Crossfire – The Sonic Stadium

Guess who has been busy? Me! Sorry for you Crossfire fans who have had to wait an entire month, but them’s the brakes. With college kicked into full gear, in addition to more Sonic Nexus development after the surge of popularity, I never usually get time to myself. Working on the project, with it being a classic Sonic title and given the positive response that it has received everywhere, got me thinking about something…

In the past week, I have played the absolute hell out of Mega Man 9, Capcom’s return to the original Mega Man series and 8-bit gameplay and presentation. I am enjoying every minute of it, because I am not just riding a wave of nostalgia, but I am also impressed with the refined gameplay. The fact that a game straight out of 1988 can be successful in 2008 is downright admirable and eye-opening. It makes me wonder, as a Sonic fan, if a retro reboot is in order for another blue hero: Sonic. Would a 16-bit foray treading new ground be a commerical success or another step towards irrelevancy? Today, we take a look at whether or not SEGA has the potential to make some magic, akin to Capcom and Nintendo, and if looking backward has the potential to push forward.

Continue reading The Crossfire: Retro Rebooting

When Sonic Unleashed was announced, fans were overjoyed to see traditional 2D Sonic gameplay in the third dimension. However, some of us have changed our perception of the title once the werehog reared its ugly head. With the unveiling of “Sonic the Werehog,” some fans were excited at the prospect of a new gameplay element, in addition to 2.5D Sonic gameplay. The other half took its right hand to its face and smacked it in shame. Adding a new character, with an accompanying (new) gameplay style, has been a staple of the 3D Sonic games since their debut in Sonic Adventure in 1999. Each character brings something new to the table, and thus, something that is not traditional Sonic action that could take much needed polish time away from high-speed platforming and ring collecting.

Treasure hunting, mech shooting, varied team play, guns, and telekinesis have not raised the scores of reviewers or the trust of a loyal, fractured fanbase. So, that brings us to today’s topic:

Are gameplay styles that breakaway from the traditional Sonic gameplay necessary? Instead of multiple, poorly executed styles of gameplay, should SEGA simply focus on one and perfect it? Now, we are not in SEGAs inner-circle when it comes to how they create each Sonic game, so each argument is only in theory. Continue reading The Crossfire: Shooting Guns with Telekinesis