Sonic Boom announced (Wii U/3DS)

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

The handheld versions always disappoint though.

Keep in mind. DIMPS isn't making this one. Sanzaru is.

[Autosaver]

Keep in mind. DIMPS isn't making this one. Sanzaru is.

Apparently the Sly Cooper game wasn't the best and ended up disappointing Sly Cooper fans. Probably won't match up to Ex-Naughty Dog developers.

[Conando]

Sanzaru got a lot of things right, but 4 had really terrible boss fights, some of which even had minigames in the middle of them.

[Da Blu Hedgie]

I'm probably beyond late on this, but oh well. Important details are in blue with my thoughts in orange

Rafei, who founded Big Red Button following a 13-year art-directing stint at Naughty Dog, describes Sonic Boom as a “real solid character-adventure story.” Departing from the franchise’s action-platforming roots, players can expect more exploration, and a heavier focus on combat, narrative, and personalities. And, as in the show, the whole gang gets equal screen time.

 

I like the sound of a character driven story. Less platforming, ummmmm... More exploration sounds good, but more combat like sonic heroes, oh heck no. Sonic and the gang getting equal screen  time, I guess I care

 

In terms of gameplay, the Wii U version supports local 2-player co-op and, as Rafei says, “works off a classic hub and spoke system.” Solo players will be joined by an A.I. companion, and characters can be hot-swapped at hubs and before boss battles. Regardless of how many live players are participating, all four anthropomorths will show up when it’s time to put the hurt on a boss baddie. Levels will support a “wide linear approach to gameplay,” according to Rafei, offering an accessible critical path for fresh fans, while seasoned players will find things more challenging on less-traveled routes.

 

So hubs are confirmed and boss battles cool.

 

“Enerbeams are electric elastic beams that are used for navigation and like zip-wires. They’re also used in combat to pick up certain enemies of a certain class and size…some enemies also have shields that need to be pulled off first.”

 

Ok these sound so much of the zipline from ratchet and clank and pulling off shield reminds me of something else I can't think of...

 

Sonic Boom will also incorporate some yet-to-be-revealed Wii U tablet-specific functionality, as well as other modes supporting more than two players.

 

Oh heck no, more forced gimmicks. Mini Games maybe?

 

Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/07/sonic-boom-sonic-the-hedgehogs-shocking-reinvention

[BonkersTheAutomaton]

Am I the only one getting small amounts of Metroidvania feels through this game?

[Phos]

Hey guess what this is sounding about as rotten as I expected.  

[Diogenes]

... and pulling off shield reminds me of something else I can't think of...

Grapple lasso from Metroid Prime 3?

[TheOcelot]

With all the fuss about the similarities of the Jak & Daxter game designs in Sonic Boom, I've decided to buy the Jak & Daxter PS3 HD collection (ordered from Amazon, £17.58 including post and packaging). Strange it's taken me this long to consider playing a J&D game, considering I'm a Naughty Dog fan and I love the Crash B trilogy and TLOU.

 

Will be interesting to see if there is a spike in sales of the J&D games due to the interest from Boom.

[Alluusio]

 

Will be interesting to see if there is a spike in sales of the J&D games due to the interest from Boom.

 

Oh man that would be like the most ironic thing ever

 

"Sonic Boom is another fine addition to the Wii U library. This is sure to sell some consoles."

>Game releases

>Game gets average sales

>Instead J&D games start selling like hotcakes. 

>Nintendoomed again!

[KrazyBean]

Hopefully the Wii U will sell more before Sonic Boom arrives...if the game is very good then that will help as well with sales for the game and the system.

[kalion]

Hmm that may be if Brawl and Mario Kart are released before Boom. All we know is that Kart will make it before Boom but brawl is a game-changer...

[Tani Coyote]

Oh that Super question is an interesting one... Knuckles is sure to have DBZ vibes.

Hopefully the Wii U will sell more before Sonic Boom arrives...if the game is very good then that will help as well with sales for the game and the system.

Two words. Smash 4!

The Wii U is looking to have a much more robust selection come this year's holiday season, and I think that'll help immensely. The Wii U's ultimate error was releasing at a time where comparable consoles were selling for cheaper (Nintendo's first strength is cheaper, if somewhat weaker, consoles) and a limited number of exclusives (Nintendo's other strength is it has a strong brand). I think enough releases will be out by the end of this year to stimulate the console.

...why am I imagining that in the future Boom games will remain Nintendo-exclusive while regular Sonic returns to multiplat.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

...why am I imagining that in the future Boom games will remain Nintendo-exclusive while regular Sonic returns to multiplat.

Because patterns? Or if Boom does end up making such a big splash, Nintendo's going to race to make at least those exclusive to their consoles, akin to Transformers Prime.

[Da Blu Hedgie]

Grapple lasso from Metroid Prime 3?

I've never played a metroid prime game, so no. It doesn't really matter it'll come to me eventually.

[Meta77]

As great as a fit Sonic is to Nintendo's Platforms, the Wii U is struggling a lot with lack of sales and small instal base. Sure, Sonic Racing Transformed did great on Wii U's launch and I'm sure Lost World did okay, but for Sonic Boom to be the success it deserves to be, the game needs to land on as many platforms as possible and to only be tied to Wii U and 3ds makes that difficult to happen .

 

I'm sure the 3ds Version will sell like hot cakes (nobility if Sanzaru nail the gameplay) but I don't know about the Wii U version; if the systems situation doesn't get any better, this game may suffer for it .

