New Sonic Unleashed stages released

[PSI Wind]

^ So-so, some stages aren't great, but thats obvious.

[Solly]

Shamar day act 3 sounds pretty cool to me. I'll be sure to download it once I get back to my Xbox.

^ So-so, some stages aren't great, but thats obvious.

Huh. I wasn't aware that you had the PS3/360 version.

[JezMM]

Got all S ranks... I'll only be listing the tricker stages. Aside from these, for day stages, the tactics for the non-hard equivilant will be enough to get an S rank, and for night stages, simply beating it will grant an S rank as long as you don't die. If you still have trouble, beat it faster or throw in a few critical attack finishes to win.

APOTOS DAY 1-2 Target: 100,000

Essentially you want to beat this without dying, and quickly. It's safe to get hit once or twice, just don't dawdle and grab all the rainbow rings. Simply playing it over and over should teach you the fastest routes, and be wary in the sky section. Thhis is one of those bits where the homing attack can be a little unreliable if you're not facing the exact right direction (remember there's a little bit of lag with Sonic's turning in 2D).

APOTOS DAY 2-2 Target: 200,000

APOTOS DAY 4 Target: 100,000

Learn the course and perform it flawlessly. Simple as that. I'll give some detailed instructions here though. Unless stated otherwise, boost all the way. I'll seperate each section by corners in the course.

Dodge right, duck, dodge left, dodge right, dodge left for 10 ring, dodge right.

CORNER

Jump through rainbow ring, dodge right, dodge left x2, dodge right, jump through robot (still boosting) then homing attack the rest of the way across the spikes.

CORNER

Jump spikes, jump into the air and light dash along rings, then boost onwards to platform. (You can break from boosting here if you wish): Dodge right, dodge left x2, dodge right, jump over last spikes, boost through enemies and continue boosting.

CORNER

Jump rubble, jump spikes, jump rubble, jump rubble, keep boosting through enemy, then jump and homing attack second enemy. Ground slam from the air to keep moving, then boost along under the falling spikes. You will need to duck and slide WHILE STILL BOOSTING (I end up having to hold the buttons in a funny way to achieve this usually) so you boost up on the next ramp and totally skip the enclosed enemy fight. Keep boost held all through this or else you'll have to fight six enemies to progress costing precious seconds.

CORNER

Keep boosting and perform the QTE for a 10 ring and points, then quickly jump and homing attack the enemy. Flawlessly hop across the floating platforms (takes practice, but once you're into the rhythm it's easy to predict where the platforms will be when you land and aim accordingly - use quick sharp jumps, but not so quick Sonic just performs little hops - it is possible to get across with these but it's risky). Do not be tempted to jump and use the boost to skip the last few platforms... you'll just homing attack the Eggman springs. Jump cleanly over them before continuing to boost. Up the stairs, down the stairs, dodge left, dodge right, jump the spikes.

CORNER

The last stretch! Dodge left, dodge right, dodge left as you pass the orange rings, dodge right x2 after the orange rings have been passed, dodge left, dodge right, dodge left, jump so you pass through the next orange rings, then jump again so you pass through the rainbow rings and hit the final QTE ramp, perform the QTE and upon landing, ignore the red eggman robots and boost straight through the last enemy and into the goal.

Phew... now learn all that off by heart by playing over and over until you can do it without getting hit and boosting at least most of the way (except obvious no-no areas like the platformin jumping over spikes), you need to beat the level in about 1 minute to achieve the score (I only just managed the score by 820 points with a time of 00:59:75).

APOTOS NIGHT 1-2 Target: 200,000

APOTOS NIGHT 1-3 Target: 300,000

This one is a real chore. Once again it's you versus the targeting system and the randomness of QTE finisher vs grabbing the enemy. You need to do TONS, and I mean TONS of critical attacks. I did something around the region of 20 for sure. Good targets are wizards and eggman robots as it's more likely to be a QTE finisher than grabbing when you push the grab button on these guys. Try to on the other enemies too though... if you do grab them, just throw them with X (or Square on PS3) to discard them at the cost of a little of their health. Then just keep trying over and over. Another annoyance is that there are loads of enemies at once, which means two things: keeping track of their health is hard (you want to only do QTE finishers on really weak ones after all if you even have a vague chance of pushing the button in time), and Sonic will often grab everyone BUT the enemy you're aiming for. Very, very annoying. To give you a vague target to work for, I finished the stage with about 230,000 with a time of 4 minutes 40 seconds to achieve the extra 70,000 required for the S rank score. Good luck, you'll need it.

