Fan Game Preview: Retro Sonic

Fan Games. Is that put in such a term so that we can all identify ourselves as 'Fans' that make Sonic games? Or is it, as much the general opinion is concerned, now simply a technical term for differentiating the fan from the actual developer themselves, knowing full well that efforts made by fans won't be nearly as good as the real thing?

Retro Sonic is here to spit in the eyes of those who speak of the latter - and as an extra bonus, it's coded in the versatile (yet 'evil' to master) C/C++ language. And what a difference it makes in the right hands.

Taxman has literally blown us away with this demo of Retro Sonic. It plays, dare we say it, exactly the same as any of the original Sonic games.

Admiring the technical achievements is just the start of it - play around and you'll find the controls are present and correct - one button lets Sonic jump, and he can collect the Lightning, Fire or Electric Shields and still pummel damage using the same button. Tails is also very much playable, and he can fly too! That fox-meister can fly as easily, intuitively and excellently as if he was in Sonic 3 itself.

Words alone cannot tell of the experience you'll have playing this demo - you won't even believe it's a Fan Game in progress.

There were three complete levels available to us - Egg Garden looks the most impressive in the terms of palette and spriting, but there are several 'black bits' that marr the enjoyment of this zone - you can easily get smacked on the bonce by an enemy hiding behind the same spot. Dust Hill is quite a marvel, with Warehouse needing a little level design work compared to the other two zones to make it exceptional also.

The zones we played, true to a Sonic Team Sonic game, were over a tad too quickly, and the enemy placement halts you from enjoying a huge race through the level.

But, we're picking holes - for if we get our hopes up, Taxman is going to achieve what no other Fan Game Developer has before. And we're heavily riding our hopes on this.

Playtest Results

We Like:

• OMG! It's like a REAL Sonic game!
• Oh oh oh! We LOVE the controls!
• The gameplay's just... perfect...

Worth Considering:

• 'Black areas' in Egg Garden - WTF?
• Longer levels please
• We need a Race Track option! We need our speed fix!