Retro_Link Posted July 15, 2007 Posted July 15, 2007 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm?artid=14007 If you think it's ridiculous that Sonic can get beat by Mario in the 100m Dash, wait until you see him get smoked by Bowser. The first appearance of Mario and Sonic together in the same video game (and with luck, not the last one we'll see this year) is one that will carry the official 2008 Summer Olympic Games license with it, though not exclusively. Developed by one of Sega's Japanese sports groups in close conjunction with Nintendo, it'll finally answer that age-old question of who is the better mascot character: Mario, or Sonic? Those two aren't the only characters in the game, of course. The E3 demo version we got to take a look at featured eight, but according to Sega reps demoing the game there will be “significantly more" in the final version. Each character has a specialty in one of three areas: speed, power or technique. Obviously, Sonic is one of the speed characters. Bowser and Knuckles were labeled as power characters, with Tails and Luigi being some of the technique characters. In addition to a field of specialty, each Olympian also has individual stats in one of four areas: speed, acceleration, dash and technique. Mario was also classified as a speed character, but his stats are much more balanced than those of Sonic, who has the highest top speed but very poor acceleration. The different technique types and stats are meant to balance the characters in a way where any character has a chance to win at any event, but still give an advantage to the characters who excel in an event specialty. Bowser would naturally do better in the hammer throw than Peach; and Tails or Luigi would be better suited for the technique-heavy triple jump. The final game will have multiplayer challenges that span multiple events, so things will even out over time. However, Sega said that if you wanted to break an Olympic or world record in an individual event, you'll have to select a character that specializes in it. The Wii remote and nunchuk will be used in different ways during the various events. In the 100m Dash, it's all about drumming the controller halves as fast as possible. During the first half of a race, however, you can only run at about 80% capacity. A blue meter tells you your speed, but if you drum too fast and go into the red, you'll stumble a bit and lose time. After the halfway point this restriction is lifted and it's just a full-on sprint to the finish. The potental to screw up in the opening means it's possible for slower characters (like Bowser) to outrun faster characters (like Sonic) if the person controlling ol' blue messes up a bit. But all player skill levels being equal, speed characters will win every time. In the triple jump, a technique event, the drumming of the controller will get you up to speed during the run-up. You won't need to do this all the way to the jump plate, however, as the game will lock in your speed a few moments before you need to flick the Wii remote upwards to start a jump. The second jump is done with a similar nunchuk flick and the final jump is the Wii remote again. Each jump has an angle meter that tells you the trajectory of each jump, but it wasn't clear what determined the jump angle from Sega's demonstration. It appeared to me that it was the force of the flick, but it could also have to do with the controller angle when flicking. Either way, the goal is to get a 45-degree leap each time. The last event on display at E3 was the hammer throw. For this power event you must hold the remote upwards and twirl it around in a circular motion to get the speed up, then hit the A Button with good timing to fling it out of the cage. It didn't look like the remote motions required to build speed were very vigorous in this event, but since Sega wasn't allowing anyone to try it hands-on we do not know if giving the remote a violent shake will provide more power. There will be some neat extras you can do with the Wii remote strewn about the events. Before starting a run in the triple jump, you can clap your hands a few times by doing the same motion with the two halves of the remote to pump up the crowd and give you a little power boost. In the 100m Dash, thrusting the controllers forward at the finish will make your character perform one final thrust toward the tape. There will be more of these in the final game. And finally, the combination of the Mario and Sonic universes won't stop at the character select screen. Footage has already revealed a few cameo appearances from minor characters from both camps. In the triple jump, Toad watches for jumping fouls and Lakitu measures the final jump distance. In the hammer throw, Cream the Rabbit raises the red and white flags to signal a fair or foul throw. This is an indication that even if a recognizable character doesn't make the final roster, it'll probably still show up in the game somewhere. Sega was pretty much mum on other key details during E3, such as the number of events or specifics on extra game modes. It did, however, say the game will be out this November, a good nine months before the real Olympic Games get under way in China next year. Sounds like some great use of the Wii controls to me! The extras, like clapping to get the crowd going etc... are great ideas!
Hero-of-Time Posted July 15, 2007 Posted July 15, 2007 Is this online? If not its a missed oppertunity.
triforcemario Posted July 15, 2007 Posted July 15, 2007 Wow, Sega are actually making a game that's.... Half decent?! -Dies of shock-
Kurtle Squad Posted July 15, 2007 Posted July 15, 2007 Wow, Sega are actually making a game that's.... Half decent?! -Dies of shock- Don't you mean a Sonic game that is? It sounds good so far anyway, hopefully it'll be at least a 7/10 game.
