Sonic Unleashed demo up on Live

[Queasy]

Not up at Major Nelson's site but the demo is up to queue for download on Xbox.com

It is only 187MB so I can't imagine how much is in this demo.

Sonic?s on a worldwide adventure as speed is re-imagined! Powered by the Hedgehog Engine, Sonic Unleashed merges classic Sonic gameplay with next-gen innovation. Explore the first location of this all-new adventure in the Sonic Unleashed Demo, reaching speeds that you?ve never seen before!

 

[mmntech]

It should be up on PSN on Thursday too, hopefully. Unfortunately, the game has been getting a lot of mixed reviews. Not as bad as Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 but nothing special either. Oh Sonic, what happened to you? 🙁

 

[Drako]

I played this game with my 10 year old nephews this weekend on their Wii. I have to say that Wii controllers had me befuddled, but they sure enjoyed laughing at me. I will have to try the 360 download, and when they come over to my house I can laugh at them 🙂.

 

[Oyeve]

Played the 360 demo lastnight. My God, it looks like crap! Fun tho, but really looks shitty.

 

[Queasy]

I played it last night as well and the first level is definitely a classic Sonic level. Lots of it felt like it was on rails and you don't have much control but that's classic Sonic. I'm not sure how the Werehog stuff will play out.

What I don't understand is, why the need to take Sonic full 3D? Why not just make a side-scroller with 3D models ala Bionic Commando? That would solve the problem that the devs stated of not having the time to make worlds big enough for Sonic to speed through.

 

[mmntech]

The problem with Sonic is he doesn't really translate to 3D. This was apparent as early as 1996 when they tried Sonic 3D Blast. I think LittleBigPlanet has set the bar for what a 2.5D side-scroller should look like on modern hardware. Sega should have just stuck with the classic formula: run fast, bounce on robots, free animals, battle the Eggmobile at the end of the Zone. It was simple and it worked. Why mess with perfection? This is the formula the GBA titles used and they were the best Sonic games in a decade.

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Queasy
I played it last night as well and the first level is definitely a classic Sonic level. Lots of it felt like it was on rails and you don't have much control but that's classic Sonic. I'm not sure how the Werehog stuff will play out.

What I don't understand is, why the need to take Sonic full 3D? Why not just make a side-scroller with 3D models ala Bionic Commando? That would solve the problem that the devs stated of not having the time to make worlds big enough for Sonic to speed through.

Agreed. I think they'd make more money (and better games) by updating graphics on the classic games and selling it via arcade and/or PSN.

 

[smackababy]

Sonic Adventure for the DC was the best in the series IMO. So, I believe Sonic can live in a 3D environment. Sonic Team just hasn't done a very good job since the DC days though. Haven't played the demo yet though. Hoping to play it soon.

 

[mmntech]

Originally posted by: smackababy
Sonic Adventure for the DC was the best in the series IMO. So, I believe Sonic can live in a 3D environment. Sonic Team just hasn't done a very good job since the DC days though. Haven't played the demo yet though. Hoping to play it soon.

I played the PC demo of Sonic Adventure DX. It was alright but still lacked the magic that the original Genesis trilogy and Sonic CD had. The 360 version of Sonic Unleashed has a 6.4 average on GameStats. Reviewers seem in agreement that it's the werehog stuff that drags the game down.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Wow, this game is fast. I do definitely feel like it's on rails half the time. During the other half, I'm not quick enough to jump over random spikes in the path.