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Just downloaded Sonic CD and started up... first thing...

 

WHERE THE FUCK IS SONIC BOOM GONE DURING THE INTRO!

 

As in this classical goodness:

 

 

Not impressed.

 

Is this the one that is used? ( I haven't downloaded it yet )

 

 

I always preferred that one as it was the one I heard first back when I had Sonic Jam on the Sega Saturn.

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Is this the one that is used? ( I haven't downloaded it yet )

 

 

I always preferred that one as it was the one I heard first back when I had Sonic Jam on the Sega Saturn.

 

I would have been happy with that one as well but no. Well it starts out like that one (I am now wondering if this is the version I had when I had Sonic CD on Mega CD as it sounds ace and familiar) but doesn't really kick in, been altered and minus lyrics.

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Just downloaded Sonic CD and started up... first thing...

 

WHERE THE FUCK IS SONIC BOOM GONE DURING THE INTRO!

 

As in this classical goodness:

 

 

Not impressed.

 

Main Menu > Soundtrack > US for Sonic Boom, but you have to put up with the US track for the rest of the game :P (It's not bad or anything, but it isn't "Sonic CD" to me since it's not the version I "grew up" with).

 

The new instrumental for You Can do Anything is horrid. I don't understand why they can't use it. Wasn't it in Generations?

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Main Menu > Soundtrack > US for Sonic Boom, but you have to put up with the US track for the rest of the game :P (It's not bad or anything, but it isn't "Sonic CD" to me since it's not the version I "grew up" with).

 

The new instrumental for You Can do Anything is horrid. I don't understand why they can't use it. Wasn't it in Generations?

 

Ah yes Nice 1.

 

But yeah the rest of the music for US is shit from what I have heard compared with Japan IMO! Even the special stage music is rubbish on the US one. I'm wondering if I have got mixed up with theme songs because it's definatly all the music from the Japan soundtrack I recognise (level music, special stage, items etc)

 

I shall be sticking to JPN soundtrack!

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I don't understand why they can't use it. Wasn't it in Generations?

 

I'm pretty sure it wasn't.

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I'm pretty sure it wasn't.

 

Ah, must've been Sonic Boom then.

 

Still rubbish at the special stages, can never seem to time my jumps properly.

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Had a few minutes on it last night, before i fell asleep. Is it me, or does Sonic sound like he's on something when he jumps??.

 

Got to get used to the controls a little, keep forgetting "A" isn't rev.

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I'd never really played beyond the first zone of Sonic CD... now that I have it's... it's such a strange game. Feels less polished than Sonic 2, and I can't help but wonder what the level designers were smoking. It's such a mess all the way through, it really feels like a case of trying to cram as much into each platform as possible. It really feels like someone's home project ROM hack, just playing it is a surreal experience.

 

Time travel is virtually impossible, you're constantly given a flag to run past, but then the floor is full of random missing sections making it hard to do the required amount of running. Which, by the way, seems completely random. Sometimes you get several attempts and only have to spin down a single slope, sometimes you seem to get one attempt, run at full pelt for 10 seconds and not go anywhere.

 

As a big fan of the classic Sonics, it was a bit of an omission that I never played this in the past. Now that I've got it... well, I'm glad it only cost me 400 points!

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Now that I've got it... well, I'm glad it only cost me 400 points!

 

Same here. It felt more like some fan made game. None of the levels really stand out, they all seem a bit samey. The music is not the great tunes I'm used to from Mega Drive era Sonic either.

 

Or is it all just nostalgia that makes me think so highly of Sonic 2/3&K. ::shrug:

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Here's something to consider: Joe Danger is probably a better Sonic game than Sonic CD.

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I used to love Sonic CD as a kid but god damn this game is a mess, just goes to show how low your standards can be when you're in primary school.

