Yeah I agree. After I saw the gameplay video of the night stuff I was shocked. Why can't they take the hint? Obviously nobody wants some slow lumbering beat em' up in a Sonic game. And yet, here we go again. They just can't make it a dedicated side-scroller. It must be this idea that they can't sell the game without more then just 40 minutes worth of levels like the original Genesis series.

I say this, if the people working at Sega aren't creative enough to realize the errors from the past decade, then maybe they should just fire everyone and bring in new lead designers and decision makers.

That has to be the biggest disappointment, that Sega seems incapable of doing colorful side-scrolling action games...

I'm only 50% interested now as well.

Can't wait to see what kinds of crappy mini-games and side-quests they've inevitably packed into this thing.

Thanks Capcom, for making retro fun again...and at least giving it a chance.

Godzilla-Sushi

Oh dear... At least we all saw this coming ever since that first trailer where he flips the coin in the air then catches it with a humongous beastly paw.

JokesJokes

C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

Sziphix

Sonic 2 was my first game, and I loved it so. Ever since I upgraded from my Genesis to Xbox I've thought "if only they made a new, good Sonic game." But they never will, will they? When I saw the first trailer, I had hope, but alas, Sega apparently hates all its old fans. So you know what Sega?

F*** you. I'm going to go get an emulator and play Sonic 3, cause its the last good thing you made.

aspasticninja

[kotaku.com]

BANNNNNNNEEER!!

PsycheE

I'm still hopeful about this sonic game, I just hope it's not as bad as the trailer and picture makes it. Please Sega, make it worthwhile or at least $30 worthwhile gameplay.

UltimateIdiot

It's always darkest before the dawn? apparently too true in this case...

Oh, you might want to take out the..publishing (?) link..

"I'd imagine the idea men at Sega are as split as Sonic is over this next game. A part of them realizes [publish.kotaku.com] fans want gameplay similar to the 2D platformers of the past"

Interstella5555

Don't worry guys, I've played Dynasty Warriors. I don't think these were-hog sessions will ruin me too much. :)

MetaKz

@AZRoboto: Unfortunately, in this case it is half full of shit.

And don't get me started on the half cup of baby's blood...

Cloral

I can't help but be reminded of Ultimate Spiderman, which I got yesterday - it's all OH YEAH! SWINGING THROUGH QUEENS! until you get to the Venom parts, and it becomes a ham-handed brawler that's significantly slower and less fun. It's always the case with this kind of thing.

Kyattsuai

The Werehog parts look completely unfitting of Sonic, both in gameplay and style. Even the speedy Sonic parts still look very hollow and automatic. The senseless bottomless pits are still there, too.

The rep demoing the game on the GameSpot show also hinted that Sonic's friends would be present, but was very reluctant to say any more about it.

burpingcat

The wolf mode looks incredibly boring. Slow, clumsy, and the combos are not flashy at all. However, I'm still buying it for the better half, but maybe I'll wait until its priced has been axed after the first month.

psychobaka

hmm... some folks have no sense of humour

FenderMaster

Its like they're not listening. Make sense of this, a whole generation enjoyed the 2D aspect of running from left to right to reach a finish line. Where do they come up with the idea that not only do they need to jazz it up to 3d specs but add new gameplay elements? Where are they getting the idea that this new generation of gamers wants more?

Matonly1T

The gimmicks aren't a result of trying to think "fresh," they're a result of thinking "$$$$$$$$$$." Basing the market potential of a game on sheer nostalgia is not going to be very successful, if at all, and these extra features that no one here wants are bullet points to capture the faint interest of window shoppers that make up the majority of all these games' sales. And you know what? It works.

StarStabbedMoon

So, when you enter the twilight realm (erm, sorry) I mean when it gets dark, you become a wolf (er, sorry again) I mean werewolf.

I wonder if you get some weird little imp to ride around on you during the night portions...

Ping

This game looks good. I hope there's going to be a movie adaptation.

UbeWoll

@etchasketchist: If they hired a fanboy to sit in on every meeting, he'd also say things like, "A game where you ONLY fight colossuses and ride a horse!? GAY! Look. Make more FPSs and action games with dismemberment, thx," and other stupid shit that would only run the gaming industry further into the middle ages, like @FenderMaster: "NO!! Animal Crossing sucks scrotum
Make good games!!"

So while a little fan input might be useful at Sega because they don't pay attention to anything, let's not forget the downsides of this plan.

P-Flute

*Grabs Sega by the head and twists it around to look at MegaMan 9*

See Sega? THAT is what we want. You've pretty much fucked up in almost every 3D game, give us another REAL sonic game!

Nuff Said.

DaiMacculate

I was interested in this game. Then I saw the trailer on XBL. Dammit.

kojirodensetsu

@FenderMaster: You need to get kicked really hard in the head.

Or get hit repeatedly by a net.

scotty

Stretch werehog.....oh dear.

DanteIX

frankly i'm glad they aren't doing Shenmue III... i can only imagine what would happen...

"Ryu pulls out his SMG and fires a few rounds off at Lan Di, then goes into bullet time, the bullets bouncing off of Lan Di's primary colored Power Armor..."

pashaveliki

I'll just rip the disc in half with my strong arms. Now it's 100% classic! SEGA can't fool me!

scotty

Shield and vitality?

What?

hobbock

A) Maybe the night time levels are there to make us appreciate the daytime levels more.

B) Maybe they're not as bad as Fahey says but just very different from the other levels.

C) Maybe my dreams are slowing being crushed in front of me and I'm in typical denial ...

DARTH_TIGRIS

I saw this in action on a live Demo and while yes the Daytime stuff was flat out awesome, the nighttime stuff seemed pretty cool too. I will definitely be checking out this game.

WPack911

@etchasketchist:

thats what I have always believed

if Nintendo had hired me I woulda said:

NO!! Animal Crossing sucks scrotum
Make good games!!

