Zero Punctuation: Sonic Unleashed

[Senor Smoke21]

His voice just gets angrier and angrier as it goes on.
One of the funniest iv seen in a while, love it when he gets a really poor game.
=]

 

[Tharticus]

Seems that Yahtzee predicted that another sonic game is another pundit of snot. Liked the video review.

 

[Evan Waters]

I actually think SONIC ADVENTURE came close to getting it right. You can play through the pretty consistently fun Sonic levels, do the other ones at your leisure, and suffer through the worst to get to a really nice final boss. SONIC ADVENTURE 2 seems to be where it went off the rails a bit- overly linear levels and you HAVE to play Tails and Knuckles stages to get back to Sonic because someone thought this was a good idea (also, the rapping.)

The problem is that Sega really can't stop making Sonic games, not even for a short hiatus until they figure out how to do a game that's just Sonic and no gimmicks, because they really don't have much else. They've gone from a company that makes games and consoles, to a company that makes games, to a company that makes Sonic and a couple of other things. Sad really.

 

[Liminal Dusk]

I don't feel that no new Sonic games should ever be made again, but I think that the project heads need to look at what people say, and not what the numbers say. I don't know the market well, but I am often worried that the reason Sonic Team gets away with this is because people buy things that say "Sonic" on them, regardless of content.

If that's the case, there's not a lot we can do other than boycott until a good game comes out. But if they're trying to appeal to a new audience this simple truth is enough: The people that truly love Sonic games would be the ones that played the originals. Any semblence of THAT is what sparks interest. I also personally think the story is not unwelcome, provided it doesn't screw with the core mechanic: speed. Sonic Adventure 2 I thought pulled this off well. The scenes were short, and it moved on to stages. If only every stage was like Sonic's or Shadow's stages. That's what people want. These gimicks seem to try to pull in new crowds, which is simply foolish (although that goes back to the market note...). Swords and Werewolf-wannabes are not "Sonic." Bless them for trying something new, but they need to realize that the "something new" we want isn't in a Sonic game, its in things like "Valkyria Chronicles" (another Sega, albiet I doubt Sonic Team, game) that we want new ideas. Those whose nostalgia brings them to buy these aren't looking for a "Mirror's Edge." We're looking for SONIC THE FUCKING HEDGEHOG.

No character or game aesthetic or mechanic should ever need to be re-imagined unless it failed in the first place.

 

[kamos]

That was pretty funny.

I guess whoever developed this game can't pay you enough for a thumbs up.

 

[Lord_Seth]

So which version of the game did Yahtzee play? It shows a Wii in the video but the Wii version doesn't allow changing the voices (or so someone mentioned, I haven't played it myself). As Yahtzee mentions he DID change the voices, if that's true then that means he couldn't have been playing the Wii version.

I mention this because pretty much everywhere you look, you'll notice the Wii version got better reviews and higher scores. One of the more extreme examples was GameSpot, which gave the Wii version a 7.0 and the XBox 360 version a 3.5. So it makes me wonder if Yahtzee would've preferred the Wii version, if he hadn't been playing that version.

I picked up the 2006 Sonic game, hoping it would rekindle my love for that speed addict, how deeply wrong I was. Ever since then I have vowed never to buy a Sonic game again.

EVERYONE agrees that the 2006 game was a disaster. Even people who liked it admit that it was greatly flawed. Even some of the developers have all but admitted it sucked, the explanation for its badness is apparently that the game was rushed through production to get it out in time for Christmas. I'm not sure exactly who was at fault for that, whether it was Sammy (Sega's owner), Sega (Sonic Team's owner), or Sonic Team themselves who ordered that it be rushed, but whoever was the one who decided it, it ended up as the absolute mess it was.

So, what do you guys think? Would it be humanly possible to breathe new life into the Sonic series?

Yeah, but some major restructuring of Sonic Team is necessary.

While everyone loves picking on the 3D Sonic games, the ones for the handheld system have generally gotten better reviews (excepting "Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis" of course). The Sonic Advance series, for example, got pretty good reviews, but they weren't made by Sonic Team (though for whatever reason Sonic Team still got credit in the opening sequence).

 

[cartooner2008]

So which version of the game did Yahtzee play? It shows a Wii in the video but the Wii version doesn't allow changing the voices (or so someone mentioned, I haven't played it myself). As Yahtzee mentions he DID change the voices, if that's true then that means he couldn't have been playing the Wii version.

