Spring Yard Zone Showcase
Sonic X-Treme Revolution – Extreme Coder
Only a technical demo was available for this title, which is another 3D Sonic game (a lot of those going about recently, isn’t there?). Like every 3D Sonic game attempt so far by anyone, this doesn’t amount to much – Sonic X-Treme sprites are used for the character sprites, and funnily enough this tech demo isn’t slow at all. The major problem comes with 3D control movement – as you run towards a wall, the camera changes to better suit the gamer. The problem this brings is that, with the camera change, the controls either change or stay the same… whatever happens the controls don’t correlate with the character on the screen, and only one angle becomes optimum for control. Still, if this is rectified and somehow a 3D level is created without any slowdown, we just may have a 3D Sonic game to counter Sonic Robo Blast 2…
Chaos Control – Mj2
Woo! It looks like we have a date for Chaos Control – Autumn 2004 is the date that Chaos Control could be unleashed onto the world, if the new teaser trailer is anything to go by. Unfortunately, only the new teaser has been released on behalf of Mj2, and no new demo it seems. Still, only a few months until we could get the whole thing, so why complain? This is the dark horse of the Sonic Fangaming Elite that manages to stick out from the crowd, and unsurprisingly it managed to attract a lot of attention for itself. The demos have been superb – the engine, perfect; the graphics, sublime. And now it’s only a matter of time before you all become “ready for some Chaos”…
Shadow Odyssey – Earth
Yet again, another ‘No Show’ for SAGE 8. What’s the point in securing a booth if you have no screens, info or demos to show for it? It boggles the mind in a similar way to scrambling eggs.
So Far So Bad – SSNTails
SSNTails, former member of Sonic Team Junior. Sonic Team Junior developed Sonic Robo Blast 2, don’t you know. Now the talented SSNTails is back with a game called “So Far So Bad”. Unknown whether this is just a small mini-game especially for SAGE 8 or whether a larger project is going to be made of this, but it’s a refinement of what you can expect in Sonic Robo Blast 2. You play as Tails in the Green Hill Zone looking for Metal Sonics to complete the stage. The controls are much like SRB2’s, and the stage itself is very nice to explore. The only gripe with this is the inertia and ‘traction’ of Tails – he slips and slides all over the place like he’s got Shadow’s hover shoes on. Still, can’t knock it – the only people able to pull off a decent 3D Sonic game, and this little mini-spinoff is just the ticket as well. Well done SSNTails, you da man.
Sonic DIY – Clwe Productions
No, not a game this time, but an application on how to make Sonic games! Sonic DIY is boasting all sorts of easy interfaces, drag and drop functions and simple construction controls to make building a Sonic level a piece of cake. The only trouble I had in Sonic DIY was the fact that there didn’t seem to be any easy way of removing pieces you had placed onto the playing field – if you change your mind you can’t delete pieces from the field. Also, loading saved levels and games didn’t work at all. Still, it’s the first of it’s kind and only a demo experience of the application, so give it half a chance. One to watch.
Sonic Forever – TK Games
What a bombshell. After the appearance of the lukewarm ‘Sonic: Eternal Rings’ and ‘Sonic XG’, the two games combine to make the hot ‘Sonic Forever’. The engine used is bound to be a refined one used by Eternal Rings and XG, and we’ve already exclaimed our appreciation of these near-perfect engines. Knuckles is said to be playable, routes and story ala Sonic 3 & Knuckles are to be implemented and many imaginitive and bright zones are to be featured too. Looking at the mock screens made above, if TK Games can mirror them then we’ll definitely have something to shout about. The combination of Eternal Rings and XG makes this prospect all the more bright. This could be the jewel in the crown of the Sonic fangames to shape the future.
SonKnuck Team
SonKnuck Team returns with a ‘new’ demo of one of their flagship titles “SonKnuck Adventure 2”. Unfortunately, something seems to have gone horribly horribly wrong. The last time we plays SKA2 it needed a little bit of work, but was fine – but this new version seems to be full of bugs – falling through floors, dying for no reason, glitching through floors, walls and even ceilings using special abilities and the removal of the major storyline. What happened to the last SAGE demo, SKTeam? A new game called SonKnuck RPG is also in development, but also needs a lot of work – collision detection is odd, and SonKnuck doesn’t even appear in the second screen on the world map. But since it’s a new development, it’s best to give it a bit of time for it to show us what it can do for the player.