SHAMAR DAY 1-2 Target: 100,000

SHAMAR DAY 3 Target: 100,000

Essentially... learn the level and beat it fast. I also tried to collect all the 10-rings in those huge bonus areas. Namely up above near the group of five shield Eggman robots, and a little further on from the QTE spring by the large rock structure with spike balls circling it. Whether these made any difference to my score I don't know, but getting those and finishing in just over 3 minutes got me my S rank. Avoid getting hit after the first cache of 10-rings or else collecting them will be pointless.

SHAMAR NIGHT 2 Target: 200,000

SHAMAR NIGHT 3 Target: 100,000 - 150,000

I got this first time and I'd rather not try again after the horrific Titan fight at the end. I guess if you're as lucky as me this won't be a problem. I beat it first time without dying, but on my second attempt, that bloody Titan cost me 20 lives and then a fully operational laptop due to my ragings. It at least taught me not to throw my controller in anger ever again. That bonk to the keyboard seems to have aged my laptop about 10 years as it's going slow as poop. But uhh yeah. If you'd like a target to work towards (since I'm not entirely sure), my score is 177,913. That at least, got me an S rank.

[PSI Wind]

Shamar day act 3 sounds pretty cool to me. I'll be sure to download it once I get back to my Xbox.Huh. I wasn't aware that you had the PS3/360 version.

I don't. Ive watched vids of them(Mostly S-Ranks) and they look awesome. But some stages aren't like Apotos Night Act Act 1-3. Button Mashing and fighting for a while can get BORING! And the music will just go ono and on and on! Also Shamar Night Act 3 and that FUCKING TITAN! WTH SEGA! WTH!

Edited May 26, 2009 by PSI Wind FTW!

[Solly]

I don't. Ive watched vids of them(Mostly S-Ranks) and they look awesome. But some stages aren't like Apotos Night Act Act 1-3. Button Mashing and fighting for a while can get BORING! And the music will just go ono and on and on! Also Shamar Night Act 3 and that FUCKING TITAN! WTH SEGA! WTH!

My mistake. I just sort of assumed that you owned it because you had already formed an opinion on it.

[Detective Shadzter]

Apotos & Shamar Adventure Pack Now On European Playstation Store

European Unleashed PS3 owners can now download the Apotos & Shamar Adventure Pack. That was pretty quick considering Xbox Live just got this pack last week and EU PS3 owners normally have to wait ages. What's odd is it's broken the release pattern as EU PS3 owners are still waiting for the Mazuri Adventure Pack which should have come next after they got the Holoska Adventure Pack two weeks ago. Hopefully SEGA Europe still plan on releasing the Mazuri Adventure Pack to the EU Playstation Store.

EDIT 04-06-09: No new Unleashed DLC for Japan today on the Playstation Store

So I'm guessing we won't get any in the U.S. and EU today on Xbox Live.

[JezMM]

Nope, looks like it's another three-weeker. =( Oh well.

[The Stiv™]

Yep, no sign =/.

Y'know, I should really get around to completing this game...

Edited June 4, 2009 by Stiv

[Detective Shadzter]

No new DLC for European PS3 users this week either

Just checked the European Playstation Store and no new DLC for Sonic Unleashed, least we got Final Fantasy 7 today for PS3 and PSP.

I've checked the U.S. Official Playstation Blog to see if the U.S. Playstation Store has got anything but it hasn't made any posts today regarding todays Playstation Store updates yet.

[Rusty Spy]

The chao stage is amazing. It really shows how Sonic can work in an open environment. I hope that future Sonic games use stages like this. Really, they rock.

What stage exactly would you be referring to?

[ovarloard]

Could be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J4aXJrJt0Q.

[DaBatGuy]

Shamar/Apotos Pack is now up on the US PSN, if anyone actually still gives a shit.

[Eternal EX]

So the PS3 have caught up now. Sooo any ideas on the next set?

[Gatestormer]

Empire City and Adabat Adventure Pack onto European XboxLIVE

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/me...253450812/?of=3

Download all-new Empire City & Adabat adventures! For the final downloadable pack, play five daytime & four nighttime stages that range from a high-rise metropolis to an exotic jungle strewn with ancient ruins. This pack includes six brand new stages and three new missions. Be sure and download the other location packs to unleash the full Sonic experience! Note: These stages are accessed in Empire City & Adabat, so unlocking Empire City & Adabat are requirements to play these additional stages. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

It's up, I'm downloading now . It also says it's the final downloadable pack I guess that means no Eggmanland...by 'pack' I hope they mean adventure packs, and not be the end of DLC all together.

