[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaY7XPc0VQA[/youtube]
UPDATE 2: Thanks to Jayko Reynolds on YouTube, we now have a montage of all existing gameplay footage released so far for both Rise of Lyric and Shattered Crystal. I’ve added them to the article below, thanks to Sonicrush1991 in the comments for the heads up!
UPDATE: Looks like the original Gamexplain previews have sadly gone private. Instead, I’ve replaced the above video with an interview with Stephen Frost which also contains gameplay footage.
Original article detailing the Gamexplain preview is as follows.
And then suddenly, out of nowhere! The first footage for both Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U) has just appeared under an exclusive first preview from Gamexplain, showing off direct gameplay and commentary preview which you can see above, and footage of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS) you can see below. Needless to say, this is pretty exciting – yet all the more surprising, considering the fact E3 is just a week away now and gameplay footage is showing up early. Gamexplain go into detail about what levels were available and there experiences, but what’s most important to us all is that gameplay.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhDkFMtj0aQ[/youtube]
Combat is certainly a focus of the games as you can tell, with Sonic shooting off multiple hits and racking up a combo meter. The bulk of the game expected to carry out here. Punches, kicks and spin bounce attacks are seen as Sonic surprisingly more slowly moves around the field. Gamexplain details a scanning device on the gamepad to look around the environment and scan for points of interest. Rings also work differently in Boom, more akin to Unleashed where you only lose a partial amount of rings per hit. Certain characters also have unique abilities than allow them to traverse unique areas like Sonic’s spindash and Amy’s hammer acrobatics, and these characters will range from being just a duo to having all four on screen depending on the area you’re exploring. There’s a lot to take in which the preview goes into great detail in, so make sure you check it out. Also, check out those models! They look much better than their initial debut a few months back. Lovely.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–0dLu-dRWk[/youtube]
The 3DS plays a little differently however. Instead of 3D environments which debuted with Lost World 3DS, everything is back to 2D for Sonic Boom and takes advantage of a world map over a hub world for progression. It’s apparently far more similar to classic Sonic games with springs, platforming and jumping on your foes. These stages are non-linear however – you explore the areas freely and find your own way. The word “adventure” is stressed a lot, and there’s a “Metroid style map” you can bring up to see the areas you’ve explored. There’s also rival races and speedy levels available on the handheld version. Curiously, Amy is not a playable character here, the game instead opting for newcomer Sticks, using her boomerang to help solve puzzles in the game world.
Check out some other previews from gaming outlets here:
- How Do The Two New Sonic Booms Compare? – Gamespot
- The Different Faces Of Sonic Boom – Game Informer
- Don’t call it a reboot: Sonic Boom is just a ‘different branch’ of the Sonic universe – VentureBeat
- Sonic Boom Hands-On: Eggman Defeated By Sonic’s Electric Lasso – Siliconera
- Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal on 3DS is a throwback to classic 2D Sonic – Gamesradar
Needless to say, Boom is definitely a new direction for our speedy blue hero. But it’s looking pretty good so far. Be sure to check out both videos and let us know just how hyped you are in the comments!
This November!? But my wallet….
…the character models look so. much. better.
The Gameplay looks very appealing as well.
Thank god, they looked disgusting at the reveal
“Ooh, rings! Nomnomnomnom!”
Need I say more?
One of the few jokes that they have written for Sonic that always gets me, right up there with “Copyright law”, “Baldy McNosehair”, “Didn’t you get the memo”, “You need a bath”, and “Why not call him Clawbot”. Every other line?……Eh. I really hope though that they are getting all of Knuckles’ “special” lines out of the way so that we can be more exposed to any deeper and wiser lines they may have in store for us. I mean, it doesn’t sound like he’s stupid, but more like he’s pretending to be, as if he’s trying to have fun with everyone else and their banter. Me and my friends talk a lot like this, so if this IS the direction they are going in, then hopefully it won’t come out too bad.
For a while I’ve wanted a good 2D Sonic that wasn’t just another Rush “dash to win” follow up. Though I would really like a console game using the mechanics of classic Sonic in Generations and don’t tell me you can’t make a full 2D console game. We had Mario, Rayman and DK do this just fine. I was growing tired of Sega trying to put 2D and 3D together in an attempt to make everyone happy and just annoying everyone. Plus this one finally understands that playable friends need to be OPTIONAL not forced down our throats to finish the game. Though it doesn’t look terribly fast at times and I’m wondering how the Metroid-vania style gameplay will work on a Sonic sidescroller. The last time a Sonic game used that formula was “Tails Adventures” and fans are really mixed on that one.
Sonic advance?
Sonic 4?
Those are not Metroid-vania type games. Those were 2d platformers with one goal, to get to the end of the level. Metroid-vania involves exploration and finding things to assist u on ur journey.
