PixlBit

Well, I haven't blogged in a good while. A lot of interesting things have happened. I won't count the Mario Maker blog as that was more of a reaction piece to my already undying fan love-hate relationship between myself and Nintendo. Anyways, I wanted to discuss the Sonic Nintendo Wii U/ 3DS games...more specifically I was going to try and defend Sonic Boom... Key word here is try. But then I figured, why not all three games? So, without further ado, here goes nothing. Enjoy my musings!

1. Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games

Well this really shouldn't count should it? That is the general consensus among people who thought that the deal would consist of three mainstream Sonic games. For those not in the know... Mario & Sonic have been competing in the Olympics since 2008 back on the Wii. It was met with some mixed reception and the games themselves are a bit to be desired. While this game is hardly the cat's pajamas or well any pajamas....there are plenty of positives.

It has plenty of characters and events- some good, some bad, Dream events are the real highlight of this game featuring fun games such as Snowball Scrimmage and Bullet Bill Sled Race. Snowboarding is the biggest higlight as the controls between steering, jumping, and other tricks you perform just feel right. I mean there is a lot of fun to be had with friends in this game with such great events like Roller Coaster Bobsled. At $20 or less, you could do worse.

Professional Rating: 6/10; Personal Opinion: 6.9/10

Professional Grade: D-; Personal Grade: D+

Suggestion: Worth a rental at least

 

Sonic: Lost World

Ah yes Sonic: Lost World is definitely the best of the three. Does that mean it's good? Honestly, I think this game gets a lot of undeserved flack. I really enjoyed a lot of things about this game. It's honestly the closest 3D Sonic has come to a well controlled platformer that it could be. Now that control has a learning curve, but honestly this game is still pretty good. I believe that this was an experiment to put a lot of elements that worked and throw some new and unique ideas into a game and see what stuck.  The problem is that was this direction...too new? In all honesty, I didn't mind that Sonic slowed down just a bit for this new game. Once again going back to the platforming and controls...once you get a hang of things, it becomes a blast...and it doesn't take that long to get that feeling of it just feeling right. 

Now there will be some people who look at the Super Mario Galaxy inspiration and that can't be ignored, especially on a particular boss fight that will remind you of the Bowser planetoid battles. I truly do think that this Sonic has some great level design, great music, and plenty of challenge. But at times, this becomes an inconsistency. Like I said, the controls take some learning to get a hang of and even after you do there will still be some issues. The problem I have with the game is that it tries too much and too hard for new things that wisp powers feel like an after thought. The Deadly Six  are a bit unispired and honestly a little too easy at boss fight sections. And I won't go into the story. Sonic isn't Shakespeare and never will be. Don't complain about the attempt at humor or lack of depth in the Deadly Six. It's a damn Sonic game...why are you expecting something grandiose? The stories even going back to the Adventure days weren't that complex or original. Give him a break for going back to simpler times of Eggman wants to make robots out of critters origins...now with a twist of new enemies. Plus free Yoshi/Zelda zone DLC and a NiGHTS inspired boss rush (with the Deadly Six Bonus Edition)...that's just great!

Professional Rating: 6.3/10; Personal Rating: 7.5/10

Professional Grade: D; Personal Grade: C

Suggestion: It won't be for everyone, so play the free demo on the eshop first. If you like it then it's worth a buy at $30, if you're on the fence then rent it as you can easily beat the game within a week or so. Personally, I enjoyed this game and I am one of it's few defenders.

 

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

Okay...this is it. I've been thinking to myself....How in the heck do I defend Sonic Boom? A game plagued by members and staff of the development team leaving, a rush to get it released in time for the TV show tie-in (which honestly isn't that bad too be honest...a good show for your 8-12 years old kids or nephews/nieces), and a review embargo that made everyone question just how bad it would be. And you know a game is being critically slammed and universally hated when you drop from a $50 retail title to $30 on amazon....a price drop I'm sure will continue to go down.

But here is how I will defend Sonic Boom...I have to erase the part of my mind that remembers years of previous Sonic games. I have to travel back in time and become 8-12 years old. And I have to ask my 8-12 year old self...Would you play and enjoy Sonic Boom? Now I cannot do any of those, but I can ask my nephews...the target audience this game is aimed at. And you know what? They think this game is awesome and fun. Of course, they also enjoyed the werehog sections of Sonic Unleashed (which many felt ruined the game) But since this game is clearly aimed at small children and not me I have to take it at that approach.

Sonic Boom is not the worst game ever. I've played a lot of crappy games and Sonic Boom can't be as bad as Ninjabread Man. But it's not a good Sonic game. It's very average, slow paced, incredibly easy (there are very forgiving checkpoints and I'm not even sure if there is a life counter like in most Sonic games), the music is not very good and for this being a Sonic game that is inexcusable...at least Sonic 06 had the music, combat and characters all feel boring and similar, simple puzzles, and finally it just looks bad. With frame drops, glitches (though not as bad or hilarious as Soinc 06) and just jagged textures...it looks like a game even the Wii would laugh at...well maybe not that bad, but you can see the point I'm making. However, 8-12 year olds will simply love this game and that is what matters right? After all they are the target audience.

Professional Rating: 3.2/10; Personal Score: 4/10

Professional/ Personal Rating: F-

Suggestion: Unless you are 8-12 years old or you're the world's biggest Sonic fan who would defend even his poorest games (and even then this might push you towards the looney bin) don't buy this game. Heck, don't even rent this game. The demo is free to play if you are curious, but even if this were to fall into a $20 or less bargain bin...I still would be questioning whether it's worth it...I would know...after all I bought it at $30....Thanks a lot Amazon! Seriously...I love Amazon. 

Amazon Review Biased Opinion: USE THEM! GET A PRIME MEMBERSHIP! I LOVE YOU AMAZON!!!!!!!!