If Sega hired be, i'd be all like:

Make a platformer... with fast bits!!

FenderMaster

@DaveKap: Yeah, but if the 50% marshmallows are coated in 50% crap, are you going to eat the marshmallows anyway? Ew.

karmaghost

I saw the trailer yesterday and was sorely disappointed. He looks like a retarded popeye the hedgehog.

mfwahwah

SEEEEEEEEGGGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAA! (That wasn't the pleasant intro way of me saying it, it was me shouting out to the world, showing my displeasure)

UkGuru

"29 HITS! COMBO!!!"
Lol

mistersneak

You guys only just found out how bad half the game is? I've known this for well over 24 hours, watching Gamespot's live E3 coverage.

I was one of those people who had the "wait and see" mindset a few months ago, thinking that perhaps this whole "Werehog" thing wouldn't turn out so bad. I mean, from the gameplay trailers previously, it seems like the game was shaping up fantastically, and at least for the day-time segments, it is. But I saw the night-time action in its entirety, and I am really disappointed Sonic Team have done this.

Sonic Unleashed could've potentially been the best 3D Sonic game so far, but with 50% of it having you playing as a slow, cumbersome hedgehog-beast hybrid spending most of his time slashing and bashing hoards of mindless foes to progress, I feel Sonic Team blew the opportunity big time. I still plan to get this game though, but only for the day-time levels, because they just look that good.

MeleeKirby

Just you guys wait, in twenty years from now, Sega will release a Sonic FPS for the iEye.

Xander

What a shame. I had actually believed for a moment that there could be another good Sonic game after, well, God knows how many years.

ƒox

Can't Sega just put in a option to skip all the night time sections of the game so the good daytime sections can be played without having to worry about the bad bits?

Emiat

I thought that picture looked funny, and now I know why...

Pezdispenser

Every company needs to hire a fanboy to sit in on design meetings and just shout "Noooo!" everytime someone says something like, "so then Sonic turns into a werehog with huge stretch-y limbs and punches things". It would save everybody a lot of headaches.

etchasketchist

I gave up hope a long time ago to ever have a decent "new" sonic game. Getting one that is only half decent is not better than nothing at all.

Sorry Sonic... R.I.P.

yashichi8bit

"I'm Gumby dammit!"

Elly

He's got some big guns there.

Ignatius

this game just got extremely dumb in my eyes. here's hoping they release a demo JUST of daytime, so we can play that over and over.

Desfunk

So...the cup is half full, then.

AZRoboto

This is bullshit. Fucking sega, can't they see that doing it right is fresh.

Delano_J

bastards!!! all i can say til i play the game!

shaunomacx

Ouch. Too bad Sonic fans. Too bad.

Corrin

Wheres my Virtua Fighter 5 R console port!

This E3 is pissing me off more then anyone will ever know!

Sailorcancer

So far I've only heard bad things about the were-hog sections. I have this small glimmer of hope that they will somehow redeem it, because the classic sections look absolutely amazing.

Sportyboard

Fahey, were the beat-em up sections pretty boring and uninspired? Could you pull off neat combos?

DigiMish

This sounds exactly like what Sega did with the new NiGHTS game: adding platform elements that weren't in the original, tainting the game in the process and lessening its greatness.

brightneonlights

/removes from wishlist.

HenryHSH

50% of crap and marshmallows is still 50% crap.

But... it's still 50% marshmallows too. :) *urp*

DaveKap

Talk about jumping the gun, guys.

Does anyone remember WHY the last few 3D Sonic games were crap?

No, it wasn't because of the extra characters or different gameplay styles. It's because the gameplay and physics were horribly BROKEN. Collision detection errors, horrible camera, horrible controls...

The Were-Sonic levels - at worst - look solid in terms of controls and physics (note how the rubble from destroyed buildings is affected by WereSonic, but it doesn't adversely affect his movement... in Sonic 2006, that shit would have got him stuck in place for 5 minutes before sending you plummeting off a cliff). They may end up being MEDIOCRE, but Sonic 2006 wasn't an AVERAGE game. It was god-awful from start-to-finish.

I personally think the Werehog levels are put in there for the kids who won't be able to handle the rampant speed of the Sonic levels, as it looks very TMNT meets Spiderman: Friend or Foe, and my 5-year-old son ADORED the gameplay demo.

Personally, I'm not concerned until I get my hands on the thing and see for myself how it plays out. I'm liking the extra platforming sections in the night-time levels (very Ristar), and if the high-speed "Sonic Rush" levels were all that were there, everyone would be bemoaning the lack of variety and platforming of olde.

Still, given Sonic's track record of late I can see why everyone's a skeptic. And the more everyone hates on the new levels ("Waaaah! Change!") the harder it'll be for them to disappoint.

V1L3

okay, i just watched some footage of the warehog stuff, and i gotta say, it might night completely ruin the game entirely. at the vary least i can let my wife play those levels, because she loves beat-em-ups.

pasquinelli

God fucking dammit, Sega. Why must you be so difficult? What idiot is making these decisions? Don't they see the massive tide of negative reaction every single time they decide to try and shake things up like this?

The blunder is compounded this time because they came SO CLOSE to giving us what we wanted!!! All this time, all we've wanted is a next-gen Sonic game that captures the spirit of the originals by virtue of being nothing but a simple platformer. Run, jump, collect rings. THAT'S IT. That is Sonic.

What is not Sonic:

*Open world RPG segments (SA1)
*Shoot 'em up segments (SA2)
*Incredibly boring treasure hunts (SA2)
*Threesomes (Sonic Heroes, another one that came so close to being amazing)
*Linear on-rails worlds, controls like you're driving a car (Secret Rings)
*Most importantly!! Do not force me to play as ANY CHARACTER OTHER THAN SONIC. The originals let you pick a character and go, and there wasn't a whole lot of difference besides cosmetics. The new games force you to play as everyone on the fucking roster, even the ones you loathe like Shadow and Silver (pass the bucket!) and their abilities are so different you might as well have bought a different bloody game.

