Sonic Unleashed Wii/PS2 VS 360/PS3

[YoshiUnity]

I pretty much go with my gut for Sonic games these days. If the reviewers keep craving for Classic Sonic, or whatever they want, then for the most part it doesn't affect me. I still play them for the same reason that I played them of the Genesis, for fun. That's it.

I found some very nostalagic moments in SatBK, as well as some great new ones. Not to mention that I also found some disapointments as well, but not as much as everyone pointed out. So yeah, I do like this better than Unleashed as well. Why? Because I enjoy it more when the sense of speed must be earned, not given to you. I don't mind the moments where you're running your butt off, but I can stay that I feel like I'm doing much.

Edited March 13, 2009 by YoshiUnity

[Mollfie]

I'm at the final boss

well the fake final boss

and it's just so annoying T__T

Other than that I'm really enjoying it, the gameplay is really good and consistant and the cutscenes are really nicely done. The misson where you give rings to the villagers was stupid, why a quick time event? I fucking hate quick time events because everyone has to do them for some reason, but atleast in most games they have a good point, in this it just seemed really random to have a quick time event for ring exchange.

So far, I really like SatBK.

[Urtheart]

My personal opinion on a lot of the reviews is that they are reviewing the game from the point of, and for a gaming audience, in which case the game is certainly unsuitable.

However if we take the majority of the Wii's audience, young children and adults who are new to games, the game is much more suited. The same was true for Mario and Sonic to my knowledge.

I can't say I enjoyed the game, especially since I finished it in under 4 hours, but there isn't anything wrong with it, I don't hate it. The game has absolutely no difficulty for an experienced player in games, but I can easily see young kids and more casual gamers spending a long time figuring out how to jump properly or something.

In short, game is perfect for the majority of the Wii audience, thank final-F***ing-ly they've not tried to please the fans.

[Mollfie]

Thing is, as a fast paced platformer, SatBK is shit. You slow down to fight enemies every 5 seconds and there's hardly any platforming at all. But if you treat it as a game standing alone all by itself, it's very good. I think that's where the problem arises.

Although the lack of our moustachioed bad guy is a little saddening.

I personally find the choice of character to knight a bit odd for Shadow and Blaze. Knuckles is Gawain who was one of Arthurs loyalist knights and would throw his life on the line for him. Blaze is Percivil who's...not that interesting really. His sister was the bearer of the grail and he was a good warrior. Shadow is Lancelot who started out as a good and loyal knight, but ends up sleeping with Arthurs wife and causing alot of trouble and the death of Gawains brother, and thus he and Gawain were never friends again. But I guess they didn't really bother with the proper knights stories and just chose names lol, which isn't a bad thing. I just wondered why they picked those knights.

Edited March 13, 2009 by Mollfie

[JaidynReiman]

The primary thing is the personalities of the characters. The backstories behind them are mostly ignored, hence why its stupid to think that Silver has any relation to Shadow because of his role as Galahad in the original stories (whom just happens to be Lancelot's son).

The real thing here is personality-wise, but some elements of backstory may be suitable. I've heard that Lancelot was a lot different early on, and later matured. He was a mindless berserker at one time, and later became Arthur's finest knight. The fact that he's Arthur's strongest knight is definitely something of note; they use this fine with Shadow where he takes his stature as the strongest very highly, especially in *minor post-game spoilers*

Lancelot Returns, the second battle against Lancelot, where he's a lot harder. He constantly refers to himself as the "ultimate," and in the end, says "I thought I was the ultimate knight" after you beat him.

Percival's backstory is also barely touched upon, but I have noticed that Percival himself is referenced to have been raised by his mother in isolation, in probably such a way that is comparable to modern-day feminists. That's the best description I can describe. Essentially, he was raised more feminine, from what I read, and it kinda makes sense to simply reverse his gender and use Blaze. The only thing referenced about Percival in-game is that she's referred to as the "Knight of the Grail," but that's the most reference ever made to the Holy Grail.

And on the subject of a speedy platformer... That's not really true. Except for the bosses and certain missions, you can pretty much skip all the enemies in the game by jumping past them. The only time you really have to fight in the main missions is when you encounter a Giant-One, which blocks the path. You could just speed through the level and skip all the enemies if you really wanted to. Otherwise, it is a good point.

[Frobman]

Been playing the game for a while now today (and replaying certain levels), and nearly up to the final boss already, but I'm taking my time (and a break, due to how tired and razzled it made me feel).

So far, it's an alright game. Easy difficulty, but also frustrating for me, most of these levels, if only I tend to rush through things too quickly most of the time, with almost poor reaction time.

