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Posted
Thats much quicker then i was expecting, makes a change. :awesome:

 

yeah sooner than I thought but thats the date I read a few weeks back to...apparently been brought forward to 20th feb in USA.

Posted

Impressions:

The Wii House is nice. A little semi-detached house in London, it's essentially a marketing apartment by Nintendo for their latest console. Today, SEGA took over, with playable demos of Sonic and the Secret Rings plus a rare visit from Director Yojiro Ogawa (more on our interview with the Ogawa of Power soon).

 

We played the first two stages of what essentially is the final version of the game. Sand Oasis is as you all have seen it in screenshots - Sonic dashes through a desert with platforms over streams and spikes. Dinosaur Jungle has Sonic running through caverns, being chased by Triceratops and facing a massive purple dino trying to eat your face off. Nice.

 

Control of Sonic is simple really. The blue blur is constantly going; you simply tilt the Wii remote left or right to move the hedgehog the corresponding direction. Pressing '2' will make him jump, while holding the button down can make you leap higher. This will come at a cost though - Sonic slows down, and if you're running at full pelt you'll need to hold the button down real early to brake in time to make the jump. Enemies can be attacked by flicking the remote forward when a red target surrounds them. Button '1' halts Sonic and can be used to cancel a charging jump, while holding the remote backwards can make Sonic do a moonwalk to pick up medals and items you just missed.

 

image1by1.jpg

 

image2au3.jpg

 

image3tt3.jpg

 

Enough about what you know already, what don't you know? Well, the cutscenes are very artistic. The intro movie is your obligatory CG Sonic intro, with cheesy rock and great graphics. Inbetween levels, you're going to see these kinds of storyboard scenes (see above). This one is after Sand Oasis, where you meet King Shahryar only to find it's Dr. Eggman.

 

The voice acting isn't nearly as annoying in this game. Probably because you're too busy trying to engage in the game, but perhaps because the dialogue is that much more sharp. In-game voices aren't always telling you to do this, that or the other like in Sonic Heroes - although Sonic's guardian fairy Shahra does say to Sonic "it'll be cooler inside" on Sand Oasis. Followed by Sonic replying with "Eh, are you sure about that?" after seeing flamethrowers on the floors and ceiling.

 

Speaking of which, the difficulty in this game is unique for a Sonic game. We say unique because it takes some getting used to before you can really adjust to the control system. Yet it doesn't suck royally like Sonic 06. There are times where Sonic can't reverse effectively when you're holding back on the remote, but besides that it's all intuitive. There are 12 missions per stage, SEGA tell us; 6 of these must be cleared before progressing to the next level, and as you may know they all feature different challenges.

 

Some are level specific - Sand Oasis has an alternative mission where you cannot run into any vases. This is where it gets interesting - variations on the 'Story Mission' level path (or a different level path entirely) can be experienced through different missions, requiring you to keep on your toes. Dinosaur Jungle places you in an area where springs are available to send you to the next platform; in an alternative mission the springs need to be activated using timed switches. Each mission gets more difficult than the last and we're told the later levels get very hard indeed - this is hardcore territory.

 

Yet despite the number of times we cacked up and fell to our death in a bottomless pit, we still managed to keep on trying the same bit over and over. You see, Sonic and the Secret Rings doesn't have a lives system, per se. If you muff up and die, you simply restart the section again until you get it right. This can be obviously infuriating if you're really cackhanded, but it's a godsend (and a middle finger) to the mach-speed killathon in Sonic 06, which included the nerve to limit lives you you had to restart the entire stage all over again. Difference is you want to play Secret Rings until you beat it.

 

 

The amount of unlockables appear to be vast as well. The 'Special' section of the game is a massive gallery of movies, illustrations and BGM from the game (and possibly Sonic's back catalogue of 15 years) that you can earn by collecting Silver and Gold medals. SEGA weren't kind enough to let us see any of the unlockables, but believe us when we say there are loads - there are at least ten tabs selectable at the top, with the last being '???'. So we're not even given a hint as to what that is. Still, the many abilities you can earn and equip to your rings (on your finger, dirty boy) are just as cool. They include making Sonic jump higher, running faster, getting a better head start and more control when jumping.