Damn, the really polished up those models pretty quickly O.o. Anyway, this DEFINITELY looks different from other sonic titles, but since it’s a different branch, I’m alright with a little experimentation. My saying was always so long as the game is good, there shouldn’t be any problems 😀
My thoughts exactly. It’s a different branch of Sonic so you shouldn’t expect it to be completely identical to the Main Series where Speed’s the name of the game. So I’m willing to keep an open mind on this idea for a Sonic game ~ =)
Yeah the models look pretty good now compared to before. Thank god
Oh Boy! 3DS footage! “This video is private” NOOOOOO!!
Anyway, other previews are saying the 3DS version is the best while WiiU version is slow and focuses on exploration and combat more, but boss battles and speed sections are great.
I would imagine repeated spindashing would be effective in traversal of slower levels.
Gonna leave my two cents here, since I’ve either been banned, locked-down or found someway to stop myself from returning (yay me!)…
I LIKE this game. It’s not “OH HEY WOW!”, and a lot of my hype was taken out by the absence of info and Sticks the OC, but it looks cool. I have a lower expectation of quality than other people (grew up on a diet of movie tie-in games, and they were pretty good back then, IMO). I think I’ll get this game (when it inevitably drops in price), as I need Wii U titles and it’ll be a good Sonic fix. I probably won’t see it as a “SONIC” game, but it looks like a pretty decent tie-in, and GOD I’ve needed one of those…
Also gotta say that I think kids will LAP THIS UP. It’s got SkyLanders written all over it. The only way it could be more SkyLanders is if it had toy interactivity. SkyLanders sells.
I think thats the idea, especially with the new cartoon, a sort of way to reinvigorate Sonic’s popularity and possibly make him bigger than hes been in the past decade.
I don’t know, the game isnt looking much like “Sonic” they should have made this a new franchise, its been years since we’ve had a new platformer franchise with new game characters. but oh well.
SkyLanders could’ve been a new franchise. It practically is.
At least Sonic won’t be ball-and-chained to it like Spyro is now. We still have the main franchise to fall back onto if this goes belly-up.
What would be more likely to sell, genius? A new IP that needs to be introduced and have its waters tested, or a familiar character with a 20+ years history? Not to mention companies in this day and age don’t have all the means necessary to just risk millions of dollars (sorry if that throws you off, I’m State-side) whenever they want to and not expect to fail. It’s better to stick with what is known. That acts as a natural buffer to any business decisions.
-_-‘`~-=-_`~* The More You Know
I know that but Back in the 90’s and even early 00’s companies took risks, creating new fresh exciting franchises every year. at the moment every new said “IP” nowadays looks like the same thing “duck N Cover, Shoot, blood, realistic settings, city’s” etc, don’t get me wrong Sonic Boom looks appealing and is bound to be fun to play and even could be the best 3D Sonic game ever made (which will be debatable Colours and Generations we’re amazing), its just when you title something “Sonic” you expect atleast the art style, characters and setting to look like “Sonic”, All I see is a Jak trilogy art style and random new characters that look like there from another franchise (excluding Sticks, she’s the only one that’s looks like she’s from Sonic)
Besides I’m pretty sure this would sell and get attention if it was an all new franchise, for example LittleBigPlanet was new, Sony took a risk there and it worked, not only did LittleBigPlanet become a franchise but it sold millions and won bucket load of awards, new ideas do sell, its just companies don’t chance it because there struggle nowadays and because games cost more then they should now too.
Oh gosh I’ve written too much, now people might read it and think I’m ranting when I wrote it with a happy smile on my face lol
Sega isn’t a 1st party developer anymore so it is easier for it to rely on a preexisting series, and LBP was for the sake of the PS3 since it was still pretty fresh. The gameplay of LBP was made to push boundaries. New IPs are a commonality at the beginning of a console’s lifespan but halfway through we find ourselves waiting for the 3rd entry of our new favorite series as well as the 20th entry of something some of us have been following since the 80’s.
Guys, the Gamexplain videos have been reuploaded. They’re here now: http://youtu.be/a0tCCjYxSU4 http://youtu.be/xR1YSt26O1E.
Anyways, from a gameplay standpoint, it looks similar to the Lego games. Which is no bad thing IMO, since they have solid gamrplay already.
Er… Have I actually been banned, by the way? Because it’s bugging the heck outta me that I haven’t got my recovery details email yet…
If you are talking about SSMB you are asking in the wrong area.
well lets give it a try .
still not convinced but i can give it a try .
would have loved a tmnt game with fighting elements like this game .
just watched the newest videos well .
it looks mediocre not expecting good reviews for it and also its too slow i mean way to slow especially the fighting section i am not saying the game should only be about running but at the same time not this kind of slow game .
the combat looks dull it was wise of sega to not release it in japan .
hopefully from deep of my heart this game becomes better with time up till launch .