The controls are something that needs getting used to, in particular how most attacks happen as I don't want them to, and delays and things like that. And don't get me on about the constant waggling and jumping that can sometimes confuse me.

It may seem like a game I'd keep for less than a week, if I bothered trading it away later.

So yeah, fairly good game, though may not be something for me that much, unless I keep sticking to it (if that made any sense)

[JezMM]

And on the subject of a speedy platformer... That's not really true. Except for the bosses and certain missions, you can pretty much skip all the enemies in the game by jumping past them. The only time you really have to fight in the main missions is when you encounter a Giant-One, which blocks the path. You could just speed through the level and skip all the enemies if you really wanted to. Otherwise, it is a good point.

This is true, but the majority of the time you're just running from group of enemy to group of enemy... so without the fighting a lot levels suffer from Unleashed Wii syndrome, i.e. "Running fast in a straight line and not much else" related activies. But even Unleashed for Wii had about quadruple the platforming this has, if not more.

I think it was a mistake for them to asign Secret Rings style movement to Unleashed style controls too. It's very awkward to use, and makes the few platforming sections there are very frustrating at times. Especially the 2D segments where you can run full speed in one direction... but have to slowly walk in the other direction with limited jumping capabilities.

Oh, and to anyone saying it's too easy... wait til you see the bonus optional missions... some are brutal. Though I think the majority of the game's difficulty comes from how unexplainative it is.

Things such as the fairy types are easy enough to work out, but I never recall it telling me that the only way to beat Will O Wisps was to lock on from the air with the soul gauge and kick.

In fact, when I was watching Mollfie play... Well, I don't know what I did wrong, but on one level it showed her the controls of how to do the kick move... something that never appeared for me when I played through.

I think the difficulty balance was VERY badly done in the game... The main levels are pretty easy for a gamer, with some of the later ones a frustrating battle with the controls. Whereas for a casual player, this game will deal nothing but punishment due to a lack of explanation and very widely spaced checkpoints (Great Cauldron was brutal for checkpoints).

I was looking at the fanart and felt sorry for the poor young'uns who won and might never complete the game that their handywork was featured in. Unless they're some kind of crazy super kids with unnatural reflexes for their age...

[YoshiUnity]

Well, here's two more reviews.

http://www.totalvideogames.com/Sonic-And-T...view-13841.html

4/10

and http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=210614 (My lord. This guy sound like he hated everything in this game.)

Edited March 13, 2009 by YoshiUnity

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Not surprised with these reviews. Black Knight is from a Mediocre to a poor game. Everyone knows that. Exept more of these reviews to come.

Edited March 14, 2009 by Spicylicious

[Candescence]

In your opinion, some people here regard it as more than merely "mediocre", like me.

[Frobman]

Beaten the main story, and now I'm unsure whether to bother to play more of the game or just trade it away. Even if the main story's pretty easy, the tendency to collect stuff (unless they're too hard and would take me weeks to do, or not bother really) tends to make me wanna play a game more so.

Hmmm... tricky...

[SuperLink]

To be fair, it's getting better reviews than Unleashed on PS360... And the fans really liked Unleashed.

So suddenly agreeing with all the bad reviews, well something's not right there.

[blackherox]

To be fair, it's getting better reviews than Unleashed on PS360... And the fans really liked Unleashed.

So suddenly agreeing with all the bad reviews, well something's not right there.

The main problem the reviews seems to have is the difficulty. It being on rails (although that should have been expected) and slightly too much waggle. Additional the game being treated as more of a 'supposed to be sequel to Sonic Unleashed' then a sequel to the spinoff SATSR.

Edited March 14, 2009 by BlackHeroX

[SuperLink]

Well then reviewers shouldn't be excused for being stupid. When Unleashed came out Black Knight was probably near completion. Plus, helloo? Storybook series on the front cover? What? Don't know what you're talking about. Hey where's Chip?

I can understand their waggle and difficulty problems, but if a reviewer doesn't even know the average development cycle of a game then "hawhaw".

Basically I was just saying that the reviewers seem to be getting it a bit more right with this one after the complete trollfest that was Unleashed. When so many fans like Unleashed and reviewers honestly prefer this, the marmite of Sonic games, I really don't get it.

To those who have played both this and the PS360 version of Unleashed, which is better? If it's Unleashed then yet again I find it hard to believe the reviewers at all...

[JezMM]

To those who have played both this and the PS360 version of Unleashed, which is better? If it's Unleashed then yet again I find it hard to believe the reviewers at all...

Just my opinion, but Unleashed PS360 is better by a million miles.