Cube Posted July 15, 2007 Posted July 15, 2007 I just hope for a LOT of events. And not just the in-stadium ones. And how about a marathon?
Goron_3 Posted July 15, 2007 Posted July 15, 2007 This is going to be an amazing multiplayer game. I can't wait!
flameboy Posted July 15, 2007 Posted July 15, 2007 I just hope for a LOT of events. And not just the in-stadium ones. And how about a marathon? Yeah I hope so to..It's not all just about athletics. How about cycling in the velodrome? and some things like archery, swimming etc... theres tons..
Cube Posted July 15, 2007 Posted July 15, 2007 Yeah I hope so to..It's not all just about athletics. How about cycling in the velodrome? and some things like archery, swimming etc... theres tons.. Well, archery is in the DS one, so it's likely.
pedrocasilva Posted August 4, 2007 Posted August 4, 2007 So how is Sega going to take the games forward when Luigi, Tails and Co. brandish the torch? Sega's UK Product manager Grant Gie talked us through an early demo of the Wii version. Sonic and Mario are finally meeting for the first time. Which characters can we expect to see in Olympic games, and how diverse will they be? Gie: We've got a handful of characters from both camps at the moment, though obviously the final game will have significantly more. Different character types have different attributes so you can pick a character that fits your own play style, or just pick your favourite and get used to their strengths and weaknesses. Also if you're playing a circuit-style game you can be strategic about your decision and decide whether you want a balanced character, someone's who's strong but maybe not as fast etc. So Sonic isn't always going to win? Gie: The great thing about this is it's similar to Mario Kart in levelling the playing field. Sonic isn't always going to win the 100 metre dash; it's really up to the players and how well they use the nunchuk and remote. Mario and Luigi for example are great all-rounders. There stats are spread across speed, acceleration and dash. Sonic meanwhile has a good top speed but his acceleration is low. It's a real balancing act. The final build will have lots more characters in there and some of the animation is really early at the moment. I hope you'll agree though that it's starting to like a really strong, almost Nintendo first-party, quality title. It is being published by Sega, but there's a critical partnership with Nintendo to make sure that the product delivered is nothing shy of first party quality come Christmas. How have you benefited from having the Olympic Games license? Gie: This is an official Olympics game so although the look and feel is slightly Mario and Sonic in terms of the world, it has official Olympic stadiums and events that we'll play - though we'll only be showing 100 metre dash, triple jump and hammer throw today. OK, how does the 100 metre dash work? Gie: It kicks off with a Mario Kart-style power start; the idea is you need to get a good start right out of the blocks. You do this by punching the B trigger to bring up a power meter, though you can't press and hold it for too long or you'll go into the red. If you can time it right you'll already be ahead of the pack. The first 50 metres are going to kind of limit your speed; you're not going to be able to do 100 percent. The power meters still there; you want to keep it maxed out in the middle without going into the red. Then in the last 50 metres it's an all-out sprint and that's where you've really got to thrash hard on the nunchuck and remote. You said there's a lot of Mario Kart influence in the game? Gie: We're trying to go for that mass-appeal like Mario Kart; it crosses all boundaries. Kids can pick up and play Mario Kart and have a great time, but it's really fun at home with those core gamers who replay and replay. How does the triple jump work? Gie: In step one it's very similar to the 100 metres; you're setting your speed. So the faster you can thrash the better jump you'll get. In the next stage your speed gets locked and the camera angle switches to a side view. For your hop, skip, jump you use the Wii remote to time with the animation of your character. For the first jump you use the Wii Remote, then the nunchuck for the second, and the back to the Wii Remote for your final jump into the pit. The idea is the harder I flick upwards, the higher the angle I'll get. 45 degrees is just about perfect, and you'll see it illustrated with some stars when you nail it. There's a couple of ways to fail in the triple jump; if you don't time it right you'll just end up stopping, or you can just step over the line. Are any of the events more difficult than the others? Gie: The hammer throw is actually the hardest event in the E3 demo - it took me a while to master! The reason it's the trickiest is because there's so many different ways to fail. As in the real sport, if you rotate too many times and step over the circle it'll be a fail throw. You can hit the side of the cage, then even if you're lucky enough to get it out of the cage you could send it outside of the playing field. Basically you pick up the hammer with the A button and then use the Wii Remote in a lasso style. The faster you rotate, the faster your character will. In this build there's a countdown to let you know how close you're getting before you have to release it. Very similarly to how the athletes do it, once you release the hammer if you press A your character will let out a big loud grunt, and that'll give you those extra few meters. Source: http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=169386
SimonM7 Posted August 4, 2007 Posted August 4, 2007 It's still not particularly faithfully handled in terms of Sonic's speed. Sonic, poor acceleration? Uh. Okay. However, the game is done by Athlete Kings/Winter Heat people, so I'm confident it'll be a BRILL game. In fact, it sounds just like Athlete Kings with the power/speed character stuff.