EDIT: Hm...Bugger. It hasn't actually appeared on my console's LIVE Marketplace, only Xbox.com D:

Edited June 11, 2009 by ENVY16

[Tailer]

Empire City and Adabat Adventure Pack onto European XboxLIVE

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/me...253450812/?of=3

It's up, I'm downloading now . It also says it's the final downloadable pack I guess that means no Eggmanland...by 'pack' I hope they mean adventure packs, and not be the end of DLC all together.

EDIT: Hm...Bugger. It hasn't actually appeared on my console's LIVE Marketplace, only Xbox.com D:

Nooo! that sucks and I as I wanted to see a hard mode on eggmanland and some extra level's, that totally sucks aww.

But hopefully they will release brand new maps if that's the case, if not then I will be very sad face .

[Detective Shadzter]

Trust me to wake up late and have to start downloading it late, damn late night shifts >_<

Sucks, their not going to release an Eggmanland pack. Maybe they've overspent on these packs or not made enough profit off of them and thats why they've had to bundle the last 2 packs resulting in less stages made for the last four areas?

EDIT:

The Japanese Playstation Store hasn't received this new pack -

http://www.nextgamer.nl/index.php?pagina=n...zen&id=2668

Normally they get them the same day as Xbox Live.

[JezMM]

Very sad that these are very likely to be the final Sonic Unleashed stages we'll ever play. =( Alas.

However! I shall of course do my dorky review, possibly for the final time.

As always, possible spoilers of level content ahead.

EMPIRE CITY DAY

Act 1-2

Tough as nails, but not too tough. There's nothing surprising here. Replaced enemies, more spikes, previously automated bits now being manual, bombs everywhere. Standard "hard mode" fare. Fun though. Difficulty... hmm... Not Eggmanland hard, but close.

Act 3

Very cool level, and our final encounter with The Interceptor. Set on a long wide highway littered with stuff to run through, most of your movement here will be using the quick-step. There are a few cool unique set-pieces however. Such a lines of barrels with bombs floating above the dangerous areas containing spikes: avoid running under those bombs! The final Interceptor chase is awesome simply due to a totally unique yet slightly epic camera angle. We see the chase from a birds eye view, making it easier to see bombs coming, but harder to determine the Interceptor's next move. Average difficulty, and ends with a lovely pleasant fight against some Eggman robots on a little rooftop park, littered with rings.

EMPIRE CITY NIGHT

Act 2

Well firstly, it seems the spears from the beta area were cut entirely. They're nowhere to be found on Act 2 or 3. Act 2 you'll be familiar with from many of Def Big's missions. You start on the Soleanna Hotel and make your way round a pretty standard level. One notable annoying part is a series of floating enemies which you must "homing attack" using the grab across. This is a standard set-piece, but this time it goes: Harmless, Electric, Harmless, Shooting, Harmless, Harmless, Shooting, Electric. No amount of clever timing will get you past this bit unscathed since the attacks don't really follow any sort of pattern, and unlike daytime homing attacking, you can't really delay grabbing or move to change your target, so you just have to take each hit like a man, double jump and try to grab again, hoping you don't get hit by another attack before you can.

Act 3

Fun stage. Mostly involves 2D perspective (but not actual 2D obviously) platforming to climb to the top of skyscrapers using swingy poles and the like. Ends with a fight against two titans, so make sure you're levelled up. It's a large arena, so as long as you hang around the middle, you shouldn't have too much trouble with them.

ADABAT DAY

Act 1-2

Fantastic stage! It's almost as if this is an apology for the difficulty of all the previous "Hard mode" stages, as at times I almost found this easier than the original stage. The aero-chasers have been removed, you're encouraged to take all the shortcuts rather than regular routes, tons of previously difficult bits have been simplified (example: the springs section before the waterfall now consists of two regular springs instead of like 5 regulars and 2 spikies) and there are rainbow rings aplenty. Couple this with plenty of new dynamic camera angles throughout, and the final waterfall section being completely re-arranged and you've got one awesome level on your hands. Oh, and Kingdom Valley fans will be pleased, if only for a 10 second or so section...

Waterfall running!

Act 4

Intense, difficult stage. Only a minute long, but very varied and very hard. A bit of water running, homing attacking over spikes and precision platforming is the order of the day here, but there are a few cool flashy bits here and there too. I'd call this Eggmanland Hard, but it's short.