Actually, in the Wii version, you can change languages. the thing in the 360 version that's absent from the Wii version were the hub worlds.

 

[agiganticpanda]

He should play the DS versions... they're actually decent. Probably because they're sticking to 2D.

 

[Jimtopia]

Honestly I enjoyed the Sonic levels A LOT more than the Were-hog one's.

 

[cartooner2008]

Honestly I enjoyed the Sonic levels A LOT more than the Were-hog one's.

About 95% of people did.

I'm going to be honest and say that I found the were-hog stages pretty fun, I thought that the Sonic levels were way better.

 

[tonsoffun111111]

didn't see that coming ( that was a joke ).

 

[Podunk]

It made me smile a bit when I noticed that even though the developers didn't catch on the marketing department must have realized the fact that 'Were-Hog' is probably the stupidest word I've heard all year and it is thankfully absent from all the commercials I've seen.

... Seriously, when I overheard some of my chums mid-conversation about this game I was quite intrigued by the notion of a game in which a man turns into a pig. That probably would have lent itself to better gameplay and level design, actually.

 

[Flared]

Over the Top anger....

I know the game isn't that great (Day = good, Night = bad) but Yahtzee really didn't need to slag Sonic off that badly. I am not defending the franchise but these reviews are becoming more like only Yahtzee's opinion.

 

[Honkytonk]

There are some reviews that I agree with complitely and there are the ones that I wanna punch Yahtzee in the face for... with a big hammer.

I bet he never actually played a 3D game. Otherwise he would know that the first 3D Sonic games, Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 were f*cking awesome!

I can understand that people don't like recent games that much but why they are sooooo hated even though they're not thaaaat bad is beyond me.

Hell, I was able to love all and last time I checked I wasn't any kind of deranged creature living in a cave.

Hahahahaha! Yes any 3D sonic game stinks soggy balls. It's true.

That's what I mean. People saying how bad they are even though they maybe just heard about one or so.

And even if you can't stand recent games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic Unleashed certainly isn't a bad game. The Wii version is good and the other version is even better.

So I'll just F*CK YOU ALL!!

Ima go play Sonic Heros now and hell I will have a great time!


t(>.<)t

 

[MB202]

I happene to be a huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan, yet I agree with everything he just said.

BTW, how long until Yahtzee reviews Mother 3?

Why? Is it coming out outside Japan anytime soon?

'Cause that would be fucking awesome...

No... But the Fan Translation is finished:

http://mother3.fobby.net/

Awwww... you nearly got my hopes up there. I want it on my Gameboy so I can play it at college and not have too worry about it getting deleted...

...Which it has...

When you say "deleted", you mean by accident? I've downloaded the game onto my own computer, and it's just fine...

But, sorry to get your hopes up there, but odds are, Nintendo's never going to release Mother 3 overseas, so this is as close as we're going to get for the time being.

 

[li-ion]

I am not defending the franchise but these reviews are becoming more like only Yahtzee's opinion.

Have they ever been something else? In the end of the day a review always represent someones opinion about something. That's why reviews in different magazines differ, since everyone has a personal favourite taste and playstyle. If you don't find yourself in line with the ideas of any given reviewer you should just look for someone else's opinion to value.

And yes, you are defending the franchise ;-)

 

[ProfessorLayton]

For anyone who might have thought this game would be any good, have you seen ANY good Sonic games in a very long time? Also, has any good classic game franchise not been milked to death?

The sad thing is, even though these games are terrible, people will still buy them. I was like that, once, when I would buy any game for the GameCube if it had a character I recognized on it. And just like those stupid people who made Disaster Movie, no matter how bad it is, people will still pay for it and then they will make another one.

 

[Eruanno]

Although I have to say I already suspected this game to suck balls, I didn't actually know it was going to suck this much. Thank you for saving me, Yahtzee! (Not that I was going to buy this flippin' game anyway...)

Also - Yahtzee & Friends has a show together? MUST! WATCH! *drool*

 

[cartooner2008]

LOL, somebody posted a blog on Deviantart saying that they're no longer a fan on Yahtzee because of this review.

 

[Chadling]

From listening to Yahtzee get so worked up on this review, I'm guessing that he used to be a big Sonic fan. And that he'd personally love to desecrate the Sonic Team offices in retaliation for repeatedly defiling what was an awesome platforming series.