 

The Party mode is a collection of 40 unlockable minigames, and although we know that Shadow, Cream, Silver and Blaze are a number of the 8 selectable characters, only Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy were available for us. Myself, IGN UK, Total Games Net and Rom from SEGA all got together for a quick bash (I was Sonic, obviously). We will be adding all the games we played to the Secret Rings Game Archive tomorrow, but here are a few examples:

 

"Spot! Pitch Black!" has all four characters holding torches/flashlights in the dark. Four near-identical panels slide across and players have to look at the panels with their torches and select the picture with the difference. It can range from something as silly as Knuckles with Tails ears to a minute difference in a Sonic picture that neither of us still understood what the alteration was.

 

"Look Up! Skydiving!" featured players falling from the top of the screen, with angel wings attached to their arms. With the Wii Remote pointing upwards, flicking the 'mote up and down will make your character flap their wings to avoid thunderclouds on the way down. First to the goal wins.

 

"Seek! Edge Race!"......... That little git is back. Yes. Omochao. Only thankfully he keeps himself to aiding your Party games and this minigame. All characters are blindfolded and YOU control your associated Omochao, using the A button to direct your character through a maze full of pitfalls to the goal first.

 

 

We also managed to see the final level of Sonic and the Secret Rings - the name of which is currently being kept a secret. What we can tell you is that the difficulty curve is ramped supreme.

 

Sonic is seen running through falling platforms in outer space, and mid-level has to survive being poisoned by noxious gas. One point sees you warped to a large room full of gas that rapidly depletes your rings - you will need the help of some of your equipped ring abilities to get out fast enough.

 

satsr1_end.png

 

Another point in the final stage has Sonic running through glass in a space environment. The graphics are really gorgeous here. We only managed to find one image of it (and it's not one we took unfortunately, it's from Famitsu) so take a peek at that for the time being.

 

 

So first impressions? All looking super. Of course, whether the challenge within will be sufficient, whether it will wear thin or whether this will be another broken game remains to be seen. Although we have to say, after playing this for about two hours it looks ten times better than Sonic 06 did. We're not saying this is your miracle game just yet, but... a Story with a decent challenge and a 'Sonic Shuffle 2' party mode with tons of extras. All we're saying is keep those fingers crossed.

Source: http://www.sonicstadium.org/articles/116/

 

Still looks ace. :D

Posted

Secret Rings: First Impressions

 

By: Dreadknux, 06th February 2007

 

The Wii House is nice. A little semi-detached house in London, it's essentially a marketing apartment by Nintendo for their latest console. Today, SEGA took over, with playable demos of Sonic and the Secret Rings plus a rare visit from Director Yojiro Ogawa (more on our interview with the Ogawa of Power soon).

 

We played the first two stages of what essentially is the final version of the game. Sand Oasis is as you all have seen it in screenshots - Sonic dashes through a desert with platforms over streams and spikes. Dinosaur Jungle has Sonic running through caverns, being chased by Triceratops and facing a massive purple dino trying to eat your face off. Nice.

 

Control of Sonic is simple really. The blue blur is constantly going; you simply tilt the Wii remote left or right to move the hedgehog the corresponding direction. Pressing '2' will make him jump, while holding the button down can make you leap higher. This will come at a cost though - Sonic slows down, and if you're running at full pelt you'll need to hold the button down real early to brake in time to make the jump. Enemies can be attacked by flicking the remote forward when a red target surrounds them. Button '1' halts Sonic and can be used to cancel a charging jump, while holding the remote backwards can make Sonic do a moonwalk to pick up medals and items you just missed.

 

Enough about what you know already, what don't you know? Well, the cutscenes are very artistic. The intro movie is your obligatory CG Sonic intro, with cheesy rock and great graphics. Inbetween levels, you're going to see these kinds of storyboard scenes (see above). This one is after Sand Oasis, where you meet King Shahryar only to find it's Dr. Eggman.

 

The voice acting isn't nearly as annoying in this game. Probably because you're too busy trying to engage in the game, but perhaps because the dialogue is that much more sharp. In-game voices aren't always telling you to do this, that or the other like in Sonic Heroes - although Sonic's guardian fairy Shahra does say to Sonic "it'll be cooler inside" on Sand Oasis. Followed by Sonic replying with "Eh, are you sure about that?" after seeing flamethrowers on the floors and ceiling.

