Posts tagged sonic

Another two or three races last night. I do love this game. I can see where the complaints come from, but they’re either about technical issues that we’ve been assured have been fixed for the full game or they’re about things that are features of the whole genre. It would be very interesting to see if there’s a mode without weapons, where it’s all about the racing, but I’m happy with the knockabout, infuriating fun of the power-up-fueled battling.

And, whatever else, it’s still the sunniest game I’ve played in ages.

It’s basically Sonic Kart, but with loads of Sega characters, from the iconic to the obscure, and a lovely drifting mechanic.

The framerate is horrible. Not ModNation horrible, but very bad indeed. They’ve said it’s early code and fixed in the final release, though, and I trust them.

I also think they probably should have had it set on the easier difficulty by default, because I didn’t come better than fourth in the five races I played.

Apart from those two points, though, I really, really liked it. It’s colourful, full of characters I either love outright or have a nostalgic affection for and the drifting is lovely. I had a horrible day yesterday – surprise root canal surgery! – and then the sunny Sonic Seganess of the game put a smile right back on my face before bed.

I’m almost certain I’ll buy it at launch after that, if I possibly can.

Still, though, it’s another weapon-based racer, so anyone annoyed with the whole “get hit by an item and go from third to eighth in the final lap” mechanic that all these games feature should probably steer clear. Good thing there’s a demo to help you decide, eh?

Except, not.

It keeps telling me I’ve got the trial version, even though I bought it, and won’t let me play. Nor will it let me buy it again (not that I would) because I’ve already bought it. I deleted it and redownloaded it, but nothing helped.

GAH!

I played this while the CoD4 Beta was downloading, but couldn’t get off the Green Hill Zone. First time I died before getting to the boss, in my second game the boss killed me.

How rubbish am I? I mean, really.

I tried this again to see if I was being too hard on it before.

I wasn’t.

No, I’ve not played it again, but I’ve written something I think begins to sum up how bad it is -

Imagine you get into work to find your boss at the door with a cardboard box of your belongings telling you to go home. Forever. So you walk home in the rain, stepping on dogshit twice on the way. On your doormat is a letter from the bank saying they’ve discovered errors in your account dating back twelve years and you owe them $57,583.10, payable immediately. Annoyed, you kick the cat, which lands at an awkward ankle and breaks its neck. It’s yelping in pain and confusion, trying the drag itself across the floor by its chin, so you put it out of its misery with a heavy book. Just then the doorbell rings and it’s your wife’s parents come to collect the book they lent you. Which you’re holding in your hands. Covered in cat brains. And an eyeball. With a dead cat lying on the hallway carpet behind you. They turn in disgust and leave, their Volvo running over your prize-winning flowers in their haste to exit your driveway. Then you go upstairs to find your wife to tell her about your day and find she’s been brutally murdered. Her brains – looking not unlike the cat’s – are spread all over your bed. You call the police and they arrest you and beat you in the cells and feed you food they’ve all pissed in, but by mid-evening come to the conclusion that you’re not a murderer and it was all the work of a gang of seventeen men she had been sleeping with every day for several months while you were at work. The police therefore simply charge you with animal cruelty and release you on bail. You get home to find you’ve been burgled because the police investigators left your front door open. All that’s left is your TV and Xbox 360. And a tightly coiled turd in the middle of your living room floor. So you sit down on the floor, away from the turd, download the Sonic demo and play it and it’s the worst thing that’s happened to you all day. That’s how bad it is.

The worst thing I’ve played in months.

Absolutely, utterly awful.

Either the camera and controls get a total overhaul before release, or this is going to be one of the worst games of all time.

No, really. It’s horrific.