Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice

[Tani Coyote]

That is about as believeble as  Ian saying the comic was not canncled due to either sales or Sega.

 

I dunno.

 

He could have just chosen to ignore the whole issue (which PR does a lot), but he decided to say something at all.

 

The general rule from my experience is: you can usually trust PR statements that are objective. If a developer says there's a new game, you can probably trust that, since it's objective information. If a developer says that it will be good, you can ignore that, since that's subjective (and of course no PR person is going to say "this product is going to suck please don't buy it think of the children!").

 

Anyway, we're risking getting off topic here.

You guys remember when Iizuka said that Mach 2 wasn't being developed by Sonic Team?

Oh yay, this ties into what I said above.

Iizuka only confirmed that if any game existed, it wasn't being made by them. Nothing more, nothing less.

It's the sort of comment he can make without breaking any NDAs. It's generally easier to confirm negatives than positives.

"We have no plans to use Marine the Raccoon" vs. "Marine the Raccoon will be in the next game." Statement two is much heavier and consequential than one.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

JOHNNY HAS FIGURED OUT THE SECRET MEANING!

 

[Fletch]

 

Basically, we took a lot of that feedback and we tried to fix what consumers and the fans felt was not truly "Sonic" in the last game or what were problematic areas: the character swapping; some of the special abilities weren't fluid enough; the size of the levels were enormous and the users felt lost in this huge labyrinth. And also, users really felt that the speed wasn't there. The speed that represented Sonic wasn't true, so we went back and kind of reestablished and reworked a lot of our methodologies on how we designed the levels.

We really wanted to focus on fluidity of gameplay. So in this version we've actually decreased the size of the levels about 40%. We've cut a linear path through the main part of the level, so you can literally sprint through the whole level and have that fast Sonic experience. We've put all the exploration aspects on the periphery of the levels. We're keeping the exploration because that is what Sonic Boom is. It's a way of us taking Sonic out of his classic legacy gameplay, his arcade vibe, and it's giving him a more real-world presentation, a more adventure-based presentation for a new generation of gamers.

 

 

I'm a very optimistic Sonic fan. Really optimistic, maybe a bit too optimistic by many people viewpoints, but this right here. Woo... This is what I want to hear. 

 

I decided to literally go back and play Shattered Crystal today after not playing it ever since I beat it sometime last year, and was filled with relief to know that I still had fun with the game and could still look towards the sequel with a smile on my face. Of course, I ran into some issues in the game. The switching of the characters was always stop and go, I felt that the speed was downplayed a bit by certain parts in levels, and I could definitely tell the levels were quite big and it took me a little bit to finish them (not the biggest complaint among the three I have listed since I still completed each level in the timelimit given to get a gold metal. In A Nutshell Version: I went fast). 

Still, just knowing that they're acknowledging the game had its flaws and the team is focus does make me smile, and again, really makes me excited for the sequel and optimistic towards it. I mean, I'm literally hearing that character swapping has been improved, and I read somewhere that you can now do it on the fly, which will make things smoother (can't remember which site had this). I'm completely fine, and heck, happy with them downsizing the sides of the levels, too. I remember when me and my friend played the demo. I completed the first level pretty fast (didn't take me long to adjust with me being a Sonic nerd and all that), but it took him a whole 10mins just to complete the first level, and after that? He was done. He just said it was going to be another 3DS Sonic game that he'll have to pass on, unfortunately. I believe with cutting down on the length of the levels, it'll hopefully attract back some people, like my friend maybe, they had some interest in the game but was turned off by the length of the level. The game was literally just screaming out Sonic Heroes/Sonic Lost World 3DS because of the length. Not really good for some. 

 

 

 

It's a lot faster this time around, swapping characters is much easier. The music was done by Richard Jacques who was one of the composers for Sonic: 3D Blast, back in '96. 

 

 

Thanks, Aaron Webber! And I think he probably just confirmed that Richard Jacques will be doing the music for the sequel, and if this is a confirmation, then good! I enjoyed the music in the first game, but didn't think it was the overall best Sonic soundtrack that Richard Jacques worked on, which is fine because the music was still good. I hope he's able to still put out more good music, and hopefully out due himself from the first game!

[BumblekingNaugus]

You guys remember when Iizuka said that Mach 2 wasn't being developed by Sonic Team?

I know, it's great! Not even Bumbleking, the NeoGaf of Sonic sites is defending it!  This going to bomb so hard!

[Conando]

I guess SEGA are continuing full steam ahead with the Boom games despite how shit Rise of Lyric and Shatter Crystal were.

 

Honestly, this game looks rushed, dull and no doubt will be crap like the others.

 

Another Nintendo exclusive game which won't sell well.

 

Urgh......seriously. Wtf SEGA?

 

 

I think that's unfair considering Generations 3DS was the top seller of the 3 versions. Now see, a truly bad Sonic game won't sell anymore. That's for sure.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

At least this game is going to sell better than The Lara-Su Chronicles.