 

Speaking of which, the difficulty in this game is unique for a Sonic game. We say unique because it takes some getting used to before you can really adjust to the control system. Yet it doesn't suck royally like Sonic 06. There are times where Sonic can't reverse effectively when you're holding back on the remote, but besides that it's all intuitive. There are 12 missions per stage, SEGA tell us; 6 of these must be cleared before progressing to the next level, and as you may know they all feature different challenges.

 

Some are level specific - Sand Oasis has an alternative mission where you cannot run into any vases. This is where it gets interesting - variations on the 'Story Mission' level path (or a different level path entirely) can be experienced through different missions, requiring you to keep on your toes. Dinosaur Jungle places you in an area where springs are available to send you to the next platform; in an alternative mission the springs need to be activated using timed switches. Each mission gets more difficult than the last and we're told the later levels get very hard indeed - this is hardcore territory.

 

Yet despite the number of times we cacked up and fell to our death in a bottomless pit, we still managed to keep on trying the same bit over and over. You see, Sonic and the Secret Rings doesn't have a lives system, per se. If you muff up and die, you simply restart the section again until you get it right. This can be obviously infuriating if you're really cackhanded, but it's a godsend (and a middle finger) to the mach-speed killathon in Sonic 06, which included the nerve to limit lives you you had to restart the entire stage all over again. Difference is you want to play Secret Rings until you beat it.

 

The amount of unlockables appear to be vast as well. The 'Special' section of the game is a massive gallery of movies, illustrations and BGM from the game (and possibly Sonic's back catalogue of 15 years) that you can earn by collecting Silver and Gold medals. SEGA weren't kind enough to let us see any of the unlockables, but believe us when we say there are loads - there are at least ten tabs selectable at the top, with the last being '???'. So we're not even given a hint as to what that is. Still, the many abilities you can earn and equip to your rings (on your finger, dirty boy) are just as cool. They include making Sonic jump higher, running faster, getting a better head start and more control when jumping.

 

The Party mode is a collection of 40 unlockable minigames, and although we know that Shadow, Cream, Silver and Blaze are a number of the 8 selectable characters, only Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy were available for us. Myself, IGN UK, Total Games Net and Rom from SEGA all got together for a quick bash (I was Sonic, obviously). We will be adding all the games we played to the Secret Rings Game Archive tomorrow, but here are a few examples:

 

"Spot! Pitch Black!" has all four characters holding torches/flashlights in the dark. Four near-identical panels slide across and players have to look at the panels with their torches and select the picture with the difference. It can range from something as silly as Knuckles with Tails ears to a minute difference in a Sonic picture that neither of us still understood what the alteration was.

 

"Look Up! Skydiving!" featured players falling from the top of the screen, with angel wings attached to their arms. With the Wii Remote pointing upwards, flicking the 'mote up and down will make your character flap their wings to avoid thunderclouds on the way down. First to the goal wins.

 

"Seek! Edge Race!"......... That little git is back. Yes. Omochao. Only thankfully he keeps himself to aiding your Party games and this minigame. All characters are blindfolded and YOU control your associated Omochao, using the A button to direct your character through a maze full of pitfalls to the goal first.

 

We also managed to see the final level of Sonic and the Secret Rings - the name of which is currently being kept a secret. What we can tell you is that the difficulty curve is ramped supreme. Sonic is seen running through falling platforms in outer space, and mid-level has to survive being poisoned by noxious gas. One point sees you warped to a large room full of gas that rapidly depletes your rings - you will need the help of some of your equipped ring abilities to get out fast enough.

 

Another point in the final stage has Sonic running through glass in a space environment. The graphics are really gorgeous here. We only managed to find one image of it (and it's not one we took unfortunately, it's from Famitsu) so take a peek at that for the time being.

