Official Nintendo Fanboy Smugness & Gloating Thread

D.J.Fudge · Post by **D.J.Fudge** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:35 am 0

Nintendo Wii's exclusive Sonic and the Secret Rings was playable behind closed doors at DigitalLife, and I came out thoroughly impressed. Sega's Ben Harrison was able to speak about the game on camera (see past the break), and as you'll be able tell from the huge smiles on both our faces, this game is pure fun. It made me regret that only the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Sonic games were available on the showfloor, because this game is without a doubt much better. As Blake mentioned at E3, this game is one of the best looking titles on the Wii. Although the textures aren't great, the special effects, lighting and steady framerate made the game a real treat to the eyes. Unlike the sandy level that's been showcased over and over again, the new level overloads the player with visual information. It feels like every few seconds, an explosion happens somewhere around Sonic. The game moves insanely fast, and when unleashing Sonic's special attack, the world blurs in a dizzying amount of color. It's very impressive, and gives the player a real feeling of empowerment.

Yes, the game is on rails, but I feel like this is the way Sonic should be. The original 2D games were never truly about exploration: it was about going fast, and having the reflexes to overcome your obstacles. In many ways, by forcing Sonic down a track, the game is emulating the feel of the original games. And, it prevents the wonky camera problems the 3D games have been plagued with since Adventure. Another plus: this game is all about Sonic, and none of his sometimes-useless friends. Finally, it looks like concerns that the game might be too simplistic, or too repetitive are being addressed: there are moments in the gameplay where you must do something different with the Wiimote. For example, you may have to catapult yourself, use a flying pot, and more. I only had a small taste of the game, but this is easily the most excited I've been for a Sonic game in a really long time.

Jamesac · Post by **Jamesac** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 11:18 am 0

The original 2D games were never truly about exploration: it was about going fast, and having the reflexes to overcome your obstacles.

Bullshit. What made the original Sonic great is that it was about both speed and exploration. There were tons of goodies all over the place for those who love to explore, and half the challenge was managing Sonic's speed. The only time I ever really raced full-tilt through Sonic's levels was in Sonic CD, to unlock the goodies from Time Attack. Got 'em all, too.

Still, Secret Rings sounds like a ton of fun. Looking at the gameplay videos, it seems like there will be hidden paths and goodies around the levels rather than a straight shot to the end, so that's fine by me.

James

Tanatoes · Post by **Tanatoes** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:51 pm 0

Aargh! Why do there have to be so many great games comingout for the Wii? I'm already committed to spending more than $600 on launch day, and now Sonic sounds great too. (A good companion for Sonic Rush I'm thinking.)

I must solidify my plans to take a week off of work around the 19th next month.

Darkflame · Post by **Darkflame** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:23 pm 0

Yes, Im thinking the launch line up is too good..could backfire.

Good games might be left on the shelf, because most people wont buy more then 2 games at launch...especialy as 1 comes with the system.

D.J.Fudge · Post by **D.J.Fudge** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:56 pm 0

Good hands on test

http://www.2old2play.com/News/2old2play ... of_the_Wii

Darkflame · Post by **Darkflame** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:17 pm 0

Seems polar opersite of IGNs reviews.
(eg, IGN had glowing reports of Zelda and Maddens controll scheme)

Also, is it really true the gamecube version of zelda dosnt have fishing?

Im not soo worried by controller issues...but this worried me:

Compound this by a slow and unresponsive camera,

Since when had Nintendo ever had slow and unresponsive cameras

Nintendo normaly dont fuck that one up, Id be really annoyed if they do this time.

Roobarb · Post by **Roobarb** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:42 pm 0

2old2play wrote:This was where the Wiimote became tricky. You must point the controller at the sensor bar and not the TV and I found myself struggling to locate my center. Taller people gaming with a low sensor bar will make things much harder because you must turn your wrists down in order to get a center spot on the monitor

More confirmation that the Wiimote's centre is when pointed to the middle of the bar, not the screen, as fog said.