Looks a bit underwhelming.
Its too Skylanders for me, but the ignorant kids will eat it up as seen in most of the comments here.
Not everyone who’s into this is an “ignorant kid” you know. Some of us just have more open minds and flexible tastes compared to some fans out there. -_-“
Agreed.
I am loving the speed of the levels’ running and trick sections. The combat looks fast and way cool, but I’m hoping that it isn’t just one-button mashing, it’d be cool to have the other buttons do different moves so you can perform different combos and such. I’m extra psyched for Sonic Boom!! 😀
Instant buy for this guy.
Abso-fruitly. 😛
Can I just say,
HOLY CRUD THAT GAMEPLAY
IS FREAKIN’ EPIC
And now I have to get a Wii U.
So the official reason his arms blue arms was so people didn’t get confused with Classic and modern? lame excuse hes different enough people are not THAT blind are they? same with Knuckles, comparing him to Hulk or the thing? *sigh* lame. Im sorry I hate ignorance and closed-mindedness and Sonic Boom has that written all over. Specially thinking that we Americans or Europeans dont get Japanese things and need everything “Americanized” aka lame cliches and puns.
Boring
Wow, soon everyone’s going to be laughing over the whole “HOLY @#$% HIS ARMS ARE BLUE” just like we do now about how everyone freaked out about his freaking green eyes. GET. OVER. YOURSELF. This game looks great, if you don’t like the story, then skip it, but the gameplay looks really good. Mind you, this isn’t supposed to be the typical Sonic game, yet it looks like what I’ve been wanting all along.
Then again, I am 12, so I’m more open-minded then the “hung up on the Genesis” people.
Lame Americanization is lame. Obvious Troll is obvious.
Lame complaint is lame, you fill in the rest.
The combats are actually impressive. I suppose a little brawl wouldn’t hurt.
…I’m a fighter. lol
Needs more DMC and NG, less LEGO random button mashing.
Man, this just all reeks of some generic late 2000 platformer vaporware that got resurrected because they slapped Sonic on the name. I can only hope that with all of this junk going toward the kiddies, Sonic Team will be allowed more development time to create something with REAL quality for the rest of us.
I’m gonna be honest, I’ve had HUGE reservations of Boom from the start… but this gameplay actually looks pretty sweet.
Lmao at Frost making a special note for the reason why Sonic’s arms are blue.
This looks… pretty interesting.
I’m still iffy on the designs. If they had given sports tape to Sonic, on his feet, fine, and Knuckles, on his arms and fists, great…
But it’s like they just added it to Tails and Knuckles’ legs and Amy (albeit a different colour for her), just to make them all uniform. That, in a sense, detracts from the whole idea that they want to diversify these characters. If you’re going to indulge the stereotypes by underlining the typical traits of said stereotypes…don’t make them uniform, or it just comes across as “we ran out of ideas, so they’re all gonna have tape on them”.
I think they could have put way more thought into them. I’ve honestly seen better designs on deviantART (which is saying A LOT).
Meh… Most of that footage looked incredibly dull. Especially the beginning part.
Honestly, the only interesting bit of that was the combat… but even that is generic.
Yeah… I’m still not convinced. I’ll have to see a LOT more before I’d decide to rent this game.
O wut!? Oh uh, your welcome guys!
For me, it looks like some other game with a Sonic mod. This isn’t Sonic,
The combat actually looks like a TON of fun. That’s what the werehog should’ve been. But the speed sections look somewhat linear. I guess we’ll see. I hope they add more to that.
Looks cool! BUT for some reason the laser color combat thingy looks so repetitive x.x
The gameplay looks really, REALLY clunky. Almost Sonic Blitz Engine level of unpolish. It just doesn’t flow very well at all. The graphics looks worse than the earlier screenshots with models and shadows looking more like a PS2/GC game than anything else. And just as predicted, the game’s main focus is gonna be on boring, uninteresting, outdated, forced beat-em-up sections.
The only thing I can see on the bright side is that the models have been improved. Though that’s not saying much.
Glad to know you already knew what to think about the game before you saw the trailers Jeff. At least this way it will be easier to lose track of your “boring, uninteresting, outdated, forced” and….oh, what was the word? OH, that’s right, repetitive things to say about this game that has already destroyed the world.
I’ll admit that it looks and feels far different from what I may have been expecting and hoping for, but I kind of figured it could have gone this route also. The only difference is that instead of bitching about it, I’m just going to be casually interested in it and not get my hopes or doubts up that much. This game is just going to serve as a segue to Sonic 2015 for me, and I think it will be a fitting end to the Sonic/Nintendo exclusivity agreement, one way or another.