 

So first impressions? All looking super. Of course, whether the challenge within will be sufficient, whether it will wear thin or whether this will be another broken game remains to be seen. Although we have to say, after playing this for about two hours it looks ten times better than Sonic 06 did. We're not saying this is your miracle game just yet, but... a Story with a decent challenge and a 'Sonic Shuffle 2' party mode with tons of extras. All we're saying is keep those fingers crossed.

sonic1-3.jpg sonic2-2.jpg

sonic3-1.jpg sonic4-1.jpg

 

sonicstadium

Posted

ONM speaks to Yojiro Ogawa

 

The director and producer of Sonic And The Secret Rings has revealed that he would like to see Sonic appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

 

ONM met Yojiro Ogawa in London yesterday and when we asked him if he would like to see the blue blur brawling with the likes of Link, Wario and Solid Snake he said: "In my personal opinion, it would be great to have Sonic in it. But that would really involve Sonic and Nintendo's management, it's nothing to do with me!"

 

Ogawa was in London to talk about his hotly anticipated new Wii action game Sonic And The Secret Rings and he told us that his new game was inspired by Sonic classics of the past. "The original Mega Drive Sonic game used only one button and the controls were very simple. That allowed gamers to experience high-speed gameplay and that was something I used as a concept for this title as well."

 

Of course we've played all the way through the finished version of Sonic And The Secret Rings for our exclusive review in Issue 14 of Official Nintendo Magazine, which goes on sale on 16 February. To whet your appetite for our huge review here are our final impressions of Sonic's Wii debut.

 

As you may know by now, the game is controlled by moving a constantly-running Sonic left and right. This is done by holding the Remote on its side and tilting it to make Sonic turn. Like all the best Sonic games it is simple to pick up and play and while he's racing through the levels Sonic can perform loads of different moves.

 

From the beginning, Sonic is given a special ring which can be used to store special powers. As you progress through the game, you'll unlock more and more powers (there are well over 100 of them) and gain extra experience points which let you store a number of abilities at once. The powers range from basic upgrades - like speed-ups or the ability to lose only 20 rings when you take a hit rather than all of them all of them - to more advanced moves, like the ability to stop dead in mid-air.

 

Some levels are very open and sprawling while others are tight and require pinpoint jumping accuracy so you'll need to customise your ring suitably; after all, there's no point giving Sonic a speed boost if you need to carefully time jumps.

 

Overall, it's great fun to play. At times it can be frustrating and you'll find yourself dying numerous times at certain spots, but once you get used to the controls you should be fine.

 

For more on Sonic And The Secret Rings, read our massive eight-page review in the next issue of Official Nintendo Magazine, on sale 16 February. You can also read the full interview with Yojiro Ogawa in the issue after that.

 

Link

Posted

I really hope Sonic appears in Brawl.I'm really looking forward to it,all the features really interest me.

 

Fast speed,simple controls,experience points for moves,lot of missions and alternate routes in level and graphics do look pretty.

 

I can easily see this becoming my favorite 3D Sonic.

Posted

Sonic in Brawl would be great. :o

 

I would love it if they simply made a console version of Sonic Battle. That game was a lot better than it got credit for.

 

Sonic the Fighters does not count! :)

Posted
Sonic in Brawl would be great. :o

 

I would love it if they simply made a console version of Sonic Battle. That game was a lot better than it got credit for.

 

Sonic the Fighters does not count! :)

 

You didn't like the huge comical expanding heads? I know i did :D

Posted

Hahah, well, Sonic the Fighters was really rather playable (developed by AM2 (!)), hence not nearly as crazy and fanservice oriented as I'd like! :D

 

They were also essentially papier maché models. :o

Posted

Now THAT looks good.

 

Funny how much the sound of his footsteps and landings do for the feeling of him actually running - as opposed to half twitch/sliding - along those levels.

Posted

IGN.Wii : Lifting the lid on Sonic's Secret Rings

 

It's been a difficult time for Sonic the Hedgehog over the past few years. There have been lacklustre responses to his 3D adventures, Shadow did some real damage to his reputation and the less said about his next-gen efforts the better. Ever since the Dreamcast days he seems to have been running into more and more trouble.

 

But perhaps that's all about to change. Built especially around the Wii's motion-sensing controls, Sonic and the Secret Rings is a very different outing for SEGA's iconic hedgehog, with players tilting, shaking and waving the Wiimote in a bid to restore the sandy world of the Arabian Nights to its former glory.

