New Sonic Unleashed stages released

[Viewtiful Jeff]

Interceptor in Wiileashed wasn't very...fun. In Apotos or Eggmanland. He wheels at you uselessly, and then you boost into him a few times and falls over dead. Not very challenging. And yeah, the fact that there's two makes it less intimidating.

360/PS3 Unleashed, the Interceptor will kick your ass if you're not careful, and sometimes even if you are. I still have trouble with the Chun-Nan (act 1-2) and Adabat Interceptors if I'm not careful. Plus, the fact that it's the same one and it just keeps coming back for more is too awesome for words.

I will agree that it kinda sucks that you never truly throw down with him, though. A final fight with him in Eggmanland would've been really cool. Here's hoping they stick him in as an extra boss if they make Eggmanland DLC.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

If the patch is the same as the Xbox 360 version, Japanese and EU PS3 versions, it does nothing but prepare for the DLC. The DLC fixes the Quiz Lady and fixes the frame rate stuff a tad so people say but I don't see any difference. So maybe now you PS3 owners in the U.S. have the patch you should hopefully get the DLC.

I'm gonna check today if the patch is ready. If so, then DLC will hopefully come for us this week. @.@ But I won't get my hopes high yet like I did last week....

[Detective Shadzter]

I'm gonna check today if the patch is ready. If so, then DLC will hopefully come for us this week. @.@ But I won't get my hopes high yet like I did last week....

Let us know when you've checked, but someone did already confirm the U.S. PS3 patch. Yeah hopefully this means you guys will get the DLC too. Hope you do, as there are some good stages among it all.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Yep, Version 1.02 patch is now available for the PS3 US owners. =3

I hope no new DLC comes out for the 360 until we catch up. DX

[Chooch]

It's about damn time. They should just release everything that the 360 has up to date on Thursday, but they likely won't do that.

The PlayStation Store really annoys me sometimes.

[Gatestormer]

Sooo...are we to expect another update on Thursday for the next continent?

[turbojet]

Yep, Version 1.02 patch is now available for the PS3 US owners. =3

I hope no new DLC comes out for the 360 until we catch up. DX

Holy hell yes!

About damned time. Seriously, why do PS3 users get treated like crap by Sega? It becomes aggravating as hell for PS3 owners.

Edited April 7, 2009 by turbojet

[Blacklightning]

About damned time. Seriously, why do PS3 users get treated like crap by Sega? It becomes aggravating as hell for PS3 owners.

I hear X360/PS3 cross-porting is a fucking nightmare, so if that's true even the DLC can't really be as simple as transferring a set of objects from one console to another. Of course, anyone is free to correct me if they have a better understanding of porting issues.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

But then...JPN PS3 owners gets the DLC the same time as the 360 owners do...so I just don't get it....and what's worse is that US owners have to wait even longer for the content...even Europe had this before us...I don't want to continue playing catch up...

Edited April 7, 2009 by Spicylicious

[ovarloard]

Darn the "Sonic is a Japanese game and Europe has the biggest fanbase" conspiracy.

[Viewtiful Jeff]

I thought it was because Sony was charging developers for bandwith on the Playstation Network.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Nope, it's not that.

[JezMM]

I just discovered... anyone who wants a preview of future night stages, just head to the sound test and look at the pictures for each night stage theme (not the intro), they're all the images for Act 2, and a few countries haven't got Act 2's yet...

Admittidly most of the pictures are vague or hard to see anyway actually but I thought it was a neat discovery, considering Rooftop Run's nighttime picture IS the one for Act 2, not that we knew it until the DLC was released...

[NitroFKS]

This is great news, I wish I could try them out but im afraid to get the Red Ring Of Death.

[Viewtiful Jeff]

Red Ring of Death...doesn't happen anymore, except in very small percentages. All new 360s have the problem fixed, as far as I understand.

Besides that, if you do get one, Microsoft will replace it for free.

[Eternal EX]

Damn right! Nice discovery JEZ. Now the question is what stage is next?

[Sega DogTagz]

Red Ring of Death...doesn't happen anymore, except in very small percentages. All new 360s have the problem fixed, as far as I understand.

Besides that, if you do get one, Microsoft will replace it for free.

Don’t forget about the E-74. Microsoft doesn’t pay for that issue every time.

I can only hope that some more DLC will come the US PS3 way by the time I get hen I get back to gaming next week.

[Tiller]

So I fired up Unleashed today and played Spagonia's Day DLC. But something really hit me. As soon as I got to the first 3D portion of act 2-2, I stopped, twisted the camera to the spire in in the middle, and let my jaw drop. Is it me or does the game look even better? It's seriously one of the best looking things I've seen out of this generation.

[Detective Shadzter]

Just checked Xbox Live and no new DLC this week unfortunately.