As a Sonic platformer, Unleashed is TONS and TONS and TOOOOOOOONS better, can't stress that enough.

As a general action game, Unleashed is still better. While a lot of people found the Werehog repetitive, at least it had varied puzzles and platforming throughout the fights. Black Knight has barely any.

[SuperLink]

There you go then, something, somewhere, has gone wrong with the reviews. I'm sure a lot of Sonic fans would agree that Unleashed is better too, but I'll see for myself when I finally get Black Knight.

Still, it's things like that which make a lot of reviews really inconsistent...

[YoshiUnity]

http://cheatcc.com/wii/rev/sonicandtheblackknightreview.html

Here's another review. 3.2/5 Overall, they said that the game was fair.

[Link451]

Eh... well, I've played the game quite a lot, and I won't deny it can be pretty dang frustrating. Especially when trying to go back and get five star ranks. The only way to get them is basically to complete missions 100% flawlessly, which is so hard to do because they show up all the time and they always have different attacks and they can occasionally take real cheap shots due to the game being on-rails or due to you going so fast.

As it stands the combat can be alright, having to use different techniques against different enemies. But it does get awfully repetitive. Graphics, music and story are pretty good by me though, especially considering they actually gave you the option to turn off the subtitles and in-gameplay dialogue this time. The upgrade system is alright for the game too I suppose. Everything is pretty linear on what you should equip, which helps when I want to get missions done right away.

I don't blame the reviewers for rating it bad, though. Again, I can see why people would think the combat system and level design is incredibly annoying. But I guess I'm a pretty tolerable gamer when it comes to these kind of things.

[Kiljoy]

Here is another Review.

http://outoflives.com/?p=650

[Patticus]

I'm very disappointed in GamesMaster's review. They're the only gaming magazine I can trust with decent reviews...Yet they gave it 58%? Shadow the Hedgehog was hated with a passion by Team GM yet it scored even higher with 65%. Sonic 06 for the 360 scored 78%. I do hope GM haven't caught the Sonic hating bug.

Ever considered the possibility that the game might actually be shit, or are you having trouble grappling with the concept that a magazine whose writers you trust might not like a game you like the looks of? Ignore that it's Sonic for a moment - you trust the mag, you like a game series, and when that mag disses the game you're hopeful for, you start thinking "onoes maybe bias"? Do you want to trust their views again this time, or can Sonic Team do no wrong?

I'm not even going to get started on the fact that GamesMaster is the games mag equivalent of the Daily Fail... it's off-topic. >_>

GamesTM have awarded the game an 8/10, equal to MadWorld (reviewed in the same issue), better than Tom Clancy's Hawx (which would count for something if they were in the same genre).

[Candescence]

To those who have played both this and the PS360 version of Unleashed, which is better? If it's Unleashed then yet again I find it hard to believe the reviewers at all...

Black Knight. Unleashed was an unfair game with an identity crisis. If you wanna compare Black Knight's combat with the Werehog, the Werehog is much worse, being a bloody button masher with little skill involved, Black Knight actually requires skill without going into unfair difficulty, unlike Unleashed... And QTEs are a thousand times better with waggle.

[JezMM]

Black Knight. Unleashed was an unfair game with an identity crisis. If you wanna compare Black Knight's combat with the Werehog, the Werehog is much worse, being a bloody button masher with little skill involved, Black Knight actually requires skill without going into unfair difficulty, unlike Unleashed... And QTEs are a thousand times better with waggle.

In all fairness, unless you played the Wii version, the depth of combat with Werehog is better than BK. Not by much perhaps, but you can hardly call it a button masher when there are three attack buttons, whereas in BK there is one: Waggle. I'm not denying combos are possible in BK, rather than the buttons you press, the timing of waggle with regards to your other movement (running/dashing/jumping etc) affects the moves you do, but I still overall found it less fulfilling personally.

And QTEs? The only QTEs in the game are those bizarre ring-giving moments which is waggle free. Oh, and shaking loose of large enemies, but again, no waggle.

And I still say Unleashed was an entirely fair game and gave enough warning of upcoming obstacles (something BK doesn't do that often thanks to enemies popping into existence just a few feet away from you), but I'm sure I've debated that with you before so yeah. X3

[Sega DogTagz]

I finished up the main story of Black Knight a while ago. I never really was hyped for this game (like I am for every other game) but it still did not serve to meet my lowest of expectations.

The multiplayer is an epic fail, the controls are awkward and the game is STILL on rails. The difficulty on the story mode is well beyond lenient until you unlock some of the extra ones. The only things that save it from going headfirst into the garbage bin are….