 

As Sonic gears up for his March release we spoke to Secret Rings director Yojiro Ogawa about giving the little blue dude a new lease on life and the influences that have affected the direction of the game.

 

IGN: When was it decided to create a Sonic title for Wii?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: As a company we have to develop for multiple platforms. So although Sonic was already being developed for PS3 and 360 we were told to release something close to the launch of Wii. I felt that we had to create something very different that felt new.

 

IGN: Did you considering porting the 360 or PS3 version?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: If we had done that the game would have been delayed by quite a long time. We would have needed to wait for the PS3 and 360 teams to finish their development. Since we knew that we had to release the game sooner, we realised we had to create something different.

 

Looking at the Wii remote we saw that we could create a unique game. Also, because the game was coming out near the console's launch we knew that we had to use the Wii remote in a fun and interesting way.

 

For example, when the DS launched we had a game called Project Rub that used all the different functions of the console to create a fun experience. At one point we were going to release a similar party game-style title starring Sonic but we thought it would be better to create a new Sonic adventure game instead.

 

IGN: Sonic and the Secret Rings does feature some mini-games; are any of those based on the party game you originally planned?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: No, the mini-games in Sonic and The Secret Rings are completely different to the ones we originally thought of. We have 40 different party games though, it's almost like two games in one now.

 

IGN: How hard was it to make a platform game using the Wii's motion-sensing abilities? Do you think some people may think it's more like a driving game rather than a platformer?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: We did look at different control options. At one point we considered using the Nunchuk attachment in a standard way, similar to most other platform games. We also looked at holding the Wii Remote vertically [rather than horizontally] but the controller didn't pick up the thrusting movements players are required to do when trying to defeat enemies.

 

We realise that now it may look a little like a driving game [because of the way you hold the controller]. But it's actually a combination between action and driving - like most of the Sonic games.

 

IGN: Do you think the control method works well?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: Looking back at the game, it's very close to what we wanted. We wanted to make the control method extremely simple and base it around the movement of shaking. But it was very hard to get the sensor to detect the different ways people shook it. There is not a standard style of shaking, so some people may do it harder or hold the controller a different way. It was actually very challenging to implement the control method.

 

IGN: Are you surprised at the problems you had with the controller?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: In terms of detecting degrees and angles it is very good but the shaking or thrusting movement is very hard for the remote to pick up. Trying to make the sensor detect a downward thrust was difficult because people may hold it higher than others, so it would interpret their movements in different ways.

 

IGN: Do you think fans of more traditional Sonic titles will enjoy the Wii version?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: The people that have played Sonic Adventure may be surprised because this is new but we have not taken the traditional core Sonic elements away. People will be able to recognise those elements.

 

IGN: At its heart this game is more about running very fast and jumping, almost like the first game. Did you want to create something that was more like the original 2D Sonic titles?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: I did not think about going back to the past but perhaps somewhere in my mind there was some influence. I wanted a game with simple controls, so perhaps that's where the similarities between Secret Rings and the original are. But I did not intend to have it like the first Sonic game, no.

 

IGN: From what we've played Secret Rings seems like a particularly hard game. Is the learning curve quite steep?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: Some stages that we showed off today are from later on in the game and they're meant to be hard. But in the game you will learn all of Sonic's different moves as you progress. So hopefully by the time you get to the later stages you'll have mastered the controls. Sometimes you have got to make sure things aren't easy though.

 

IGN: The art style is very different from most Sonic titles and almost looks like Prince of Persia. Why did you decide to go down this route?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: In terms of art style the reason why it may look similar to Prince of Persia is because at the time when we were creating the concept I had been playing a lot of God of War, Shadow of the Collossus and Prince of Persia. Actually, the creators of Shadow of the Collossus got some of their ideas from Sinbad and Sonic is based upon Arabian Nights, so the two are quite similar. But really we needed to differentiate it from the PS3 and 360 versions, so that was the main reason for the change in style.

 

I think God of War may have been an influence because I like it so much. At one point I wanted Sonic to perform a move where he would jump off the back of a bird and start ripping its feathers out. But people thought it was too violent for a children's game, so I wasn't allowed to do it. I think they thought I had gone crazy! I'm really looking forward to playing God of War 2 though.

