Sonic screens
PREVIEW
Are you sitting comfortably children? Right then, we can begin. Once upon a time there was a hero named Sonic. But he was no ordinary hero, he was a hedgehog. But he was no ordinary hedgehog; he was bright blue with red sneakers and Mickey Mouse gloves. Trust us, he was much cooler than he sounds. Anyway, one day Sonic found himself…
That’s the beauty of Sega’s speedy hero, you could pretty much end the above sentence any way you choose and no-one would bat an eyelid. One of gaming’s most unlikely heroes, Sonic is equally at home in an apocalyptic industrial landscape as he is in a colorful fantasy world. And that’s exactly what Sega’s Wii-exclusive spin-off series of Story Book Adventures is all about. It worked wonders with Sonic and the Secret Rings, a migraine inducingly colorful reimagining of the Arabian Nights stories with an added lick of speed.
Sonic and the Black Knight is the second game in the series, plucking its themes from an equally rich and well loved story by plonking our hero into the court of King Arthur. Yep, Sonic’s been summoned to a reimagined Camelot to do battle with the evil Black Knight. To do so he’ll be using his trademark speed, but the only way to really defeat a medieval ne’er-do-well is with a hefty blade. Thus for the first time in his 17-year-history Sonic will wield a weapon.
Unlike in The Secret Rings, Sonic’s movement is now controlled with the Nunchuk, leaving the remote free for sword-swinging duties. The game plays an awful lot like Sonic Unleashed with a focus on speedily traversing pretty landscapes with a mix of 3D and 2D platforming. The difference is, of course, the sword. Frequently Sonic has to slow down and slash his way through errant knights and obstacles. Better yet the blade can also be used to scale and descend sheer walls with style. There’s also an emphasis on collecting items and impressing townsfolk. Doing this will unlock hidden content and gain Sir Sonic followers. The more followers he gains the more effective a knight he’ll become, which in turn allows him to level up and access new abilities – much as he did in The Secret Rings.
There are issues we’d like to see addressed, mind. For instance, constantly curbing your speed to hack through enemies could make the pace feel a bit stuttery. Why not give Sonic a running attack to keep things moving? Also the old criticism of it being too on-rails applies – though this has been admirably sidestepped in Sonic Unleashed.
Still in its early stages, Sonic and the Black Knight is shaping up to be a thrilling tale of swashbuckling adventure powered by a jet engine. It’s another clever sidestepping of the traditional formula that adds something refreshingly different. Aside from the gorgeous Zelda-like visuals it looks to be fast, varied and, with emphasis on simple mission-based play, rewarding and fun. Following The Secret Rings was always going to be tough, but it looks like Sega might pull it off. With the Arabian Nights and Camelot taken care of, we’re already starting to wonder where the Story Book series will take Sonic next. Sonic in Wonderland, perhaps. Or Sonic and the Beanstalk even. How about Sonic in space? Now there’s a thought…
I bet I am more curious than you.
It has Sonic in the title so for now its a buy unless I get convinced it sucks.
Did you play the DS Sonic by Bioware? Be cool if they did a home console one.
No not yet.
Shit, pics failed.
Go here: http://www.gpara.com/comingsoon/ankokunokishi/090116/
This reminds me of an RPG
Even hit points are there. I would love it to be a JRPG turn based battle system like Skies of Arcadia. And have a hub, the castle for instance and venture out on quests as badass Sonic. The engine is great, endless vistas, really fast, crisp as anything. Everything in the game looks suitable for a japanese take on the swords and sandals genre. What a missed opportunity to do something different and good.
Whoa, watch the new trailer in high res, for Wii that is a great engine. It's got huge levels, well detailed and really fast.
Trailer here
Preview here from NOM
When a gaming hero is given a new weapon or skill it's usually seen as a positive thing. Yet give Sonic a sword and you'll immediately hear a chorus of veteran gamers groaning. You see, older Sonic fans don't seem to like change and they'd prefer it if he was frozen in time around the early '90s, endlessly sprinting around 2D loops. Yet, considering Sega has sent Sonic back in time to fight Arthurian knights it would be a bit harsh if he had to fight these heavily armed warriors with just his bare hands.