Act 5

And the final ever daytime stage (possibly)... A water running one. It's a pretty simple stage. The hazards in the water are mostly out of the way. Half way through is your final aero-chaser sequence (that's right... over water too!), it's tricky but quick. Then is our final new set-piece... a pipe! And the physics actually work unlike that horrible Sonic Heroes' special stage. Again it's short but sweet, and satisfying to play on.

ADABAT NIGHT

Act 1-2

Kinda lame. You start 2/3's of the way through Act 1 and make your way back to the start basically with new enemy set-ups and puzzles. It's not a bad stage, just ordinary. Oh, and to finish - it isn't NEARLY as bad as this but... any Shamar Night Act 3 fans here? I thought not. Two Titans, two green wizards, and an arena not nearly big enough. Sometimes the game takes mercy on you and you hit an invisible wall rather than get sent into the ocean, but sometimes it just... doesn't. I think the invisible wall is low down so as long as you aren't jumping when you get hit, or in very certain areas of the arena, you won't fall off.

Act 3

And the final Werehog stage (again, possibly). It's the beta area, which for those unfamiliar, involves using switches to raise the water level in a giant room, (now complete with now visible water unlike the beta area). A fun stage, and for once not ruined by a stupidly hard Titan fight at the end "just because". Seems to be lots of secret areas to explore too. Obviously this is DLC, so they contain nothing more than lives or rings, but still, replay value is always good. Interestingly, the tree you knock down in the beta area has been removed. Why? Who knows.

Overall I'm sad this is the last pack. I was kinda hoping the last levels would be more special. They're really good, but I guess I set my standards too high. Even the pointless final secret level on the Wii/PS2 had a rainbow and stuff in the background though. Oh well. X3

Fingers-crossed for surprise Eggmanland pack or more general DLC! =D

My final ranking:

Joint 1st: Spagonia Pack/Mazuri Pack

2nd: Empire City & Adabat Pack

Joint 3rd: Chun-Nan Pack/Holoska Pack

4th: Apotos & Shamar Pack

Edited June 11, 2009 by JezMM

[PSI Wind]

*crossese fingers for DLC via Wii Shop Channel even though it will never happen, it would be nice*

[Gatestormer]

OK I've had my play of the levels and for me this could be the best DLC yet. Especially Adabat Daytime Act 4 & 5 and Empire City Daytime act 3.

Running through that pipe on Adabat Act 5 and discovering I can do corkscrews in it was perhaps the best moment of 3D Sonic I've ever had. I play the level just do that part again. Empire City Act 3 is epic and it's what I wanted from Empire City in the first place. To absolutely BOLT it down miles and miles of highway. Loved it.

Hopefully there's still more DLC to come, but I'm not too bothered about Eggmanland, I'm hoping for other things

[DarkDefeater]

"Final downloadable pack"? Then it seems quite certain there will be no additional content, no in-game Super form, and no Eggmanland.

Some may believe that 'pack' refers to just additional levels; I'm skeptical of that.

I am not complaining however. These extra levels have been great, and I'm thankful for the time and effort put into them.

[Lux Klonoa]

I doubt that this is the last DLC altogether. 'Cause...what about that CG render of Super Sonic that was in a Dengeki magazine ad? Somehow, I really doubt that they'd go through the trouble of making a CG render for him just to be used in a one-page magazine ad...and especially since he's only at the last boss and all...

I wonder if AAUK can shed some light on this?

[JaidynReiman]

I don't think we're getting Super Sonic DLC. We might get OTHER DLC, but Super Sonic? Doubt it. Especially this far off.

[Detective Shadzter]

Empire City & Adabat Adventure Pack Now On U.S. Playstation Store

Link

Looks like SEGA of America are feeling generous as the U.S. Playstation Store has received its final Sonic Unleashed pack today, same day as Xbox Live The pack costs $2.99. What's even odder than the U.S. PS Store getting Sonic Unleashed content the same day as Xbox Live? The fact that it got it before the Japanese PS Store which didn't receive it today.

The European Playstation Store has also updated but still hasn't received this pack or the long awaited Mazuri Adventure Pack.

[ShadiWulf]

*crossese fingers for DLC via Wii Shop Channel even though it will never happen, it would be nice*

:lol: :lol:

Classic, at least it can happen when you are sleeping, in your dreams.

[Solid SOAP]

Isn't a 360 cheaper than the Wii now? I don't see why everyone doesn't just get a 360, there's really no point in just owning a Wii when the 360 usually gets the best versions of games.