The re-releases of Sonic the Hedgehog’s Genesis adventures on the iPhone haven’t really gotten the job done thus far. Both Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel suffer from constantly dipping frame rates, awkward on-screen controls and a lack of new content to justify the hefty $5.99-per-game fee. Luckily, owners of Apple’s portable device can finally indulge in the Sonic the Hedgehog adventure they truly deserve with his fourth adventure—well, the first episode of it, anyway. It certainly beats nothing, especially for the cheap $10 price.
Dr. Robotnik’s up to his old tricks again, encasing animals in robotic terrors and trying to steal all the Chaos Emeralds to build something even worse. It’s up to Sonic to free his trapped pals and snag the Emeralds before “Eggman” overtakes the whole island. He’ll have to contend with not only robotic enemies, but also spiked floors and other traps scattered throughout each level. Yep, just like you wanted, it’s a classic Sonic experience all over again. Sonic Unleashed be damned.
The iPhone edition of Episode 1 features four worlds to explore, divided into three levels each. By the end of each third stage, you’ll face off against Robotnik in one of his over-the-top contraptions, which can easily be taken down once you learn a pattern. The first time you run into him, for instance, he’s swinging a large sphere on a chain, just as he did in the original. Hit him a couple of times, though, and he starts swinging it around overhead with more excessive force. It’s a nice nod to the old school, with some new design thrown in for good measure. We like it.
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Alan Wake is still trapped in The Dark Place, and still wrestling to grasp the reigns of sanity in a realm where there seems to be none. As Wake narrates, “The environment grew wilder and stranger, like it wasn’t even bothering to pretend that things were normal.” The Bright Falls you knew is gone, and what remains is a fragile mockery, floating and twisting above an infinite chasm.
The Writer is so strikingly weird, not to mention ripe for metaphorical analysis, that it makes the seventh episode, The Signal, seem completely irrelevant. Newcomers to the series could easily skip The Signal without losing a beat in the story, and I am almost inclined to recommend doing so. Without a doubt, The Writer is the most powerful chapter in the Alan Wake saga.
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Have you ever read the story of King Richard the Lionheart and his historical crusade against Saladin’s Saracen? Me neither, although the RTS from Paradox and Neocore almost had me tempted to open a history book. Paradox used much of Total War’s formula and tweaked it just enough to be accessible, but still contain a ton of strategy elements to make successful strategies feel completely satisfying.
With two separate campaigns, you can play as Richard the Lionheart conquering Jerusalem or Saladin trying to protect it from the crusades. Anyone familiar with King Arthur the Role-playing Wargame will feel right at home. Total War veterans will also feel a sense of familiarity as they can command armies on a grand scale, but the game has been more streamlined and simplified if you will, to let the player get on the battlefield without much downtime.
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Adventure games are back and in full force, and the latest game in the genre, Lost Horizon, showcases how a modern adventure title should be made.
Lost Horizon stars a charming smuggler turned adventurer named Fenton Paddock. Developer Deep Silver sure liked Indiana Jones and the persona of Han Solo because a little bit of both can be found in Fenton. Even the title screen is a movie theater, having Lost Horizon as the main feature.
Once a British war hero, Fenton gets called back to duty unofficially when his close friend Richard goes missing in Tibet. Though this simple rescue mission quickly turns into a quite larger adventure, ultimately to find the city of Shambala, before the Nazis get to it first. Throw in a sassy girl sidekick into the mix, and you got yourself all the right ingredients for a grand adventure.
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Ubisoft’s rhythm game challenges players with unique dance routines set to the hit tunes of the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.
What we’re talking about: The Experience is a dance-simulation game licensed by the Jackson estate.
Where we saw it: In a meeting room booked by Ubisoft at the convention center housing the Tokyo Game Show.
What you need to know:
- The Wii version uses Just Dance technology — so you only use one Wii Remote and no Balance Board to pull off dance moves to the rhythm of Jackson’s most popular songs.
- The dance routines were created from scratch, using Jackson’s music videos as inspiration. One of the game’s choreographers worked with Jackson, but Ubisoft declined to tell us who it was.
- The Wii version is probably the only one you can cheat at because it lacks camera tracking 1-to-1 motions. The game is brutal on scoring your timing, however, so it’s probably easier to play the real way than it is to cheat just for the sake of keeping rhythm.
- The game has two scoring options — Michael Jackson (for serious players) or Backup Dancer (for casual players). Dance-move prompts for the backup dancers appear on the right while Michael Jackson moves appear on the left. Mind you, players can choose to be scored as one thing or the other — but the dance-routine video seems to always show one Michael Jackson and up to three backup dancers.
- The visuals are blurry and indistinct on purpose. Ubisoft wants players to connect with the avatar onscreen as opposed to getting distracted by a perfect replica of the deceased Michael Jackson in his heyday. So while the avatar looks Jackson-ish, it’s not really “him.”
Point in development cycle: Beta-ish. The Wii version is due out in late November ahead of the Kinect and Move versions coming in the spring, but Ubisoft isn’t ready to share the full track list yet.
My take: I wasn’t happy with the Wii version. The prompts are difficult to interpret, and since it’s just the one Wii-mote tracking movement, I don’t really feel like I’m was dancing so much as flailing. I think I’ll be happier with the Kinect version on account of visual feedback that proves I’m really dancing — plus, that version has singing, which is what I really want to do when it comes to playable Michael Jackson moments.