gaggle64 Posted August 4, 2007 Posted August 4, 2007 I just hope for a LOT of events. And not just the in-stadium ones. And how about a marathon? There's fencing. That should be awesome.
Speedfreak Posted August 4, 2007 Posted August 4, 2007 It's still not particularly faithfully handled in terms of Sonic's speed. Sonic, poor acceleration? Uh. Okay. I take it you never actually played an old 2D Sonic game. Sonic takes 2 seconds just to get to Mario's walking speed.
breachloader Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 I take it you never actually played an old 2D Sonic game. Sonic takes 2 seconds just to get to Mario's walking speed. 1. That's a gross exaggeration. 2. He's quite fast at accelerateing on the flat (uphill he's slow). 3. The NTSC version (which runs at the correct speed) is much faster than the PAL version. 4. Spin dash, super peel out.
Gizmo Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 If your genuinely going to complain about Sonic not being realistic in this game then wow. If it wasn't you would moan because you couldn't win the 100m without choosing him, or you couldn't win any of the throwing events without choosing bowser. It's like saying Kirby shouldn't be able to use his swallow attack on anyone other than Pichu in SSBM because they wouldn't fit in his mouth.
Kurtle Squad Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 1. That's a gross exaggeration.2. He's quite fast at accelerateing on the flat (uphill he's slow). 3. The NTSC version (which runs at the correct speed) is much faster than the PAL version. 4. Spin dash, super peel out. There is no spin in STH And I also assume he doesn't spin off the block in the 100m either, so... Anyway, Mario has faster acceleration than Sonic I'd say. Mario's speed is almost instant.
Slaggis Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 You know what, who really cares? Lets just see how the game turns out rather than whining about who has faster excelleration.
Adrian DX Posted August 15, 2007 Posted August 15, 2007 I still think of this game as a joke. I mean.. Mario outrunning Sonic? right... xD Oh well, can't wait to see how it turns out.
Rowan Posted August 15, 2007 Posted August 15, 2007 The boxart looks appealing. Have they changed the certificate age ratings again? it says G in a green triangle.
Kurtle Squad Posted August 15, 2007 Posted August 15, 2007 That's the Australian one Rowan... Anyway...it's pretty certain Wario & Shadow are gonna be in the mix.
tapedeck Posted August 15, 2007 Posted August 15, 2007 Considering Nintendo AND Sega are working on this I have utter faith in their entire existance that they will nail this game. I have no doubt the balance of all characters and events will be polished to the n'th degree. Should be brilliant. Don't doubt with comparisons of Sonic in 1993 and Mario pre 3D. Just trust Nintendo and Sega. This could be Sonic's best game since the Megadrive days. With Miyamoto involved with Sega we should all be hyped for what should be a monumental gaming moment.
killer kirby Posted August 16, 2007 Posted August 16, 2007 Nintendo make good games. Sega or should I say Team Sonic have been basically been making crap games for a while now....do the math, good game makers + bad game makers = an average game that does not deserve the hype it is getting
Owen Posted August 16, 2007 Posted August 16, 2007 Boxart is great! I'm really hoping this game uses the wii-remote etc..to it's full pontential and not just shaking it mentally.
steggy Posted August 16, 2007 Posted August 16, 2007 Boxart is great! I'm really hoping this game uses the wii-remote etc..to it's full pontential and not just shaking it mentally. Just got a vision of a dude sitting on a sofa saying "I am shaking the wii-remote.....with my mind"
Cube Posted August 16, 2007 Posted August 16, 2007 So, 20+ "real" games, plus extra minigames based on actual Mario and Sonic games. I want to see what the themed games are like.
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