ARGH. The continued bungling of the Sonic franchise makes me angrier than anything else in the gaming industry ever has ever. My childhood memories are further raped as every year goes by. It's NOT THAT HARD to get it right, Sega. Just listen to us for once. Please!

freakout

I'm disappointed SEGA, highly disappointed.

animat0

I want some hands-on impressions that actually describe the mechanics of the Werehog part. Not just bitch about how "this isn't Sonic blah blah blah!"

I think it's a silly concept, sure. But it could actually be fun if you stop thinking "I WANNA PRESS RIGHT TO WIN."

BPMΞ

Can't say I'm surprised. This was, after all, supposed to be the franchise reboot that it so very badly needs. As was Sonic Heroes and Sonic 360, if you remember. The new Nights has entirely taken away the benefit of the doubt I once gave Sega. From now on I don't get excited about one of their announcements till I get some more info from someone I trust and from now on I don't buy their games on sheer nostalgia. I'm looking at you, Samba de Amigo Wii.

Nobuyuki

Well there's my interest gone.

Mister Adequate

I think I'll wait to see a "night time" trailer to form my opinion.

EmeraldDragon

@TheCleaningGuy:
I have to say, watching the actual FOOTAGE, I think that the Werehog is going to be a lot of fun to play.

Good job SEGA! Keep it up!

blueshoals

That's it, I'm not buying it. @armchairnixon, I've said those same things before as well...

HalcyonX12

I don't understand how you can do this.
Sega knows that we want an old school sonic experience. Why is it so hard to deliver it?

Pangaru

What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse

T3CHTony

OH GOD, WHY?
I'll still pick it up, but it will reduce me to sobs whenever I have to play as shitty werewolf-Sonic.
@pasquinelli: Play with a gamecube controller, it works much better.

TheCleaningGuy

I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, despite my misgivings.

armchairnixon sees you doing that thing there...

"Okay, we might finally have got it right with Sonic. . . now what?"

"Vampire? Goblins? Giant cats who fish, wait we did that one, oh I know, Werewolves!"

"By George, I think this man has it, by putting in shitty werewolf mechanics we can manage to finally get Sonic right AND STILL PISS EVERYONE OFF! RAISES FOR EVERYONE!"

TrjnRabbit

@brightneonlights: nights was a fucking travesty. they broke the controls and tossed long, stupid, cutscenes in. if there were platforming sections, i gave up on the game before i got to them.

pasquinelli

I think Sega's just being stubborn, really. It's like they want to prove that Sonic can work great in 3-D and also do more than just run and jump really fast. Only problem is, they're trying to prove that through all the wrong methods.

I really think that they should just cut their losses and give Sonic a break for a couple years, maybe fire some guys in Scenario Writing while they're at it. Heck, they could probably get by financially simply by letting a small but competent third party (like Capcom is to Inti Creates) develop a classic-type game or two for WiiWare. I mean, I'd buy it.

Allosteric

Sega hates us, they tease us with some interesting trailers and beautiful 2D gameplay, but then in the end they crush our dreams just for the lulz!

Please Sega, in the next game use this graphics but with side scrolling gameplay only!

zetopazio

I hate being a Sonic fan.

Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.

Hey SEGA I got an idea.Go over and talk to capcom and have a look at bionic commando rearmed.You see that?

NOW DO THAT WITH SONIC GAMEPLAY!

(and no sega,i dont mean to give him a bionic arm...or stretchy werewolf arms either)

Tom Clancy's Samuraidino

I'll be fine with the beat-em-up sections as long as they're at least a bit enjoyable and brief.

KM91

The cup is HALF FULL

Ultrasinc

@brightneonlights:You can't possibly make shit stink any more then it already does.

And what is this shit. Did someone at Sega run across a copy of Silhouette Mirage and decide a little copy paste was in order? See Sega..there's a little issue there, because that's a Treasure Platformer and right now you lot aren't fucking fit to clean their bathrooms, much less swap ideas.

When you can make a good Sonic game without cheesy shit, then you can put it in and not before! Someone in Japan, please..please have these men arrested.

In before Sonic loyalists defend this.

Foxstar Sixtail

what the fuck? what the fuck!?

pasquinelli

You don't get it Fahey. Over at Sega, they have a strict suck quota that they have to follow. They made Unleashed too awesome at first, so then the really had to pile on the suck.

If I was them, I would have just never shown any of the retarded werewolf stuff after the insanely positive response to early gameplay trailers. I would have just pretended it didn't exist. Nobody would give a crap.

gamadaya

I don't understand why they can't just take Sonic Rush and do something similar on consoles!?! Why does there need to be anything fresh? Sonic Rush was the only Sonic that I cared to even play through in years. Why? Because it reminded me of the old Sonics, which is what I want.

MantisDragon

Sonic is like the retarded cousin of the console mascots. This just proves it even further.

Aethyr

They'd better release this game on a dead month because if there is anything remotely interesting to play then, I probably won't buy it. Unless it's half the price, because I only want to play 50% of it!

thefjk

It's sad really, the idea isn't completely without merit, it just got buried under a lot of boring tripe that fans of the series aren't interested in.

Would it have been so difficult to to keep the high speed and frantic obstical course style gameplay while still incorporating some new play mechanics to make the Werehog sections fun I can't imagine it would be.

Sure you can't please evereyone, some people would still bitch that Sonic is now a Were-critter but I would imagine the majority of people would at least welcome a new take on a recognizable formula.

Diddy_Mao

IT'S DR. ROBOTNIK DAMN IT!!!

mergedwarrior

Well I think people overreact a little. The day light part of the game is very cool, but if there was only day light parts of the game with ubber speed enabled the game wouldn't last more than 3 hours without starting to repeat and therefore starting to suck ass.

