It's bemusing to think that Sonic 4, the game everybody wanted, is getting upstaged by Sonic Colors, a game that continues in the same tradition as games people hated. That is exactly what has happened, though. Sonic Colors is looking damn good in spite of its 3D leanings, and it's getting all the attention.
Sega rolled into PAX Prime with an all-new build of the Wii version and Destructoid was on hand to check it out. Read on to find out how the game is shaping up!
When I last played Sonic Colors, I came away with the impression that Sega had taken all the good bits from Sonic Unleashed, and left all the garbage behind. Having played yet more of the game, I see absolutely nothing to dissuade me from this opinion. Sonic Colors is still everything good about Sonic Unleashed, without the crap.
So, what is it that Sonic Colors is doing that previous 3D Sonic titles isn't? Part of the appeal is the removal of cheap pitfall deaths. One of the worst parts of previous Sonic games was the fact that the fast-moving hedgehog was expected to blitz along precariously thin platforms without any rails. The focus on death-plummeting appears to have been totally removed from Sonic Colors.
Without the reliance on pitfalls, Sega has worked harder on level design. One level involves Sonic having to run along a platform full of gutters, timing his approach to avoid gigantic missiles that regularly fly his way. Many sections of the game switch to a 2D perspective in the same seamless fashion that Sonic Unleashed did, only the platforming is much tighter and more fun to control.
The Wisps are a big part of that, conferring special abilities upon Sonic once collected. I got to play with new Wisps, such as the green one that transforms Sonic into a little ghost-like creature, but the yellow Wisp is still the star of the show. Being able to drill through levels is bizarrely satisfying and has yet to get old. We'll see how it fares in the full game, but right now it's pretty awesome.
Sonic Colors is looking like a potentially fantastic little game. Usually, 3D Sonic games manage one good stage before turning to trash. I've played about six or so stages and so far, they've all been fun. The transitions from 3D to 2D perspectives, the solid level design, the unique Wisp powers and the fact that it isn't a broken, cheap, lazily designed load of jizz is making Sonic Colors a serious prospect.
When you think about people playing a 3D Sonic game that doesn't make their eyes bleed, it's small wonder that Colors has managed to upstage Sonic 4.
Contest:
10:40 AM on 09.07.2010
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Jim, you've sold me on this game. I'm actually going to go and do the pre-order bullshit.
Please don't lump me with the other dillisional Sega fans who think that going backwards is a step forward. I think Sonic 4 is a nice diversion but thats it. Sega have shown that they can do good 3D Sonic games (Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic and the Secret rings to a lesster extent and Sonic Unleashed to a far lesser extent) and Sonic Colours is looking fantastic and a game that can appeal to all ages of Sonic fans.
I've put faith in you to deleiver Sega. DO NOT SCREW UP!
I have a wii for: Sonic Colors, Kirby, Epic Mickey and DKC.
I have a PS3 for: Valkyria Chronicles (which I haven't bought yet), Killzone 3 and littlebigplanet 2
I have a PC for: Recettear, Portal 2
And now...
I have a 360!!! for: Reach, Gears 3, ODST (I really want to play the campaign, looks like an ice break from all that Master Chief in the first and second installment), Limbo and Halo 3 (which, albeit it sucks, I want)
I'm still excited for Sonic 4
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing was on Steam because it was on pretty much every platform out there (except the PSP). Sonic Colors is only for Nintendo consoles.
Episodic is better for stuff like Sam and Max or Monkey Island, anywhere else it just seems like bullshit. Hell, look at Heavy Rain's follow-through on episodic content, though. That was a game more akin to point-and-click adventure and it still came up dry.
And Takashi Iizuka is a fucking idiot.
In all seriousness, I'm a little iffy about this. We've been burned by 3D Sonic games, so I think I'll hold off jumping for joy. Still Jim, you've convinced me to actually play it, and that's definitely a positive step.
I know I'm not alone in my opinion that Sega has not yet made a great 3D Sonic game. Sonic Adventure 2 came pretty close, but it didn't reach the same heights that any 3D Mario game has. To say that "Sonic just doesn't work in 3D" is to admit defeat. It's time for the Sonic developers to sit down and dissect exactly what made the 2D Sonic games great, then translate that into 3D. I'm not sure that Colors will be that game, but from what I've heard of it, it seems like a big step in the right direction.
This? This right here is what sold me. I fucking loved the daytime levels of Sonic Unleashed, so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on more of that kind of platforming action.
@Silent Protagonist: I dunno, SP. I particularly liked Sonic Adventure because it was both "fast" and an "adventure" instead of just "fast via boost". That's why I preferred it to SA2, frankly; it felt slightly more open and platformy to me, not to mention had a slightly more fluid albeit barely problematic camera. That people seem to redundantly emphasize on the "Sonic is about speed" without regard to things like smooth controls, smooth physics, and expansive platforming level design combining thrilling speed lanes with dynamic camera angles is what I consider to be seriously wrong with the fandom. But that's just me.
I'll wait for the review.
Sonic 4 has impossible shoes to fill, expected to be as good, if not better, than its predecessors. Sonic Colors, however, is a 3D Sonic game...and is already expected to be mediocre. It can't go anywhere but up, so it's no surprise that it's stealing the spotlight...people weren't expecting something fun. :)
As it turns out, you hate everything.
And yet we're apparently getting both this and Sonic 4 sometime this year. Looks like 2010 is shaping up to be a good year for the hedgehog. Hopefully.
After J-Holmes' last comment, I decided to check out your comment history, and holy crap are you a Negative Nancy. It must be hard going through life perpetually miserable when everyone else around you is excited and grateful. Here's a short list of some of the crap you've decided to hate:
The Gears of War series
The God of War series
Sonic Colors
Bit.Trip Runner
Super Meat Boy
Epic Mickey
Bioshock
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Borderlands
Lost Planet 2
Red Dead Redemption
Earthworm Jim
Ratchet and Clank
Call of Duty
Assassin's Creed
Sonic 4
Darksiders
Dante's Inferno
memes and internet humor in general
Everything Rare's done outside of Banjo Kazooie
I'm not one to trash somebody for their opinions, but a handful of these haven't even been released yet... Just out of curiosity: what games ARE you excited for?