 

IGN: Do you think SEGA would ever make a more mature game like God of War and would you like to work on it?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: Oh yes. I think there are a lot of developers that want to make something like God of War. But I don't think SEGA would ever make anything like it, perhaps because it doesn't sell very well in Japan. We do have Golden Axe though and I have been looking at that.

 

IGN: Do you think it's time for Sonic to change or maybe even retire completely?

 

Yojiro Ogawa: It's very hard to change Sonic because there are still a lot of fans that look forward to a new Sonic game. But with this release we've tried to change it a little and we'll have to see how people react to it.

 

Although we chose not to port the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions, Sonic and the Secret Rings wouldn't have been possible without them. Because we needed to think about how to make the game stand out from the next-gen game, we approached it differently. If players like the changes we've made then SEGA might consider following a similar path with future Sonic games. I don't think it's time for Sonic to retire.

Posted
Now THAT looks good.

 

Funny how much the sound of his footsteps and landings do for the feeling of him actually running - as opposed to half twitch/sliding - along those levels.

 

yeah thats very true, if it wasn't for these little touches you would likely feel like you were just gliding past loads of scenery, especially considering you don't actually control sonic going forward.

Posted

Yojiro Ogawa at the Wii House

 

ollyogawasan.jpg secretringsmultilplayer.jpg

 

blog.sonic-city : SEGA Europe's PR guys teamed up with Nintendo this week to give a handful of journalists a hands-on preview session with Sonic and the Secret Rings.

 

The event was held at Nintendo'€™s neat Wii House, a smartly decorated town house right in the heart of London. In attendance was Secret Rings' creative director Yojiro Ogawa, on hand to talk to journos and show people just how very, very good he is at the game. He really is. Very.

 

See him pictured above playing the game (flawlessly, naturally) for Olly, a producer at Gamer.tv. We're not entirely sure what the look on Olly's face means - we'€™re going with "coo, fast"€Â. Ogawa-san was playing the game in order that Olly could capture the footage for his TV show, Gamer.tv, which you can catch every week in the UK on Bravo. And if you miss that, they put loads of clips from the show here, too: http://bravo.gamevideovault.com.

 

Also at the event were guys from the likes of CVG, GameSpot, IGN and TotalVideoGames, so keep an eye on those sites for write-ups. And, of course, I was there.

 

But I was late.

 

So late, in fact, that I missed out on the tea and biscuits. I had been given some distinctly wayward directions. To save embarrassment I'™ll mention no names, but the map given to me by SEGA'€™s usually-brilliant European PR executive, Al Hatch, indicated that the Wii House was actually a pub a mile down the road. Al Hatch may like the pub -€“ it may be the coolest pub in London! - but it contained neither a Wii nor a Yogiro Ogawa, or for that matter any biscuits.

 

In the end the ever dependable Svend Joscelyne of Sonic Stadium fame was able to guide me in by phone.

 

[Playing Sonic and the Secret Rings mini-games]

 

Too late by then to grab a chat with Ogawa-san, I was nonetheless able to get stuck into some Secret Rings mini-game action with Svend -€“ who was actually there representing SPOnG - as well as guys from TotalVideoGames and IGN. I was rubbish. Svend wiped the floor with everyone.

 

See us at it in the picture above, with yours truly failing to glean much advantage from standing up. Pointing the Wiimote away from the sensor didn't seem to help either, amazingly.

 

I'â„¢m sure you'â„¢ll do better when the game arrives in March. Check out Svend's detailed impressions of our time with the mini-games at the Wii House over at the Sonic Stadium here.

 

Rom - SEGA

Posted

Like the look of the multiplayer and hopefully it's better then the 360/PS3 version Sonic (which isn't that bad anyway, but has had some harsh reviews).

Posted

One word on that site warms my heart; Chao!

 

Sonic The Hedgehog neglected all of the established stuff in the Adventure games to an almost insulting degree, but the most heartbreaking was that the Chaos were obviously disregarded of completely. I applaud SATSR for yet another nod to the nicer bits of Sonic.


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