I liked the Werehog part's of the game, it's like a different way to play the game instead of just running around like crazy. The Werehog brings a lot of things new to gameplay in a platform game like the stretch arms and stuff. I thought it would suck a lot the ideia of a werehog and has a big fan of the Sonic franchise I was a little afraid of what it would look like, but I simply loved it, and I am completely sold. This might be the best 3d sonic game ever!

JediMaster

@KeroseneClimax: WOW! SO fucking close! I even stopped hating the crappy music and got into it until he turned into a werewolf.

Blah, I may still get it. This is actually better than what we have been getting lately. Though nothing from Sega has come close to the Genesis days. Heck even the Saturn Dreamcast days of Sonic.

If the fighting is passable and doesn't feel like a chore than I can forgive it for being tacked on. Though the running elements still aren't to the quality of what Sonic should be it still looks interesting.

Netnavi

@Neo-Senku:
I think they might be trying to rip off God of War a little bit. I got that feeling from it.

gamadaya

@blueshoals: Really? After I saw the FOOTAGE, it made me think of playing Ratchet and Clank with only the wrench and a bad camera.
Sorry, I'm being a dick.
I'll hold off on my final judgement until I play the game. It could turn out to be fun. I'll give Sega the benefit of the doubt on this one.

TheCleaningGuy

I think these WereSonic levels look decent, but completely out of place. Make a spin-off "Sonic May Cry", which he's been doing for years because of the crap that Sega has been spewing out, and leave Sonic Unleashed as the other half that we actually wanted. How much can we beg, scream, and send death-threats to you and your families until we get what we want? WHAT MUST WE DO FOR YOU TO GIVE US WHAT WE WANT?!

ViewtifulJason

ah the video ive seen looks pretty badass.
so at night you turn into an evil sonic? aslong as it plays good then i dont care.
maybe we should wait to play it before we knock it?
hint hint...

DaveStampeed

Why does his arms have to stretch? You know when i first heard about this i was skeptical, but then i saw the wolf game play and i was not happy one bit in the least. But since they came so close this time maybe next time they will finally get it right. Maybe its not so bad though, maybe i'll be able to try a demo or something, and i wont find it so bad, but thats a lot hope. alot of it probaly false.

Neo-Senku

Damn i was really hoping this would be like old-school sonic. I dont want it anymore fuck it after watching that video it just blows mind that they think turning half the game into a brawler is a good idea. Im done with sonic unless it is on a handheld.

smuckers is good

DUDE.

THAT COOL.

tyrannosaurus.drew

@V1L3: That's true of Sonic '06 - which was terrible all 'round - but the Sonic Adventure titles and Sonic Heroes both had pretty tight controls and a decent camera. Sonic Adventure 2's Sonic levels were gold. (Metal Harbour and Final Rush especially). After a few play-throughs you could run through those stages taking out all the enemies on the way and not stop for breath once. It was one of the most exhilarating platforming experiences I've ever had - felt like riding the world's most awesome rollercoaster.

That's the thing: is you focus on just Sonic, then you could potentially makes the world's best platformer. It might even get the same level of respect as a new Mario title. Instead, they drag it down into mediocrity by trying to incorporate too many conflicting play styles and the result is a decent but completely unmemorable game.

Maybe this will be different. I hope it is. But Sega's track record with Sonic over the last decade has been abysmal and this looks like it's going to make all the same mistakes.

freakout

@V1L3:

"Does anyone remember WHY the last few 3D Sonic games were crap?"

Yeah you've got half the point. Broken games sure.

But the other part was that they never felt like Sonic games!

Come on, I can see your trying to defend it but you don't have to. We are no longer required to give Sega this benefit of a doubt. It's been four games since they deserved a benefit of a doubt.

I think some of you are fooling yourselves if you think a competent beat em' up makes any difference in the end. It doesn't matter how good it is, that's almost irrelevant at this point. And you know what, I doubt we are looking at the second coming of TMNT here...

Godzilla-Sushi

@CaptJapan:
There is one instance of the word Eggman on this page.

Anyway, let's count the offenses.

1. Posting in all caps. At least you only used 1 exclamation mark. I'm not sure that comma is necessary though.

2. Yelling at the editor. That's always a smart move. Bonus points for the Jackass remark.

3. Just in general being a douche.

Bye.

gamadaya

Shh! The kiddies don't know that it sucks. They'll make gobs of money of it, guaranteed. The early Sega gamers don't count anymore.

Netnavi

And here I was actually becoming interested in a Sonic title. Thanks Sega for ruining that interest, one less game to buy.

AwShucks

Oh well, I won't play it if half of the game is going to be were-Sonic. Chances are the other half is going to be really awesome, but not enough to justify buying a game that I don't want to play the other half of the time.

Absent Blue

@KeroseneClimax:
I'd put it at 1:35. Was that what you got?

gamadaya

wth... why are these publish.*insert gawker site* popping up

FP ph15h

IT'S DR. ROBOTNIK, YOU JACKASS.

STOP CALLING HIM EGGMAN!

CaptJapan

@V1L3:

Exactly.

Itri

People give Nintendo shit for rehashing the same characters and formula despite the games being consistently good.

People give Capcom shit for making a Mega Man game that goes back to the classic retro game play, which is good.

The irony here is that in order to see another good Sonic game people want, they'd have to follow the other two company's examples.

Silent Predator

It doesn't help that over at the Gamespot preview of the game the guy playing it was like "Woo! This is awesome!" over the werewolf parts, and talking about how cool the concept of Sonic being a werewolf was.

ImBigBob

@pasquinelli: The Saturn's controllers make my hands scream in pain in a way no other controller ever has, so I'd love to play NiGHTS on a keyboard.

The normal sections look AMAZING but this werewolf crap reminds me too much of Heroes.