 

The wiiU needs as many third party games as it can get to help it seem more diverse than 20 mario games. Its a first party console truly. I agree the 3ds version will probably sell better.

[Milo]

I just want to express my massive delight in the fact that we're not only getting a Sonic game with playable characters again...we're getting such a game with little (if any) screeches of "UGH SAWNIK'S SHITTY FREINDS" from either the fanbase or general gamers (at least judging the areas I've seen, anyway)!

 

Had I been told back in 2011, when Generations got criticized by select critics and general gamers for the mere presence of Sonic's friends/rivals even though they had little impact on the gameplay and story (lest we forget critics who viewed the presence of certain characters -Cream in particular- as a legitimate fault against the game), that three years later a mainstream Sonic game with other playable characters for the first time in years would be introduced to such a warm reception, I would had laughed my ass off.

[MegasonicZX]

I just want to express my massive delight in the fact that we're not only getting a Sonic game with playable characters again...we're getting such a game with little (if any) screeches of "UGH SAWNIK'S SHITTY FREINDS" from either the fanbase or general gamers (at least judging the areas I've seen, anyway)!

 

Had I been told back in 2011, when Generations got criticized by select critics and general gamers for the mere presence of Sonic's friends/rivals even though they had little impact on the gameplay and story (lest we forget critics who viewed the presence of certain characters -Cream in particular- as a legitimate fault against the game), that a mainstream Sonic game with other playable characters for the first time in years would be introduced to such a warm reception, I would had laughed my ass off.

I would wait til the game comes out to say this cause while I would like to be hopeful that they won't do that, i'm still somewhat scared they will.

[Johnny Boy]

I'm surprised we haven't heard the "shitty friends" complaints either. But knowing critics you know this will pop up at one point or another.

[Tani Coyote]

Oh definitely. The same way the usual unimaginative review will start off along the lines of "Sonic has had rough years since his Genesis days."

I think the complaint about friends is restricted to reviewers (as usually the fanbase seems to clamor the opposite direction); that so few reviewers are touching on it is a positive sign.

I think a lot of it is they are more forgiving since it's a spinoff rather than a main title. Even if the friends' gameplay was total garbage they could still look forward to the main game.

[VO.SUPER]

Maybe it's because these are the original four and not the extraneous friends from the later games.

[Johnny Boy]

Maybe it's because these are the original four and not the extraneous friends from the later games.

True, because whenever critics bash Sonic's friends, Tails, Knuckles, and (sometimes) Amy are usually spared. It's usually characters introduced in Sonic Adventure and beyond that are usually bashed (although critics did like Blaze so I guess she's an exception).

[Marcello]

I've never played a metroid prime game, so no. It doesn't really matter it'll come to me eventually.

 

In Zelda Spirit Tracks you could take enemies' shields with the whip.

[Harley Quinn]

Hoping the reviews won't shit upon the inclusion of Knuckles, Amy, and Tails. Then again, as others have said, generally people don't tend to hate on those three if they're included. I'm quite excited we'll get to play these characters again, however; I'm a bit sick of just Sonic (ironic, since I used to want that so much back in the day).

[Robuttnik]

I just want to express my massive delight in the fact that we're not only getting a Sonic game with playable characters again...we're getting such a game with little (if any) screeches of "UGH SAWNIK'S SHITTY FREINDS" from either the fanbase or general gamers (at least judging the areas I've seen, anyway)!

 

Had I been told back in 2011, when Generations got criticized by select critics and general gamers for the mere presence of Sonic's friends/rivals even though they had little impact on the gameplay and story (lest we forget critics who viewed the presence of certain characters -Cream in particular- as a legitimate fault against the game), that three years later a mainstream Sonic game with other playable characters for the first time in years would be introduced to such a warm reception, I would had laughed my ass off.

People are too busy complaining about the character redesigns to complain about the characters inclusions. Also at least one guy on NeoGAF has complained about Sonic's shitty friends. Then again the sonic cycle also got referenced several times in that thread so I guess this bullshit is always gonna be par for the course to some extent.

 

Also what warm reception are you talking about? This game is getting fucking ripped apart all over the place. Mostly because of overreactions to the redesigns, but nevertheless the reaction to this game so far is generally not what I would call warm.

[RK64]

People are too busy complaining about the character redesigns to complain about the characters inclusions. Also at least one guy on NeoGAF has complained about Sonic's shitty friends. Then again the sonic cycle also got referenced several times in that thread so I guess this bullshit is always gonna be par for the course to some extent.

 

Also what warm reception are you talking about? This game is getting fucking ripped apart all over the place. Mostly because of overreactions to the redesigns, but nevertheless the reaction to this game so far is generally not what I would call warm.

 

I saw the Neogaf Thread to and was surprised by the reaction it got...people really didn't care about the team working on the game rather than just making fun of the redesigns (notibly Knunckles, who got some priceless gifs ). Some people there mentioned that former Naughty Dog guys (along with High Impact and Heavy Iron Studios) are at BigRedButton but the reaction is very similar to most Sonic Team Sonics; friends such, the game trailer looked underwhelming, ect.

 

I think though the game just needs a great trailer, one with a better song playing (a Crash-ised version of Green Hill?) along side some gameplay of the open levels and the different character abilities. Maybe some Sonic-like environments too (as the game looks much more like Jak & Daxter than Sonic so far).

 

This game might be the getting the Mario 3d World treatment; then initial reviel is underwhelming and many just write it off as boring/not as good as other Sonics for months then a new trailer comes out (or in this games case, has a great showing at E3) and people see that it will be great .