-Surprisingly interesting story + writing

-High Production values.

-

Excalibur

Sonic

Other than that, there isn’t much to be seen here. Glad that I brought it, but I will not be recommending it to anyone anytime soon. I can easily see why so many sites bash it. It comes dangerously close to the abysmal borderline.

Black Knight. Unleashed was an unfair game with an identity crisis. If you wanna compare Black Knight's combat with the Werehog, the Werehog is much worse, being a bloody button masher with little skill involved, Black Knight actually requires skill without going into unfair difficulty, unlike Unleashed... And QTEs are a thousand times better with waggle.

You Cannot Be Serious.

The PS3 (and Wii version for that matter) of Unleashed make Black Knight look like pure crap. I would hardly consider the Werehog a button masher with all those unlockable combos, but even if he was it is not nearly as bad as Black Knights lag filled non-directional sensitive waggling.

If anything I’d say that beyond the bosses, no skill at all is required to clear the story mode in BK. All you gotta do is shake the Wiimote like crazy and watch Sir Sonic Buzzsaw his way to victory. Every…. Single….. Time……

[Candescence]

You Cannot Be Serious.

Dead serious.

The PS3 (and Wii version for that matter) of Unleashed make Black Knight look like pure crap. I would hardly consider the Werehog a button masher with all those unlockable combos, but even if he was it is not nearly as bad as Black Knights lag filled non-directional sensitive waggling.

In all fairness, unless you played the Wii version, the depth of combat with Werehog is better than BK. Not by much perhaps, but you can hardly call it a button masher when there are three attack buttons, whereas in BK there is one: Waggle. I'm not denying combos are possible in BK, rather than the buttons you press, the timing of waggle with regards to your other movement (running/dashing/jumping etc) affects the moves you do, but I still overall found it less fulfilling personally.

Orly? More like press Y to win. The Werehog's combos are pointless when a player can just mash the Y button to win every single bloody time. Actually, now that I remember, the Wii Werehog actually had some geniune difficulty! GASP. Sure, the spinning buzzsaw is a neat trick, but it can't be used all the time and is by no means a win-all attack (especially against those huge enemies), not to mention enemies fight back more in Black Knight. Also, Soul Surge.

And QTEs? The only QTEs in the game are those bizarre ring-giving moments which is waggle free. Oh, and shaking loose of large enemies, but again, no waggle.

Technically, the King Arthur fights had it, what with the timing of swings. Even the optional villager QTEs are actually fair. In those cases, it's a lot more fair, and if you screw up, it's your own damn fault, unlike Unleashed, which has strict timings and randomizes the button order even when screwing up can kill you no matter what...

And I still say Unleashed was an entirely fair game and gave enough warning of upcoming obstacles (something BK doesn't do that often thanks to enemies popping into existence just a few feet away from you), but I'm sure I've debated that with you before so yeah. X3

QTEs besides, Unleashed wasn't exactly fair, half the time you're prone to hitting something at high speed or possibly flying off a cliff, unless you've memorized it beforehand. Black Knight allows you to see any insta-death situations coming a mile away, and the enemies popping up is a minor inconvenience at worst.

If anything I

Edited March 15, 2009 by Soma Cruz

[JezMM]

I find your responses so strange because I could reverse almost every single one and apply it to the opposite arguement by switching the games. Did we play different versions or something?

You say you can mash Y to win on Unleashed, but there's no way you can survive every battle like that. Buzz saw and/or mindless waggle beat every enemy in Black Knight for me, and if it didn't I just sailed over them anyway.

QTEs... In Black Knight they're either stupidly easy or require trial and error and memorisation. Case in point, the second King Arthur battle. I now know that you must go: Slashwheniconappears, SlashwheniconappearsTHENslashagain, SlashwheniconappearsTHENslashagain, Slashwheniconappears to disable him the second time. But the first time, on those "THEN slash again moments", if you wait for the icon to prompt you it's too slow, thus only possible to beat by memorising the pattern beforehand. And the villager QTEs were just confusing at first due to a complete lack of explanation in-game, and once you did work them out they were piss-easy, not to mention completely nonsensical. Entering a button combo to do a trick makes sense, but handing over rings? D=

And... yeah, I never once hit something or flew off a cliff at high speed that I didn't see coming on Unleashed, so I dunno how to respond to the unfair arguement really. Alas.

I don't mean to criticise your opinion of course, I'm not trying to prove you wrong by any means, I'm just responding to points in your arguement that from my own experience just don't make sense to me.

Edited March 15, 2009 by JezMM