Also, considering this is coming so soon after Sonic Unleashed, the hedgehog has to do something a bit different so, like the idea or not, he's been given a blade and, as we discovered from our playtest, it works surprisingly well. You don't need to worry because it's still Sonic and he can still run through the levels at quite a pace, only now he'll have to take out his opponents not with spins and jumps but agile sword slashes.
King Of The Castle
The level we played was set in the grounds of a medieval castle, like the one you may have seen in the debut trailer that's now showing on our website. As in Sonic And The Secret Rings, this is all about momentum and Sonic will initially seem a bit slow - as if he'd had a few ales the night before training perhaps - but he soon picks up the pace and races along the stone paths at top speed. Thankfully, this time Sega has realised that you don't absolutely have to make use of the Wii Remote's motion capabilities at every opportunity so you don't have the situation where you're holding the Remote on its side and moving the hedgehog around as if he were a 4x4 in Excite Truck.
This time you move Sonic with the analogue stick and soon the make or break moment arrives as you approach an enemy and wield your sword. It's quite simple to use - you swish your Remote to take out an enemy but you will have to slow down to do the powerful attacks. Still, you can't argue that it doesn't look stylish as Sonic speeds towards an enemy at full pelt and launches a somersaulting sword swipe attack in the direction of a knight's helmet.
He may have a sword but but the heavy steel doesn't affect Sonic's movement. This hog is as agile as ever as he skids along a rope or slides down the castle walls, Prince Of Persia-style. Yet despite this, one of our favourite moments so far is slowing the hedgehog down to a stop and taking a step backwards. That might sound odd but it's such a relief to have full control over Sonic's movement after being forced along a set path in Sonic And The Secret Rings.
So far, so good, then? Yes, but after the disappointment of the werewolf levels in last month's Sonic Unleashed, you'll forgive us if we don't get overly excited about Sonic And The Black Knight just yet. Sure, what we've seen so far is reasonably promising but all too often with recent Sonic games, the finished game hasn't quite lived up to the hype. So let's not get carried away and shout about a return to form for the hedgehog (how many of those has he had?). At this stage, we can just be happy that teaching an old hog new tricks doesn't seem to be a terrible idea. Next move, Sonic...
Preview from IGN
We've spent a few hours with Black Knight so far and the game seems to share more in common with Sonic Unleashed than it does with its storybook-themed predecessor, Secret Rings. This is primarily true because you control the hedgehog as you do in Unleashed, utilizing the nunchuk's analog stick to strafe him left and right as he soars through on-track environments. You'll have the freedom to slow down and jump backward if you pass by and object or enemy of interest, but the camera will not turn around, and thus the title oftentimes feels like an action racer. This straightforward, linear design allows the developer to keep Sonic mostly glued to a set path so that it can predict actions and supply players with a more cinematic presentation, which it has done with Black Knight. Sonic fans can once more look forward to some lightning fast, unpredictable track designs filed with rail slides, wall jumps and more.
SEGA's latest Wii-exclusive Sonic offering has production values to spare, whether it's the slick fully rendered cinematic, the amazingly stylized graphical interface (which looks like a medieval map) or the in-game engine, which regularly spits out fast-moving, detailed environments. And speed junkies will probably be pleased with some of the high-octane scenarios we've seen so far. Indeed, the game's biggest issue is once more tethered to the unrefined gimmick that Sonic Team has utilized as the backbone for the project. If the developer can quickly present some control alternatives before Black Knight ships, the end product may still impress. But all the loose waggling that comprises the present package is just as frustrating as interesting
I love the engine on this game, if you see some screens and watch some of the higher quality footage. It showcases lightning fast environments that are colourful and detailed with a nice art style and even some areas that show endless landscapes.