** LOVE the echidna clan plotline. |
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:38 pm
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