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Incoming sale! ( nicked from Gaf )

 

GAMES ON SALE NOW (DECEMBER 20)

 

Games may be on sale for only 1 day, don't delay! I'm assuming they'll rotate sales daily if this tweet is true

 

"Bastion for XBLA is 50% off right now, one day only!! Please spread the word! fb.me/Hq4xlycK"

 

https://twitter.com/#!/SupergiantGam...59473531236352

 

 

Afterburner Climax (400 MSP)

Bastion (600 MSP)

Bloodrayne Betrayal (600 MSP)

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (600 MSP)

LA Noire Rockstar Season Pass (480 MSP)

Peggle (400 MSP + 200 MSP for Peggle Nights DLC)

Plants vs Zombies (600 MSP)

Portal Still Alive (600 MSP)

Renegade Ops (600 MSP)

 

Gaf also linked to a free Christmas theme.

 

Free Holiday Premium Theme is free right now (thanks @tha_doc)

 

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...a-6f2d537b0002

 

Bastion is SOOOOOOOO bought at that price. I may dabble with Bloodrayne and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet aswell.

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ffs just bought bastion at twice that price! 600 MSP is well worth it! Same for plants vs zombies. I may get insanely twisted etcetc, though.

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What's the point in themes on the new dash :p you can't see the background at all...

 

Just got back into Bastion, 'mezzin.

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Meh @ those reductions, Bastion is worth it obviously but I already have it...

 

-----------------------

 

Re: Sonic CD... I don't think it deserves all of the hate its getting, some of course but I for one still found the game to be enjoyable. The pricepoint of 400 was a good move by Sega as while it's partially there to encourage more people to pick it up - people who may not have played it before - they also know that Sonic CD is basically Sonic at its most experimental.

 

I wouldn't go as far to say that it's as 'bad' as a ROM hack but that feeling is certainly implied... it's as if they had all these rather random ideas to put into a Sonic game and decided to use the Mega CD hardware as a test for it all, yes they managed to add in a story to bring it all together but it's more of an excuse really.

 

Level design is never consistent but then this does allow for some rather weird and sometimes wonderful moments so it's not exactly all bad but it's by no means one of Sonic's best outings. The element of Time-Travel is actually quite clever but it's just executed poorly because there are very few locations where you are 'guaranteed' to be able to travel through time which is why we see these areas which shoot you back and forth between two springs which actually reminded me of the time-travel mechanic used in Ecco the Dolphin 2 but just not as good.

 

Aesthetically everything is really well conceived or at the very least it's well intentioned, the colour palettes work really well making for some rather bizarre levels not quite like any other seen in any Sonic game since though most do look like Sonic 1 Zones on acid which is not necessarilly a bad thing. Some of the boss battles are actually rather good as well, take the first boss for example which you'd expect to be able to just jump on instantly but instead you get batted back by a shield, it's almost as if at times Sega is trolling us which I've always found quite amusing.

 

If I were to change the game for the better though I would start with the level design, making it a bit more coherent, maybe having two different paths instead of between three and five meaning that the destructable objects in the past would be easier to find and not require a map to locate, then the time travel should employ the 'special stage' entry mechanic from Sonic 2 where you hit the post and then just jump into the stars if you want to travel... the special stage could still be accessed by collecting 50 rings before the end of the stage but the actual special stage itself could do with an overhaul because while it does work it's all to easy to miss your target and end up in the 'death liquid' which almost instantly saps away your time.

 

Aside from that though Sonic CD has a good few moments which I wouldn't change, most specifically the race against Metal Sonic which is one of the best 'boss battles' I've played in a Sonic game though I was always secretly dissappointed that Metal Sonic doesn't return at the very end for a 'proper' pre-final boss battle just like his fore-runner which you faced in Sonic 2... perhaps they could have added this as an extra for getting all the Time Stones which would turn you into some kind of Super Sonic variant rather then just contributing to a small change in the ending.

 

Overall I would say that Sonic CD is most defintiely worth playing if you haven't done so already and at a mere 400msp I think any Sonic fan owes it to themselves to buy it, especially with all the extra stuff thats been added to it - most notably Tails as a bonus playable character - as it may not be the best Sonic game but it's certainly one of the most memorable.

 

I also hope for a future release of Knuckles Chaotix in a similar manner some time in the future because that's another spin-off game that while nowhere near perfect is actually really fun to play and is something of a spectacle even more so than Sonic CD. :)

Edited by S.C.G

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So I've played through the first five or six levels of Sonic CD and here are my thoughts thus far.

 

I think the level design is pretty decent, sonic himself controls well and the game is full of ideas and nice little touches.