TalKeaton: A Force to be Reckoned With

@HenryHSH:

wait until you play it. unless you like just following what others say, and don't make your own choices by your own thoughts and opinions. if you wanted it in the first place, then you should give it a chance, it's not like he said it was horrible. but whatever, your probably no different than a bunch of other dumb commenters who feel like everything is so stupid before they even see the final product. and btw, the last sonic game i liked was sonic adventure for the dreamcast so don't give me any shit about being a sonic fanboy i just like to see things with my own eyes before i go and criticize things. fuck.

Itri

@TheCleaningGuy: did, it was still busted. and i'll note, before i rented it i got a saturn emulator and a copy of the original nights to get pumped up, played it through on a keyboard and loved it. the controls felt worse then using a fucking keyboard.

i should've never played it, it could never live up to how much i loved the original.

pasquinelli

+ Watch video

You can literally pinpoint the moment of suck. Still, I'm going to try to give this the benefit of the doubt. I'm not fond with Sega's insistence on bombarding me with gimmicky nonsense (A Lycanthrope-Luffy hedgehog? No.) that continues to remind me how they jumped the shark by strapping Shadow with a gun, but this is present day sonic; where nothing good cannot come without something, or at least seemingly in this case, bad.

KeroseneClimax

@Sabre_Justice: I hate being a sonic fan.: We all do.

fecalchaos

I really enjoyed the Sonic Rush offshoots on the DS. Whose with me?!?

NeVeRMoRe666

@mergedwarrior: Actually, Dr. Robotnik was always known as Eggman in Japan so they "offically" changed his American name to that a few years ago.

I know I know...I grew up with Robotnik too..

NeVeRMoRe666

Serves you all right for getting excited...I was pessimistic from the get-go. But it wasn't the werewolf that made me pessimisstic (I'm willing to bet the nighttime segments don't even make up much of the core gameplay)...what made me pessismistic is what this game still looks like to me, the bastard son of the shallow Secret Rings and the even shallower Sonic Rush. Sega probably realized just how shallow those outings were, and decided to throw in the werewolf gimmick to superficially extend the game's lifespan.

Erinaceus

Team Sonic member #1: I DON'T GET IT! WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG!! WHY WON'T PEOPLE BUY OUR GAMES?!?! Theres a blue hedgehog in them. What more do they want?!?!

Team Sonic member #2: Well what are the $$$ games doing now a days that we're not?

Just then, their Nintendo overlords stroll past (whistling...)

Team Sonic member #1: (picks up copies of Metroid Prime 3 and Twilight Princess)

and so it begins...

Annoyed Sega fanboy in the back: (faintly) Nooooooooooooo......

NeVeRMoRe666

@gamadaya: That makes since, it kinda does give off that vibe.

Neo-Senku

Oh my god, I was literally banging my hand on the desk with laughter. That was too much.

Wolfers

Hey, it took 10 years to finally make Sonic look and play amazing in 3D, I think I can wait a year or two more to polish it up and remove the crud (the other 50% in Sonic Unleashed).

Then again, I wanna play it first before casting another Sonic game into the pit of Doom. But usually split personality 50/50 games don't play out to well. I hated the 6 different game modes in Sonic Adventure. And no, I don't WANT to play as Dr. Robotnik! Just give me Sonic, Tails, Knuckles AND NO ONE ELSE, then build the game around that.

dagamer34

@Silent Predator: The lesson, as always: People are never satisfied.

After watching the gameplay video, I'm less upset than I was when I was just reading comments. I'll probably rent or play a demo and see what's up before committing, but it doesn't look broken.

mjn328

Dynasty Warriors Sonic?

Do want!

z357x

They should have just made the whole game sidescrolling with incredibly good graphics.

dowingba

@Tom Clancy's Samuraidino: Oh great, now Sega is gonna give Sonic hotdog hair.

Spiffyness

I think a few people are misunderstanding my point.

Allow me to bring up Sonic 2006 again.

We all read the reviews. Not good. Horrible even. But you know what? I hated a lot of the extra levels in Sonic Adventure 2 as well, but the amount of fun I had with the Sonic/Shadow levels made up for it. I thought I'd give Sonic 2006 a shot. Surely ONE of the Sonic levels would be fun.

No. Not ONE SINGLE GOOD LEVEL. Every single level was RUINED by the terrible physics and controls, cheap deaths, long loads and complete lack of checkpoints. There was NO fun to be had ANYWHERE in that game.

I'm not saying the WereSonic levels are going to be fun. They might be - they also may be dull as dishwater.

But even if they ARE boring as hell, they don't look frustrating, and may only prove to be a minor irratation. And if the Sonic levels are even HALF as fun as they look, there will still be TONS of fun to be had.

It's not the "I wish they'd stick to Sonic" people I'm disagreeing with, as part of me wishes the same thing. It's the "WTF! This sucks! I'm never going to try this game blah blah blah!"

Whatever the case, I doubt we'll see a sequel with Were Sonic, given the plot details. And if Were Sonic gets THAT bad of a response, the inevitable Hedgehog Engine sequel could be a vast improvement.

Also, I'm surprised more people didn't pick up in the Gamespot playthrough about this snippett:

Email Question: Are there going to be any remakes of the old Sonic levels?

Ken: …That IS a good question. I think you'll just have to stay tuned.

V1L3

Having seen gameplay with the werehog, I'm of the belief that it could still be a good game and I will probably be buying it. Just because it's not 100% speedster doesn't mean the werehog is crap. At least they're giving us what we asked for: a Sonic game that might not suck horribly. Maybe I'm just too optimistic, but the werehog could actually work. I guess we'll find out come Holiday 2008 sometime.

armchairnixon sees you doing that thing there...

Dammit. Sonic Team, why are you so full of FAIL!?

Rebochan

This is so frustrating.

