Xbox 360

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog is actually a misleading title because this isn’t really Sonic’s game. It should be called Sonic Universe. I love Sonic, and his speed levels and flatland battles are the by far the best they’ve ever been….new moves, tighter control, evolving play mechanics…he’s at his best, doing what he did back in 1991; making every other varmint look dated, but now he’s sharing the spotlight. The real star of this show is Silver. Silver's equally substantial role in the game brings an entirely fresh perspective to the gameplay, with moves and pacing that are entirely new to the Sonic experience. And once they defeat their prime objective, Iblis—the most impressive boss I’ve fought all year—it’s Shadow and Rouge’s turn to weave their way into the story for even more oven-fresh gameplay.

Nos encontramos pues con un buen juego, pero que no llega a lo prometido por Sega, ni mucho menos calma la expectación levantada en un principio (algunos se imaginaban a un Sonic VS Robotnik como antaño, un empezar de cero en el control en 3D o ambas cosas). A pesar de todo, los que disfrutaron con ambos “Adventure” lo harán con este con total seguridad por su similitud. Ojalá para la siguiente entrega, viendo las críticas negativas que están recibiendo Sega y Sonic Team con el juego, veamos un trabajo más cuidado, aunque tengan que tomarse el tiempo que consideren necesario para conseguirlo.

The latest Sonic the Hedgehog game opens with an impressive evening CG festival in a city reminiscent of Venice. Realistic humans dance around, and the princess lights a classy pyrotechnics display. All of a sudden, wacky Dr. Eggman kidnaps Princess Elise and a three-foot tall cartoony blue hedgehog zips in to save the day. This ridiculous mix of realistic fantasy and ultra cute characters permeates the entire game. There are several scenes of lovebirds Sonic and Elise prancing through idyllic green fields like Anakin and Padme. But the story later delves into some cool time travel twists and differing perspectives on the same events.

Ei, ei, ei... was hat das Sonic Team in der langen Entwicklungszeit nur gemacht? Wäre die nur dezent verbesserte Technik noch gerade so zu verkraften, geht man in Sachen Gameplay einen Schritt zurück und bringt ausschließlich Altbewährtes zu Tage. Hier geht die Bedienung schwerfällig von der Hand, in Verbindung mit der kuriosen Kameraführung kommt Frustfaktor auf. Einzige Neuerung gegenüber den alten Teilen ist die Havok 3- Physikengine, die lediglich einer der Charaktere, nämlich Silver The Hedgehog, einzusetzen weiß. Der quasi nicht vorhandene Multiplayer-Modus fällt negativ ins Gewicht, man kann ausschließlich mit einem Freund an einer Konsole spielen. Das lässt die Wertung ein ganzes Stück in den Keller rutschen.

Det kanske allra mest tragiska är att spelet trots allt detta ändå kommer att sälja som smör, framförallt i Storbritannien, och att Sega därför med största sannolikhet kommer att fortsätta i samma stil. Precis som filmbolagen inte behöver bry sig ett smack om hur mycket de misshandlar den stackars Beck eller Wallander då filmerna ändå drar in pengar nere i Tyskland; ekonomiskt försvarbart men etiskt förkastligt. Om inte Sonic and the Secret Rings till Wii blir bättre har jag lovat mig själv att anmäla Sega för plågsamma djurförsök. För ingen igelkott förtjänar att bli behandlad på det här viset.

Ce premier Sonic sur console nouvelle génération est une grosse déception. Peu jouable, à la difficulté mal réglée et aux niveaux peu intéressants, on aura beaucoup de mal à le conseiller, même aux inconditionnels du hérisson bleu. Si les développeurs continuent de nous proposer des Sonic aussi peu convaincants, ils risquent bien de dégoûter les joueurs de ce personnage phare des jeux vidéo. Il est grand temps de se ressaisir messieurs !

Only the most blindly reverent Sonic the Hedgehog fan could possibly squeeze any enjoyment out of Sega's latest adventure. This platformer is a mess from top to bottom, and any of the occasional moments that don't feel somehow broken only serve to make the game's other flaws appear that much bigger.

Die Liste der Ärgernisse ist einfach zu lang, als dass man Sonics Comeback noch reinen Gewissens als mittelmäßiges Spiel bezeichnen könnte. Technisch stellenweise katastrophal (Ladezeiten, Slowdowns, Stadtlevel), konzeptionell unausgegoren (Charakter-Overkill, wenig abenteuerlicher Adventure-Part) und widerborstig wie ein Igel nur sein kann (Steuerung, Kamera, unfaires Leveldesign) trieb mir Sonic the Hedgehog regelmäßig Tränen in die Augen. Was war nur aus ihm geworden?

Cutting away the pointless side characters would do much to improve the franchise, as when you really get down to it both Silver's and Shadows' quests are little more than slower and paler versions of Sonic's own adventure, and whilst Silver's telekinetic abilities are well-implemented, without the speed which forms the backbone of these games the whole experience feels redundant.

Somewhere around the end of Sonic’s mission, the demo level appears as an actual level with nothing taken out. Playing tips remained intact to instruct the player on feats they’ve been performing for several levels now. Worse yet, none of the bugs, the controls, or the camera were addressed in the final build. Sega simply incorporated an incomplete level directly into the game. Actually, the whole game feels like a hodgepodge of undeveloped ideas thrown together with enough loading screens to make you forget the atrocities that occurred five minutes before the loading screen started. This isn’t a game – but a quick buck. After looking at the handheld version of Sonic, there’s still hope for this Mascot that once stood toe-to-toe with Mario, but not on the consoles.

Evidentally, Sega fired their entire Quality Assurance department, because the game's obvious bugs and general lack of polish is astounding. Besides the jumpy camera, there are collision detection glitches, inexcusable pop-up, clipping problems galore, and kung-fu quality lip-syncing. It's not unusual to suddenly lose control of your hedgehog as he momentarily moonwalks in place. The loading screens are so excessive that I had to sit through a 15-second load screen just to watch a lame, 5-second clip. The graphics are high-definition, but no more detailed than the Dreamcast titles - only sharper. I find it hard to believe that somebody at Sega thought this game was a good idea. This is a disgrace. Sonic the Hedgehog has been defeated.

Kontrollen är från helvetet och laddningstiderna inte annat än ett fatalt misstag. Men själva spelet då? Nej, Sonic ska spelas i 2D. De stunder du faktiskt får spela så spelar du inte alls. Du kliver på en studsmatta och studsar iväg mot en annan, mot en tredje, mot ett berg, mot ett tak, studs, studs, studs, men i princip ingenstans behöver du göra något. Varvat med sporadiska och värdelösa fightdelar där antalet knappar du behöver trycka på är lika många som antalet rätt på Linda Rosings högskoleprov (jag gissar på ett) har du ett recept på misslyckande. Köp inte det här spelet. Inte ens om du hatar dig själv.