Zero Punctuation: Sonic Boom - Boom or Bust

[SD-Fiend]

Well... Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 were good Sonic games that had multiple characters. If it wasn't for Sonic 06 messing up the Adventure Formula we might have had Sonic Adventure 3 by now.

 

[Thanatos2k]

Well, based on the linked articles on the previous page, it feels as though Big Red Button didn't really care about the project. They started out with one concept, Sega barged in with the idea of connecting their project with another handheld release and a planned cartoon series - and everything they'd built up in terms of concept art and design propositions had to be scrapped. They spent the rest of their allowed time scrambling to make ends meet with an engine that was barely stress-tested for the Wii U.

I mean, CryEngine 3 felt sluggish even on the 360 and its optimal PC requirements are still slightly insane. Considering how quickly 3D Sonic games have to update what's visible at max draw distance, I can see how the engine would buckle under pressure. Boom was hastily cobbled together, the cartoon is only slightly better - great visuals, meh writing - so yeah.

Chalk it up to Sega's inability to find a competent outsourced team and to said outsourced team's generally not giving a shit.

It's a crazy thing when the best thing the Sonic license has going for it as of the last decade is the Archie comics line. Even that's not saying much, with Sega stamping down on the team's creative license as of Robotnik's change into Eggman in said comics. Archie's Sonic went from an overwrought Greek tragedy-slash-soap opera with robots and anthros to Sega's printed promotional material peddler.

That's how I can tell a Sonic fan with standards from one who does not (and is likely the ones somehow keeping this series afloat). The good ones call him Robotnik. The bad ones call him Eggman.

 

[JimB]

I think Jim Sterling nailed the Sonic problem - they just change it up too much, and can't settle down on anything that works long enough to polish it.

Also, bounce pads.

I haven't played the game, but from what I've seen, the bounce pads seem to be an attempt to insert Sonic speed into a 3D world by imposing essentially 2D movement. It's not a bad idea, but it seems badly executed, since little player input looks to be required.

 

[Darth_Payn]

"You bought me!"
"Touché."

May have been the greatest closer in aaaaages.

I think Jim Sterling nailed the Sonic problem - they just change it up too much, and can't settle down on anything that works long enough to polish it.

Also, bounce pads.

That's right up there with the end of his FarCry 2 review, with the joke ending in "...and whistled for a baboon."

OT: Don't think I didn't notice the old Sonic Team logo as a splatter of blood on that Easter Island head, and that's a nice touch there. I also like the different names Yahtzee uses for the 4 playable characters and mixing up Dr. Robotic and Egg-man, like SEGA still can't decide what his name is.

 

[Saika Renegade]

Sure, Battletoads didn't have horrific glitches that broke game sequence or simply failed to render even basic concepts like the floor, but note that I said as a game, not as a programming exercise. I should also specify I'm referring to the home console versions. Last-second reaction-test track runs, flat combat, and unhelpful controls do not help a game age well. We can use so much more than just plain difficulty to engage a player these days, and Boom and BRB not remembering those lessons when making a modern-gen reboot didn't help Sonic either.

Really? Because apparently people would argue otherwise regarding plain difficulty considering how successful the Dark Souls games were.

Dark Souls also has people talking about it for atmosphere, world details, mechanics, and most importantly, solid gameplay design. It's more than just a hard game--it is difficult but it can keep us in it for so much more than just 'my god, this is difficult.'

Battletoads, in modern times, is known mostly for its difficulty and a somewhat clunky control system. Getting to the end of Battletoads at home is definitely an achievement, but I'd argue it's not a very fun one to reach, unlike most of Dark Souls.

I know it's hardly fair to judge an over 20 year old game like Battletoads by modern standards, but I'll just say I felt the same way when it first came out too. Yeah, it's hard, but is it enjoyable to defeat the difficulty? It didn't feel like it then, and not any more so now.

 

[RenegadeDuck]

Yet another entry in the series that self-conscious Sanic fans will groan at as they realize that every new horrible installment in the franchise will make more people think that only the mentally impaired and prepubescent are fans of the little blue blur.

Anyway, I'm startled that folks from Naughty Dog actually worked on this tripe. I figured everyone from that team had an inkling of an idea of what they were doing.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

That's how I can tell a Sonic fan with standards from one who does not (and is likely the ones somehow keeping this series afloat). The good ones call him Robotnik. The bad ones call him Eggman.

I'll take that as an indirect compliment, and I'll thank you for it.

That said, Best Robotnik is SatAM Robotnik. I swear, Jim Cummings could reuse that sepulchral tone for a late-night emcee sideline.

"And now, filthy peasants, I, DJ Robotnik, will soothe your evenings of relentless oppression with a selection of Slow Jazz classics. Get yourselves in the mood, if you know what I'm saying, my dear Mobians; as this is the last pleasure I'm willing to let you enjoy. Screw each other to Barry White, my little rabbits; I need more organic carcasses for my Roboticizer.

Isn't that exquisite, hm? Oh yeeees, that's exquisite indeed..."