My first videogame was Sonic the Hedgehog. I didn't know what blast processing was, in my humble innocence, I didn't even know what a SNES was. All I knew was it was fun.

Nowadays that part of my childhood lies in shambles. If I had to choose a digital representation of the downfall of such an iconic franchise, I'd choose Shadow. The moment he entered the series, they were condemned.

Seeing the previous trailers I felt rejuvenated, game-wise. Part of my coarse, cynical facade that is now my default attitude towards gaming crumbled and let the shining days of "the golden age of videogaming", a time period existent to all gamers but not the same for all, burst forth from that jaded shell.

It looked fun, it looked clean, it looked PERFECT. High-powered music (could've been better but eh), incredible graphics that still looked good as you whizzed past them, an incredible sense of speed that emulated seeing a Sonic game for the first time... All that melded into 3D gameplay, with the camera shifting position to open up more mechanics and to show off the thing's graphical prowess. It was what I first thought of when I heard Sonic was making the jump to 3D back in the Dreamcast era.

It looked as if all the people responsible for the horrendous design options in past Sonics had been drugged and the real geniuses left at Team Sonic were in a closet hacking the perfect Sonic away as fast as they could.

It was a sure buy.

And then the drugged up guys woke up, obnoxiously staggered their way to the closed, broke the door down, ripped the game design from the good guys' hands and proceeded in puking all over it. A thick layer of vomit, with half digested chunks of flesh and bread floating idly... The stench of "innovation" permeated the air and the remaining geniuses at Team Sonic committed hara-kiri.

Werehog. Fucking werehog. It could not have been worse, even if I had made up worst-case scenarios. This goes beyond all my darkest nightmares.

The trailer was looking amazing. Sonic and ROBOTNIK fighting! Sonic was trashing robots! Robotnik had a huge robot and was inside it! The Egg Carrier! No Shadow, no Rouge, no Big, no Amy, no white-hedgehog-dude! Robotnik and Sonic, mano-a-mano in a dazzling display of speed and nostalgia. Then... Werehog.

Damn you Sega. Damn you to infinity. To lift my hopes and dash them like this is inhumane.

I'll never love again.

Ethereus

@NeVeRMoRe666: Im with ya. love the Sonic Rush.

*sigh* sega just cant get it's act together. poor Sonic. I dont blame you.

Sheetman

If Sega screws this up, they might as well retire Sonic completely. If they can't understand, after all this time, that we just want a sonic game where you run fast, then that's it. They can't salvage the franchise.

Thorax

@V1L3: I'm going to play it and love the good bits as much as I can, like I have with all the next-gen Sonic titles. It's just so damn frustrating, the way they keep diluting the platforming experience with other gameplay styles. That's the core of what made people love Sonic and it's why people continue to follow him.

Sega keep taking what could potentially be awesome Sonic games and then sticking these great big stretches of "meh" in random places throughout. They could give us a 3D rollercoaster ride as in-your-face as platforming has ever seen, with enormous levels full of secret places that you can replay again and again, cementing Sonic's place in gaming history anew. Instead we keep getting this stop/start gameplay that's more akin to being stuck in peak-hour gridlock than it is an adrenaline-pumping race.

So yeah, the werewolf bits might not be completely shit to play. But they sure as hell will screw up the pacing of the game, just like this stuff has in every other Sonic game Sega has tried it in. You can see it in the trailer: the werewolf bits might as well be clips from a completely different game.

Once again, awesome becomes average. And my inner child dies a little bit more...

freakout

@KeroseneClimax: I see what you mean. Its looks really fun but then at 1:21, and not a moment sooner, teh sux takes over and the rest of the video looks like crap.

Quicksilver4648

@Ethereus: That was beautfiul, man. Brought a tear to the eye. (sniff)

It's just not right, what they're doing to us. There needs to be an association dedicated to fighting cruelty against old-time childhood Sonic fans. We've had enough, dammit.

freakout

@z357x: Shut your mouth and never say that again, don't give sega any ideas like that, they jus might do it.

Neo-Senku

I don't quite understand what people thought was so bad with the trailer? have half of you even seen it?????
It doesn't seem that bad, the main fault with all recent sonic games has been the buggy annoying gameplay - if they can avoid that, we have a winner.

Ryuujin1024

Dunno if anyone said it but...

Your math is wrong, 50% marshmallows and 50% crap is actually 100% crap. I mean, unless you're actually going to fish the marshmallows out of the crap.

Then, that's just gross, and you're a horrible person.

Ampillion = That Man.

Impressive.

I mean, wow, this is such an obviously bad idea. Yes, Sega certainly is one of the worst prominent developers/publishers right now, but even I wouldn't expect them to implement something so mind-numbingly retarded as this. I truly wish that a competent publisher would just outright buy up Sega before it destroys my childhood memories further.

Also, I'm glad Sega isn't doing a Shenmue 3. As much as I loved the first and second, I know that Sega would just fuck it up. For the series to make a comeback now, Sega would really have to make something new and special. Frankly, they just aren't good enough anymore.

TheGuilty1

@Thorax: Y'know...there's way more to classic Sonic than running fast. The old Sonic's were classics, because of the PLATFORMING. It was way more than just "hold right for the win". Why there's such a mass misconception out there that the sole foundation was the speed I'll never understand...

If the sole foundation were speed, then Sonic would be a car, and there would be a speedometer rather than a timer in the corner of the screen.

And the PLATFORMING, or rather, lack thereof it, is why I'll pass on this outing.

Erinaceus

@Ampillion = That Man.: oops. didn't check this page before posting.

shimage

50% of crap and marshmallows is still 50% crap.

I beg to differ. 50% of crap and marshmallows is 100% crappy marshmallows.

shimage

At least they still make excellent, honest-to-goodness 2D Sonic games, which is all I really care about.

I don't quite understand all the complaining about Sega not delivering a "classic" Sonic game. Sonic's never been good or "classic" in 3D.