 

However, my main gripe with it and what is stopping me playing and really hampering my enjoyment, is the visuals. The art design has this horribly maximalist mid 90s thing going on, where you're eyesight is constantly assaulted by really garish aesthetics that sometimes even make it more difficult to know what you're doing. I appreciate the 2D sonic games were always like this to an extent, but this is just awful to look at in a way that has nothing to do with technical limitations of hardware. The music in the game suffers slightly from the same thing, although to a much lesser degree.

 

It's a shame because the level design is alright and at it's best, the gameplay is up there with any other sonic. However, it's becoming a slight chore to play through. Hopefully the later levels don't suffer from the same problem quite as much.

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I managed to pull myself away from Gears 3 and start Bation last night. It's such a simple yet beautiful game. I earlier reached Prospers Bluff which was fantastic, especially when you start to hear the singer.

 

Some of the Proving Ground challenges are quite.....challenging. :) I think one of them is glitched for me though. You have to smash things in 27 seconds using the hammer for the first prize. I have done this many times and still only get second place for some reason. :nono:

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I bought Bastion as a Christmas present to myself due to all the praise it's getting from you people. Roughly how long is the game?

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I bought Bastion as a Christmas present to myself due to all the praise it's getting from you people. Roughly how long is the game?

 

If you try and get all the achievements then your first run though will probably be around 7 hours. After that though you can finish the game a second time in about an hour. Just blitzed it myself to grab my final achievment.

 

The game was an absolute joy to play. Very simple gameplay mechanics with a great story and visuals to go alongside them. The only negative I have is that the loading times are far too long. Sometimes they can last nearly 20 seconds. :(

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Bastion DLC is pretty challenging. Bit peeved as I was on the last memory/dream/stage (I forgot what they're called) and had 2 spare vials of health, but someone whacked me into the air and I was hit two more times and died before I thought about healing.

 

No extra achievements, but a couple of extra modes - one that makes the game supposedly easier, with unlimited retries, and another that is a high-score attack mode with universal leaderboards.

 

In other news, has anyone played Orcs Must Die!? Tried teh demo version - a fairly meaty-feeling 3rd person tower defense with some nice art style and animations. A fairly hefty 1200 ms points to purchase, however.

 

Also - been asked many times, but what's a good place to get mspoints online for a reasonable price?

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Some of the Proving Ground challenges are quite.....challenging. :) I think one of them is glitched for me though. You have to smash things in 27 seconds using the hammer for the first prize. I have done this many times and still only get second place for some reason. :nono:

 

Yeah it's totally broken. First time I did it, I did 26/27 seconds and got the achievement. Then after the game updated, I couldn't get it at all. You have to get 24 seconds or less now. Not sure if it's a typo in the text or a glitch in the timings but it's very difficult. Managed it in the end though.

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Yeah it's totally broken. First time I did it, I did 26/27 seconds and got the achievement. Then after the game updated, I couldn't get it at all. You have to get 24 seconds or less now. Not sure if it's a typo in the text or a glitch in the timings but it's very difficult. Managed it in the end though.

 

Yeah, I read about it over on G-Faqs as others were having the same problem. I just did the same as you and got the lowest possible time I could get.

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I'm really enjoying Bastion. Got really into it once I'd got the hang of the combat. Only complaint so far is that the textures/art design can make it difficult to see certain enemies when there's a lot going on. Also, I want that narrator's voice for my satnav.

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Dreadful trailer for the next Xbox "House Party", starting on the 15th Feb.

 

The games are

 

- Alan Wake's American Nightmare

- I Am Alive

- Nexuiz

- Warp

 

Alan Wake I'll probably get, although I get the impression that it's very short (probably an hour and a half). I also reckon it was planned as DLC but they released it as a XBLA game so people didn't need the game to play it.

 

I Am Alive will be a curious one as it was supposed to be a retail game but went through development hell (started in 2008, developer stepped down in 2010 and it was given to someone else).

 

Nexuiz was originally a free PC FPS. For commercial release it has been given new graphics and is on the CryEngine 3 (the original was on the Quake engine). It seems to be an Unreal Tournament/Quake Arena type game.

 

Warp is a sci-fi stealth/action/puzzle game from EA.

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