 

[iller3]

This game is literally life imitating fan art. ...and by that I mean the Sonic Fandom coming full circle to reap what it has sewn since it's obvious the people who graduated full sail and are building games these days were the children most influenced by Chris-Chan and everything else that started going awry 10 years ago.


I'm expecting a video game about Steel Doughnut any day now, since there was just one made about Spider-Bread.

 

[Logience]

I'd still like to know why Sonic is automatically considered bad.

 

[marioandsonic]

I haven't played a Sonic game since Generations, and I certainly will not buy this. I did watch a livestream of someone playing it, and...Jesus Fucking Christ.

As you can tell by my user name, I grew up with the Sonic series, with its ups and downs. And I believe that Sonic Boom is the lowest point in this franchise's history. Yes, even worse than Sonic 06.

I am not joking when I say this: I would fire everyone. Every single person who worked on this game deserves to lose their job. It's a level of incompetence that's on a level not even Ubisoft can reach. You look at Sega about this series, and they seem completely clueless.

The Sonic series, this once excellent franchise, is an atrocity, and everyone involved with it needs to go.

 

[Quiotu]

That's how I can tell a Sonic fan with standards from one who does not (and is likely the ones somehow keeping this series afloat). The good ones call him Robotnik. The bad ones call him Eggman.

I'll take that as an indirect compliment, and I'll thank you for it.

That said, Best Robotnik is SatAM Robotnik. I swear, Jim Cummings could reuse that sepulchral tone for a late-night emcee sideline.

"And now, filthy peasants, I, DJ Robotnik, will soothe your evenings of relentless oppression with a selection of Slow Jazz classics. Get yourselves in the mood, if you know what I'm saying, my dear Mobians; as this is the last pleasure I'm willing to let you enjoy. Screw each other to Barry White, my little rabbits; I need more organic carcasses for my Roboticizer.

Isn't that exquisite, hm? Oh yeeees, that's exquisite indeed..."

See, this is more proof of what really needs to happen. It won't happen, but it's one of the few ways of saving Sonic other than just burying the IP in a time capsule and unearthing it after a generation has gone by without him.

Archie Comics basically took the Sat Am cartoon and ran with it, later on implementing the game lore within it as well. And for some reason they're really good at keeping the universe fresh, are fantastic at keeping things canon even when they really shouldn't (Amy Rose), and do things Sega would never do in their stories... like have Sonic troll Robotnik to the point that he has to be institutionalized.

Sega is awful with story, the Sonic team is awful with story, and it shows because the only time the games were good is back in the beginning... when it didn't really have a story, just an intro in the manual. Any time they tried to add plot or story it was terrible, except on the rare occasion when Sonic's not always the MC (Sonic Adventure). This is because Sonic is a one-dimensional douchebaggy character, and can't carry a whole game with actual story. This is where the Sat AM cartoon and Archie got it right, they just threw in a lot of support characters more interesting than Sonic himself. Sonic is the Will Farrell of game characters.

Sega basically needs to play nice with Archie and start making games in their universe, because Sega's Sonic universe is awful and keeps getting worse. Now that'll never happen, and it would mean Sega'd have to wade in the festering sewer that is Archie's Sonic comic character IP hell, but I fail to see Sega alone making anything decent with the Sonic franchise again without fresh blood, and a lot of it.

 

[Flunk]

GENERATIONS WAS GOOD.

This looks more like a Sonic Unleashed, terrible because they focus all on the "not Sonic" gameplay.

I'm tempted to start working on my own Sonic rip-off. I'll have to change just enough stuff to not get sued but I can rip off the gameplay from Sonic 2 & 3 almost totally (it's not like Sega is using it). I'm almost not kidding, maybe after my current contract is finished.

 

[CaitSeith]

I suppose Yahtzee has a new Worst GOTY contender for his end of the year list. Which would go something like:

1) Sonic Boom
2) The Evil Within
3) Thief
4) Lightning Returns
5) Hyrule Warriors

I disagree on Hyrule Warriors. Yahtzee didn't exactly say it was bad/horrible, just that it was boring to him and the plot was nonsensical(to him, at least.).

I say Risen 3, Sacred 3, Advanced Warfare, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Watch_Dogs or Destiny fit better on the list than Hyrule Warriors does.

This is what he called Hyrule Warriors:

"Blatant marketing exercize"
"It's Dynasty Warriors with Zelda in it"
"Plot goes through the usual motions"
"I enjoyed the story mode because it kept making me laugh"
"Standard" and "Hackneyed"
"I found the gameplay rather dull"
"There's never any sense that the training wheels are coming off"
"Switching between weapons is incredibly awkward"
"There's got to be a better use for a touchscreen controller in a battlefield simulator"
"The [Zelda] games are interchangeable"
"The game climaxes before the end and then walks awkwardly for five more missions"
"The game is basically a bland reminder that the franchise exists until the next proper game comes out"

Not saying the games you mentioned are better or worse or don't have just as many negative quips to them. But Yahtzee didn't find Hyrule Warriors "just boring".

Then again, that can just be my inner Nintendo fan talking........