Go 2D, my friends! Go 2D and never look back! Happiness awaits!!

sandwiches

Have the recent Sonic games sold well in Japan?
The last one got 7s and 8s in Famitsu, maybe there's some kind of cultural disconnect between Sonic Team giving the Japanese public *exactly* what they want, and Westerners who simply got lucky with the old 2D ones now being outside of the target demographic...

eviladrian

Well... it is a curse on sonic. Maybe sega wanted to make it more inmersive and let people suffer.

Falsoman

@Erinaceus: You know what I mean. The sense of speed mixed with platforming, which for me at least, created a sort of zen experience where you attempt to speed through but see everything the levels had to offer.

Great, now I want to Sonic Rush through again. Thanks. :)

Thorax

I.... Wha-.... What? What's happening? Why is this something that is okay? Since when do I live in a world where things like this are acceptable?

Really, that's just bizarre and idiotic to the point of absurdity. How many people had to think that was a good idea before it was made? I mean... C'mon, this is just sad.

Uzumaki_Kiba

Hopefully I can push through the brawler elements to get back to the true Sonic parts.

StupidDufus

Mike, I'm not even a big Sonic fan and I'm dissapointed. Not with Sega, with you. It doesn't even sound like you gave it a shot. "I don't like what I'm seeing so it must not be good".

Sad.

Aflack: Likes slushies

@KeroseneClimax: The werewolf parts don't look that bad gameplay wise, but then again the first Sonic game I played was Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on the Gamecube (I didn't play the Genesis ones until last year), so I don't have fond childhood memories to be destroyed. The worst part about that trailer was the vomit-inducing music. NO MORE THAN 5 DIFFERENT LYRICS ALLOWED, SONIC TEAM!! They should at least get the guy who did the music for Sonic Rush.

Placentasaurus

Damnit!!!! Why can't they just make the DS Sonic Rush games for consoles

themadman123

@Hyperfludd: I'm not crying, I'm just giggling every time I look at that screen shot. 29 hits combo! Boing!

Zunnoab

@themadman123: The Sonic Rush team is working on the Wii Version.

Hyperfludd

The Werehog portion doesn't look that bad. Why the hell are people crying?

Hyperfludd

Sega Devolpers: HOW DO I GET BLOOD FROM THIS STONE?!?!?!

Wolfgeist

oops, "Gold" should be "gold". I wish there was an edit feature!

fenderfuel08

Sonic Team used to be Gold, and was up there with the likes of Nintendo back when they made Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast.

This is all just too bad.

fenderfuel08

*goes off into little corner and weeps* Sonic, I just don't know you anymore!!

TheDollHouse

I KNOW HOW TO FIX IT!

Okay, no ones happy with the idea of "were-Sonic". However, the gameplay on the brawling doesn't look half bad. Kind of like a souped up "Kung-Fu Panda". But, it's too late to completely wipe out the werehog story, BUT instead of playing as him at night, we play as another Sonic brawler....Knuckles who, is trying to track down and stop were-Sonic. It would work fine as Knuckles is a fighter, not a speedster, and out of the ton of Sonic side characters, people really like Knuckles more than most others. He could even fight Were-Sonic a few times in boss battles.

So, replace The Were-Hog with Knuckles. Problem solved.

Shigamado

*sigh* i was really looking forward to this too.

What is it at the moment with game devs. give gamers WHAT THEY WANT. not stupid half baked ideas. I mean ill prob play it, but ill only play the stupid beat-em up sections just so i can get back to the daytime speed sections again. Why put that hurdle in my way?
At least gimme the choice perhaps.

NovaBlack

@blueshoals: No, no, NO.

Cdestroyer127

sorry Sega, your not getting my money, because I don't like giving money to idiots.

geoffcbassett

I don't think you all should be writing the game off as terrible so soon. I know the werehog sections don't look appealing but you can't instantly assume the game will be crap just from a video. At least wait for a hands on impression that actually details the gameplay mechanics rather than guessing.

Also about this "Sonic should just be about speed" argument. If the game was just 10 hours of speed sections like the first trailer then that may please the old school sonic fans but people who didn't grow up with the genesis games may think that the game would be too shallow or repetitive.

Flare5X

navigating with elastic arms sounds like Ristar for the genisis

Haingis

Sega are the biggest losers ever. First they fuck up Sonic, then they refuse to make Shenmue III, which everyone wants. I still love my Dreamcast though.

nitram100

i think sega must love to tease fans of sonic.
Step 1 Release kick ass trailer taking sonic back to the roots
Step 2 Release another trailer again showing more kick ass stuff
Step 3 Tease werewolf sonic, hmmm ok i can accept that
Step 4 Show that lame werewolf sonic gameplay trailer
Step 5 collect the tears of fanboys

mbeck

Argh. Fuck you cut-and-paste.

humongous_mouse

Ha. This discussion is all for nought, because Sonic has Quick-Time-Events in it, and they quite frankly much games suck more than any Werehog could.

@scotty: The guy has the audacity to call Animal Crossing shit, and you want to hit him in the head? You have issues man, serious issues.

humongous_mouse

@Flare5X: The old-school Sonic games on Mega Drive/Genesis were never just about speed :/

More modern games like Sonic Rush, however, have level designs more orientated around Sonic running/sliding really fast.

dangerman_

Thing is, the Genesis Sonic games weren't even that fast to begin with. People have this nostalgic vision of Sonic in their heads that he has always been purely about speed, but the Genesis games were more about platforming than speed. Seriously, go back and play them right now. You'll see what I mean. True speed only came into play during the Dreamcast era, with Sonic Adventure. But hey, then it became "HUR DUR JUST HOLD RIGHT TO WIN! I'M SO CLEVER FOR MAKING THAT JOKE!", didn't it?