They sounded seriously unimpressed with Zelda:TP Wii. Based on what they wrote i'd have to agree, and further convinces me that the Gamecube version will be the one to get. Our little cube deserves a fitting swansong like Zelda:TP anyway

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:26 pm 0

D.J.Fudge wrote:Good hands on test

http://www.2old2play.com/News/2old2play ... of_the_Wii

That has pretty much killed it for me.

The office is my gaming room and there just isn't the luxury of lots of space for optimal Wii gaming.

Darkflame · Post by **Darkflame** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:36 pm 0

The Wii dosnt know where the screen is, but thats no reason to mean that bar has to be the center either.
Displacing up/down should be easy. (within reason)

Also, his quote about taller people implied he was playing standing up.
Something that isnt an idly method of playing something that needs a lot of arm/wrist movements.

fog · Post by **fog** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:00 am 0

Darkflame wrote:The Wii dosnt know where the screen is, but thats no reason to mean that bar has to be the center either.
Displacing up/down should be easy. (within reason)

It should be easy but as the Wii Channel vids don't even show that then maybe not.

It's only an issue when you are using the Wiimote as a pointer and you'd obviously need some form of calibration before it could ever be used as a lightgun replacement.

Some nice new vids of peoples first Wii experiences on the official site now

http://us.wii.com/experience_gallery.jsp

disciple · Post by **disciple** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:57 am 0

Roobarb wrote:
2old2play wrote:This was where the Wiimote became tricky. You must point the controller at the sensor bar and not the TV and I found myself struggling to locate my center. Taller people gaming with a low sensor bar will make things much harder because you must turn your wrists down in order to get a center spot on the monitor
More confirmation that the Wiimote's centre is when pointed to the middle of the bar, not the screen, as fog said.

I don't believe that the remote has to be pointed at the sensor. If it does I reckon it's because it's not been calibrated.

Darkflame · Post by **Darkflame** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:21 pm 0

Even analogue sticks are calibrated/centered when you switch on...the Wiimote should have a equilivent.

xav · Post by **xav** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:44 pm 0

More Mii info:

http://www.play-nintendo.com/news/06101703.html

Being able to send them via the message board could be useful, and up to 10 on each controller also sounds good.

I just hope they become more widely used, as they could easily become either be a very interesting addition, or a short-lived fad.

fog · Post by **fog** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:05 pm 0

disciple wrote:
Roobarb wrote:
2old2play wrote:This was where the Wiimote became tricky. You must point the controller at the sensor bar and not the TV and I found myself struggling to locate my center. Taller people gaming with a low sensor bar will make things much harder because you must turn your wrists down in order to get a center spot on the monitor
More confirmation that the Wiimote's centre is when pointed to the middle of the bar, not the screen, as fog said.
I don't believe that the remote has to be pointed at the sensor. If it does I reckon it's because it's not been calibrated.

But if that is the case then why do the official Wii Channel videos show the on screen pointer based on the Wiimotes position relative to the sensor bar and not the screen.

I can't believe Ninty haven't calibrated for those vids if the option is available.

As said earlier, they have positioned the sensor bar as close as physically possible to the screen to reduce the effect, but it's still there.

One minute people are saying the Wii doesn't need any calibration, the next they are saying things clearly aren't calibrated properly. Which is it? Does the Wii have calibration, which we would imagine it needs, or doesn't it? What's the official word?

Darkflame · Post by **Darkflame** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:08 pm 0

Theres calibration, and theres calibration.
It isnt tied to the screen, so theres certainly no "fixing the corners of the screen"...at least, not in any games thus far.

But thats not to say there couldnt be a subtle calibration at the start just to "center" it.
--
Yes, I just hope they arnt stuck in Wii-sports style all the time.

Its just charecter feature data, so it can be done in any style to fit the game.
It would be really cool to bring your remote over to a friends house to play their game, and see your charecters in a new form.