But since you’ve gotten it all figured out now, I guess that means you aren’t going to comment on anymore stuff, right? …..No?….Aw well, wishful thinking, I’m sure you’ve got more important things to do than saying the same thing over and over again about one game…or series of games….or…you get the picture.
Typical Sonic fan boy reply.
Looks great but far to much faffing around with combat. Just jump over them and run, isn’t gotta go fast’ the point of Sonic? A lot of standing around pushing things, need I remind any one of Silvers levels in 06?
The more footage I see of this the less excited I get for it. It really isn’t a Sonic game; It’s more like Jak and Daxter or Rayman but with sonic’s face plastered over it. Don’t get me wrong, it looks good and fun, but it just screams “cash-grab” by pasting Sonic all over it. Just seems like it’d be much better off ditching Sonic in it and making it a whole new thing.
Anybody know what and where the music used in the game play montages comes from? I’m thinking Riders (quite certain that the 3DS one come from somewhere in ZG) but I’m not sure.
What can I say about this? I’m not thrilled beyond my wildest dreams, I’m not horrified beyond my darkest nightmares, I’m just sort of….OK. I kind of figured this would be more or less what we might see for the game, yet I’m still pleasantly surprised in some areas. Some things kind of look baffling like the combat mechanics looking to be the core of the game, but I’ve been content with playing the Werehog in Unleashed, so I doubt that will be much of an issue with me. However, I do see the potential danger of the game feeling “too slow” at times for other players. At the very least though, as far as Sonic’s concerned, it looks like it’s still “slow” in a “fast” way. What I mean is that by looking at how Sonic fights, he still fights in a way that you would expect him to, lots of jumps, kicks, and quick spin maneuvers. He can still run like in Lost World, but at least the attack mechanics look decent. And the familiarity of the speed sections feel wonderful to look at, I only hope though that they are far more numerous than the original video has let on. They sound decent enough having take place between the hub world and each adventure level, but that Sonic fan within me is still craving some super fast speedy stuff that we were kind of teased with in the teaser trailer (I want Sonic to run on water again guys! PLEASE!?).
The other characters all seem to work well, though why haven’t we gotten a better look at how Tails works, his would be the most dramatic change in gameplay I would think. Well, anyway, my thoughts on the game are this: Yes, it doesn’t look quite as familiar of a Sonic game as the others, but as far as an adventure game goes it looks pretty interesting. The graphics are still pretty amazing, and it’s still pretty hard to believe that it’s still a Sonic game (I mean it even outshines the more realistic looking environments of the previous games). I honestly hope that the whole Sonic Boom effort really pays off in the long run, because I think it holds a lot of potential, so long as most of the decisions made are smart ones. I’ll still be looking at this game closely, but I think I’m still going to view it with the same sort of “passive interest” that I did with Lost World, to avoid falling on either end of the over-hype/anti-hype spectrum. Here’s hoping that it keeps revealing more stuff to get me and others just “hyped”.
The gameplay looks great! Though it seems that Sonic Boom! Sonic is weaker than Main! Sonic.
now this certainly looks interesting. i watched Gamexplain’s video of the gameplay before coming here, as i followed them prior to Pokemon X and Y’s released. now i’m still a little disappointed that Shattered Crystal is 100% side-scroller because i honestly prefer the platforming side of things, but no matter, as it looks fun! the demo Gamexplain played had some bugs, apparently, but this is early development. now…food for thought here. one of the demo levels is a mining operation of Eggman’s. Lyric is from an ancient race. think about that. Eggy probably uncovers something he shouldn’t.. and it could explain how Lyric gets his robo arms. just a thought is a.. ;3
Ok. why is everyone complaining about the 3ds sonic boom, I mean, It has everything a sonic fan should ask for: Sonic heroes puzzle type, sonic rush style boss battles, quickstep segments, sonic rival races, classic sonic platforming, more than one playable character in a sonic game, tails ring bombs from sonic heroes, adventure maps, exploration, sonic rush air boost (sonic only), etc. etc.
So why is everyone complaining???
Also. Im not a brony at all, but wouldn’t the voice of discord fit perfectly with lyric XD
I’m not impressed. The footage I have seen so far feels dull and underwhelming tbh. I have like no hype for this after watching the videos.
What happened to Tails being Sonic’s kickass side kick? He now reminds me of “Q” in 007, which isn’t a bad thing it just doesn’t feel like the Tails I remembered back then.
i really like the look of those running sections. multiple pathways, skill, more than just holding a direction.
I think the gameplay from Shattered Crystal looks bad, but the music is good.
I’m afraid I got some bad news…
The music in that video is from Sonic Riders or Sonic Riders Zero Gravity.