That depends. Would you try to defend Sonic Boom, another Nintendo game?

I think Assassin's Creed Unity will end up in 5th place (after all, when you drop onto the the floor in Hyrule Warriors, you don't keep falling thru it)

 

[Slegiar Dryke]

You know what, I'm straight up going to say it. this game makes the 06 game look BETTER. hub areas had people and things to find, the characters didn't break the 4th wall by going "OOH jump pads!", and, oh yeah, most importantly for those that grew up with sonic on the genesis, the characters in the 06 game LOOK LIKE THE BLOODY CHARACTERS!

yeah okay, tails 's pretty hard to really fuck up, and amy as well. but I do have to agree, what's with sonics neckscarf, and all the bandages on him and knuckles....and what's with making knuckles an IDIOT....and on STEROIDS............

people will probably disagree, but if you can't look at both games and cringe LESS at a game that doesn't let you ultimate jump by pressing the start button...........well, that's your opinion....they're both bad.... but I actually wanted to play and finish 06 for an interesting story. not one single thing related to Boom is getting a single red cent outta me.

 

[marioandsonic]

You know what, I'm straight up going to say it. this game makes the 06 game look BETTER. hub areas had people and things to find, the characters didn't break the 4th wall by going "OOH jump pads!", and, oh yeah, most importantly for those that grew up with sonic on the genesis, the characters in the 06 game LOOK LIKE THE BLOODY CHARACTERS!

yeah okay, tails 's pretty hard to really fuck up, and amy as well. but I do have to agree, what's with sonics neckscarf, and all the bandages on him and knuckles....and what's with making knuckles an IDIOT....and on STEROIDS............

people will probably disagree, but if you can't look at both games and cringe LESS at a game that doesn't let you ultimate jump by pressing the start button...........well, that's your opinion....they're both bad.... but I actually wanted to play and finish 06 for an interesting story. not one single thing related to Boom is getting a single red cent outta me.

While I agree with you about Sonic Boom being worse, it's like saying "Of these two reproductions of the original Sonic design document created by flicking fountain pens at a pile of shredded paper, I think this one is less likely to get my hands covered in ink."

 

[Slegiar Dryke]

While I agree with you about Sonic Boom being worse, it's like saying "Of these two reproductions of the original Sonic design document created by flicking fountain pens at a pile of shredded paper, I think this one is less likely to get my hands covered in ink."

oh, don't get me wrong XD despite my helping dig the pit deeper for Boom, I won't say 06 is suddenly amazing. I may have liked parts but there were some whacky bugs in there......but I do like that analogy =) agreed fully there ^^

 

[RealRT]

Oh, fuck me. I mean... what the fuck, Sega? You make a great game in Sonic Generations (yeah, it was pretty damn good, even if Yahtzee will never admit it) and then you just fuck it up more and more and more. What the hell is wrong with you. Were you too afraid of being accused of copying yourselves? Well fuck that, Mario is formulaic as hell and his games don't make people want to murder the developers.

 

[gamegod25]

It's interesting that the devs of Sonic Boom, Big Red Button Entertainment, are former former Naughty Dog members (as well as a few other studios) and considering how terrible the game turned out it's no hard to see why they are former members.

 

[hermes]

That final exchange seems like the design motto of the people that makes the modern Sonic. At this point, anyone dumb enough to buy the modern games, is dumb enough no level of contempt displayed by the developers seems enough.

That is ignorant thinking as there have been good modern Sonic games. Colors and Generations being the two main obvious ones and I really think the people hating on Unleashed and Lost World (Not that those games didn't have glaring flaws mind you) are being too cynical to trust.

Really if you say that simply because of Big Red Button's mess alone then congratulations, you're a reminder as to why franchises die in the first place.

Really? Thanks. I will take your guilt trip over overplayed franchises with poor to mediocre entries while the SEGA executives let more interesting games rot or go, as a compliment.

At this point Sonic is a franchise that needs to take a good look at itself, even if it means not having a new Sonic game for the next 5 years or so. Sonic appears in 3 to 4 games every year, the good ones at this point being the anomalies, not the norm. And if that means the franchise is better in our memories than in store shelves, so be it. It is not like the people handling Sonic has anything to do with the original team to begin with.

 

[BeerTent]

I'm still trying to figure out what's more hilarious. The fact that the brick took offense, or Yahzee's review.

GENERATIONS WAS GOOD.

This looks more like a Sonic Unleashed, terrible because they focus all on the "not Sonic" gameplay.

I'm tempted to start working on my own Sonic rip-off. I'll have to change just enough stuff to not get sued but I can rip off the gameplay from Sonic 2 & 3 almost totally (it's not like Sega is using it). I'm almost not kidding, maybe after my current contract is finished.

Really, nobody has any kind of patent on "2D platformer."

If you're actually serious, I'd consider jacking into Unity, or Ethanon engine. I also have some royalty free music I had found. Find yourself a little team. The hard part is finding a group of people, and the overall design of the levels. Get the pencil and paper out now and use your spare time to figure that shit out. Do your research too.