Werehog gameplay doesn't look that bad. I always imagined Knuckles would be the one to go around and beat shit up DMC style rather than a transformed Sonic, but this works fine for me. I like the design of the werehog, so it's all good. I imagine people bitching a lot less about it if it was in fact Knuckles playable during those parts rather than a transformed Sonic.

Basically, I think everyone will always have something to moan about when a new Sonic game gets shown. If it's just about speed, you'll make silly jokes about holding right to win. So they throw in some variety in there, and then it's suddenly not "Sonic" anymore.

Pietepiet

@HenryHSH:

no less, no more.

HelderP

@dangerman_: Thats a very good point.

I remember lots of people complaining that Sonic unleashed would be boring if the whole game was like the first trailer but now Sega has added another gameplay element everyones complaining the game should be just about speed.

Sega may as well stop making the Sonic games as it seems people are never going to satisfied with what they do.

Flare5X

I still find it stupid that they're giving up making a fully 3D Sonic just because the Sonic devs seem incapable of creating 3D collision that works consistently. If Sonic Adventure weren't so glitchy and only involved playing as Sonic then it would be a great game and they could continue to base future Sonic games off of it physics and game-specific mechanics like with Mario 64 to Sunshine to Galaxy.

Lessthan_tom

Looks like development issues to me. First thing I thought when I saw the awesome half of the game was 'that's a lot of art assets flying past with barely time to see them - that's going to take a lot of development time to make so much stuff, if the whole game is going to be at this pace.'
Then they compromised, and slowed things down. But suckied them up.

NiceMissMayonnaise

*sighs*
If this was any other franchise, people would be all 'Well it's good they're trying something new, I'm tired of the same thing.' But no. Because it's Sonic, people aren't content that maybe, just maybe, they've made the first games over too many times with the original series, the advance series and the rush series, to name a few. Maybe Sega are sick of it. Maybe I'm sick of it and I'm a die-hard Sonic fan. I don't want the exact same game all over again. I've played it. I've played them all. Several times over. Why would I want to play them again?

I stand by Sega's decision in the Werehog. They've given you what you want, but they've given us who don't want the same game over, something new. Something interesting.

Give the game a chance instead of judging it instantly, like all the media already do. If it gliches terribly, if it handles bad, if it looks terrible, then you have reason to say it's a bad game. But so far, it looks to play well, the controls look simple, basic and the game looks better than any Sonic title before it.

ColdDog

Too bad, another shitty sonic game. Nevermind, I gave up on the franchise years ago.

Unless it's a remake HD version of the originals i'll not touch a Sonic game again.

MikoKeZ

Poor SEGA. They just will never understand that whole "If it ain't broke" concept. Really, though, anyone who gets their hopes up about Sonic games these days is wearing not just rose-colored glasses, but blinders as well.

Well, except for people who get some sort of sexual gratification from the franchise but, well, they're also the ones who sort of killed it, so.

TomSkylark

Why Sega, Why?

Solash

I remember i used to kill for Sonic back in the Genesis days. I remember pre-ordering my copy of Sonic II, which came with a nice t-shirt! Not anymore. Like a lot of the adventure games i used to play, companies have adapted 3D (which is good), but they have decided to fudge the shiz with new elements that have nothing to do with the original. I guess they are trying to appeal to a wider audience, or at least trying to persuade new gamers to try Sonic...
Regardless i think they should stick to 300+ mph speeds, with loaded levels. Sonic the motherfucking hedgehog is a speed freak rolling on amphetamines. He is not a pot head running (walking) around pretending he's bat!

V.Volker

Video games have been around for decades now. Companies still don't think to just maybe ask people if their game is a good idea before developing it past the point of no return?

Apreche

@UbeWoll: Starring Michael J. Fox in a high school letter jacket.

Omnimon

Picture caption:
The werehog sections were thiiiiiiiiis crap.

markusdragon

@StarStabbedMoon:

Tell that to New Super Mario Bros.

The 'casual' mass market ate it up, just like they would a similar Sonic game.

hefferj05

@ColdDog: I can dig that. If the Werehog sections aren't lame like Tails' shooting and Knuckles' flying around for lost items, and instead are just a fun game mechanic that doesn't slow down the entertainment, even if the pace is lessened, I'll be pleased. I'm cautiously optimistic :-)

mjn328

*has flashbacks to SA2 non-sonic sections*

....seems about the same idea, and SA2 was the best 3D sonic to date... so I'll still get it.

Superlocke

@mjn328: ugh, the knuckles levels were painful. fucking horrible idea that was.

pasquinelli

Can we please get sonic adventure 3 please, none of this shit. Sonic adventure 1 and 2 were my favorite sonic games. I enjoyed the 2d platformers, but Adventure was my fav. series from Sonic.

Cheroro

@Pietepiet: i play through sonic3+knuckles maybe once a year or so, and i disagree with you. there was a lot of speed and not all that much platforming. sonic is set up for speed, that's why you can roll to attack without stopping. the idea is to really flow through the levels, avoiding obstacles. that's not really what i call platforming.

pasquinelli

Is there a "skip" option for the Were-hog sections? Cuz, um, that would be better.

jutaro

@freakout: This.

Jonn

Damn. It.
So close to a good idea, and then RANDOM BRAWLER'D.

cynopt

o stfu, the only reason you people don't like the were hog parts is because its non "sonic-y enough". Stop being so damn nostalgic. It could play like God of War and you people would still bitch. And let me tell you this, the 100 people who are bitching about this are not gonna put a dent in the millions it will sell.

ratix240sx

Someone should have told Sega no one actually liked being a wolf in Zelda: TP. Well, except furries.

MPSai

So what I am gathering is that Sonic Unleashed is a half good, and a half bad game. In other words status quo in mediocrity.

gencid

So who the hell has been prank calling Sega and convincing them that this werewolf crap is what Sega fans want?

As far as I can see all Sega fans want is a fast moving platformer and some more furries to write fan fiction about.

AdmiralRupert