EDIT: Seems the U.S. have got a new Holoska pack but we in Europe aren't getting this pack this week it seems -

http://www.tssznews.com/2009/04/09/unleash...adventure-pack/

[Tailer]

Well I'm gonna wait until I can see a video and an opinion about about the new map pack before I buy it.

Until then I'm just gonna forge the new Sandbox map and play the mythic map pack, and yes mythic map pack is worth it all thanks to sandbox .

[JezMM]

Just checked Xbox Live and no new DLC this week unfortunately.

EDIT: Seems the U.S. have got a new Holoska pack but we in Europe aren't getting this pack this week it seems -

http://www.tssznews.com/2009/04/09/unleash...adventure-pack/

You must have checked too early. I'm in the UK and downloading the Holoska pack as we speak. Shall give my full stupidly geeky and huge review like last time when I'm done playing, lol.

[Fox Gungrave]

I'm in France and downloaded the pack so I think the entire Europe got it.

I've just tested the werehog levels, not bad.

[Ferr]

Nvm i found it

Edited April 9, 2009 by Ferr

[Detective Shadzter]

You must have checked too early. I'm in the UK and downloading the Holoska pack as we speak. Shall give my full stupidly geeky and huge review like last time when I'm done playing, lol.

They must have put it up late, I checked between 10:30 and 10:45 on the website and on the Xbox 360 and it wasn't there.

[JezMM]

Right, my review... like last time SPOILERS OF NEW INTRODUCED GIMMICKS AND SET-PIECES FOR LEVELS.

DAY

Act 1-2

Pretty fun but very hard. There were a lot of very tricky looking sections that I breezed through first time though, so I don't know if they're just well-designed and forgiving in terms of warning you what's coming up, or I fluked, lol. In terms of difficulty, I'd say this is harder than Spagonia's Act 1-2, but easier than Chun-Nan's. It's easier to die than it was on Spagonia but much harder to hold onto your rings. S rankers beware.

Act 2-2

Eggmanland hard. It tests you to your very limit. On lap 1 you'll be homing attacking your way through the whole thing (and if you thought Spagonia Act 5 was "Homing attack themed" you ain't see nothing yet...). On lap 2 your bobsled skills will be put to the test with some frighteningly tiny pathways to steer across. And on lap 3... if I recall it's a mixture of things as in the original stage. It all ends with a rather unexpected and cool freefall though.

Act 3

Just like the Spagonia pack, the prettiest new level is also one of the most boring. This is a three lap race with a time-limit similar to Mazuri Act 2. Obviously the course is much harder and icy, and the time limit slightly less forgiving. While in Mazuri you could take it slow if you didn't care about an S rank, here you will have to boost at least a couple of times to finish. The worst part of this level though is some dash rings that are placed right in front of some crumbling ice pillars. Whether they're for decoration or a genuine obstacle I don't know, because essentially if you're going to fast the dash rings will send you head first into them, resulting in death. I couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed the game was punishing me for going fast on a course that I need to go fast for. Whether they're intentionally put there for difficulty or not, it's a bad design when you aren't sure. As mentioned earlier, the stage's saving grace is the visuals, which see Holoska with a beautiful sunrise similar to Apotos Act 1.

Act 4

Hard, but pretty damn fun. The gimmick of the day here is ramps - except they aren't automated. You have to steer yourself to the next platform. It can feel a little trial and error-ish at times mainly because they're controls you have to sort of learn when we have had no need to on previous levels. It has a nice little twist that when you reach the end of the level you must use a switch to make the goal ring appear... at the start of the level, and then make your way back there on a reversed version of the course with new obstacles to help/not help you along. Visually, it's the same as the other Holoska day stages, although the water is a little darker and greyer than usual.

NIGHT

Act 2

No rejigged/extended Act 1 this time... what we do have is actually a fairly normal level. The single gimmick introduced is torches that you must light with Eggman robots to progress onward, but they don't take up much of the level at all with only three puzzles involving them (the first two of which aren't really puzzles at all). Other than that it's a fairly straightforward level with a lot of platforming involved. May be more difficult for un-leveled up Werehogs as the stage finishes with a fight against three Big Mothers.

Act 3

Again, another fairly gimmickless level. It's set inside a large cave which you must scale to reach the goal ring, where at the top you find it blocked off by ice, so must head down a different path to get round to the other side of it. That's pretty much all there is to the level. Only the basic set-up is unique. All the obstacles you'll encounter are just rejigged elements of previous ones. Not that that's a bad thing, it's a good level! Just an ordinary one is all. This level (at least when I played it) also spells the end of easy S ranking on DLC Werehog levels it seems. Oh, visually both the extra Werehog levels don't have any new effects or anything. Same colour schemes/backgrounds etc as Act 1.

Overall it's a good pack, but not as good as Spagonia's. Probably joint second with Chun-Nan for me.