[BumblekingNaugus]

 

I dunno.

 

He could have just chosen to ignore the whole issue (which PR does a lot), but he decided to say something at all.

 

The general rule from my experience is: you can usually trust PR statements that are objective. If a developer says there's a new game, you can probably trust that, since it's objective information. If a developer says that it will be good, you can ignore that, since that's subjective (and of course no PR person is going to say "this product is going to suck please don't buy it think of the children!").

 

Anyway, we're risking getting off topic here.

Oh yay, this ties into what I said above.

Iizuka only confirmed that if any game existed, it wasn't being made by them. Nothing more, nothing less.

It's the sort of comment he can make without breaking any NDAs. It's generally easier to confirm negatives than positives.

"We have no plans to use Marine the Raccoon" vs. "Marine the Raccoon will be in the next game." Statement two is much heavier and consequential than one.

Ian is a shill for Archie. Always has been and always will be.

[Dejimon11]

At least this game is going to sell better than The Lara-Su Chronicles.

 

Yeah cause that certainly hard to do and that something to brag about 

[Tani Coyote]

I don't doubt Aaron's comments that they're going to try and refine the game compared to SC, but I'm seriously concerned for the quality of a product that comes out only a year after its predecessor.

I mean, it is DOABLE, that's certain, but short of a ton of money for overtime/temps, I'm not convinced it will be in this case.

I'm guessing Sony said to Sanzaru, "hey instead of making bad installments in good franchises, make bad installments in bad ones."

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Ian is a shill for Archie. Always has been and always will be.

[Tani Coyote]

So you decided to just come in and complain more about Ian?

[BumblekingNaugus]

At least this game is going to sell better than The Lara-Su Chronicles.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

My brother and am sure others will be buying it. I can't say the same for this rubbish.

[Tails spin]

I don't doubt Aaron's comments that they're going to try and refine the game compared to SC, but I'm seriously concerned for the quality of a product that comes out only a year after its predecessor.I mean, it is DOABLE, that's certain, but short of a ton of money for overtime/temps, I'm not convinced it will be in this case.I'm guessing Sony said to Sanzaru, "hey instead of making bad installments in good franchises, make bad installments in bad ones."

[Tara]

Really, no matter how many times they say they're trying to refine the product to be a quality experience, it really doesn't make a difference until I actually see said marked improvements.  Sonic 4 was made with complaints fans had about the main direction of the series in mind, and yet it still flopped phenomenally.  Sonic '06 was made with fan demand for another Adventure title in mind, and we already know about that.  No extra development time is going to make me assume their comprehension of what fans and critics find enjoyable has made any progress, even if they decide the game won't be released for another hundred years.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Really, no matter how many times they say they're trying to refine the product to be a quality experience, it really doesn't make a difference until I actually see said marked improvements.  Sonic 4 was made with complaints fans had about the main direction of the series in mind, and yet it still flopped phenomenally.  Sonic '06 was made with fan demand for another Adventure title in mind, and we already know about that.  No extra development time is going to make me assume their comprehension of what fans and critics find enjoyable has made any progress, even if they decide the game won't be released for another hundred years.

[Tara]

Tara, just making you aware of this, but only the top half of your avatar is showing up for me.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Could have sent me a comment or PM for that XD

 

Anyway, full thing is showing for me.  Might try refreshing?

[baba_944]

Sonic Boom: fire and Ice's soundtrack is being composed by Richard Jaques. You know, that guy who composed music for 3D Blast?

[Moppsy]

I'm not so quick to lambast this new game as quickly as a lot of people would.  Part of the reason is that I avoided wasting money on the other two after seeing the reviews and LP's of the game last year.  So not having been burned by the Boom series financially and having medium expectations from the beginning helps.  Honestly I wish them the best.  It seems they are aware of the handful of issues both games were blighted with and want to show they are trying to hammer out those fixes.  Of course I'll wait for the reviews and gameplay before I make a decision, but I think Ice & Fire might be heading towards being an improvement.

 

Also I have Runners to hold my attention until next year so I lose nothing.

[The Deleter]

My understanding is that collectibles are optional, and I'm confirming this now with the team. (So, once you clear a level, you'll be able to move on to the next one.)

Thanks for the welcome and the kindly worded question - my time here goes back years, but it's good to be back.

[Tara]

Sonic Boom: fire and Ice's soundtrack is being composed by Richard Jaques. You know, that guy who composed music for 3D Blast?

[LATER BUDDY]

I'll give it a fair shot before gameplay footage/reviews at this moment, but like everyone else I'm not really bouncing off the walls with excitement either. Here's to hoping it's actually pretty rad~

 

Also I feel weird since I named a Sonic remix "Fire and Ice!" for the first SSMB album lmao

[PKGaming]

GameXplain discussion about the Fire & Ice reveal:

 

[SSF1991]

The game just rubs me off as too much like Shattered Crystal. I hope to be proven wrong but right now I'm just not that excited.