Seems like being a Sega employee isn't that easy

So. Sega's "Project Needlemouse" is revealed to be Sonic The Hedgehog 4. This is exactly what I expected it to be. A new, HD, Mega Drive styled game that's a direct sequel to the original games. I even expected it to be 2.5D and I expected it to be a download in the vein of Mega Man 9. The trailer only shows about 2-3 seconds of actual gameplay, but looking at that, I'm quite excited. I reckon it'll be a good fun game.

Of course, the Sonic fanbase, being the inherently broken collective entity that it is, is bitching and moaning and throwing their toys out of the pram. Why? "BECAUSE IT'S NOT WHAT WE WANTED WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Except it is. They pestered Sega for years to make a new Mega Drive style game for the consoles. That is exactly what they've provided. So why so upset?

Because, quite simply, it's the modern Sonic design, the sleek, slim, tall version of the 2000s as opposed to the short, fat version of the 1990s. And because it hasn't got the graphics of the original Mega Drive games.

















Oh boy.

Now, maybe I'm not a "true" Sonic fan perhaps. Perhaps I'm missing the point in thinking games progress and graphics change over time. Perhaps I'm the only one who's spotted that Nintendo have done exactly the same thing as Sega with New Super Mario Bros but no one's whinging about that. So maybe my confused reaction to this whole "IT'S NOT THE PROPER SONIC! D:" business is because I'm missing some integral point.

I'm expecting some kind of "you weren't there in the beginning, man!" type response. You know, like those Vietnam war vets who proclaim no one will ever understand the horror they went through during that conflict. Only less important and more nerdy and pathetic. Sure, it's true I never owned a Mega Drive when I was a kid. While I'm lucky enough to own two current gen consoles, when I was a kid this was not the case. I had a SNES, and a Mega Drive was right out. I did play the old Sonic games though. I used to play games round friends' houses, round extended family's houses, that kind of thing. I did play Sonic, and I now own the original Sonic titles on the Virtual Console and on the Ultimate Mega Drive Collection, and I maintain that they are still to this day awsome games.

But I don't want a game like that to be released now. I don't want fat Sonic. I don't want 16 bit Sonic. I want the series to be allowed to progress gracefully, like other franchises are allowed to. Sure, there's been some hiccups along the way - Sonic Heroes was practically unplayable for me, and Black Knight was dire, and I did survive '06 simply by realising it was actually a good game that just happened to have been rushed out before it was finished - but ultimately I feel the series has to progress and change to stay interesting.

I actually welcomed the Werehog, I like Sonic in 3D as much as in 2D (bar the exceptions of Heroes and Black Knight, again, yes I liked '06 - SUE ME!), and I certainly am not getting my knickers in a twist over a character model. At the end of the day, if the game is fun to play (which, if it sticks closely to the original formula, it will be), then I will be happy. And so should all the other Sonic "fans" out there.

But this is nothing new. The Drummond/Griffith debates still rage to this day, for example. And this is only Sonic this happens with. The Tomb Raider community isn't up in arms over Keeley "Ashes To Ashes" Hawes playing Lara Croft over Judith Gibbons/Jonnell Elliot, and the Ratchet And Clank community isn't raging about James Arnold Taylor replacing Mikey Kelley as Ratchet. Sure, there's preferences over who people prefer, but flame wars don't erupt because of it. Btw, let's fuel some flames. I prefer Jason Griffith. No, really. I do. I don't really care, but if I had to pick, I'd pick him. Bring on the angry mob! I'm ready for ya! :D

All I get from the Sonic community is that there is a vocal portion of the fanbase that are just massive spoilt children. Everyone bawled about the Werehog, and yet I'd bet real money (you know, as opposed to Monopoly money) that if those sections were Knuckles instead, there'd be exactly zero complaints. Everyone bawled about '06 as if it was the worst game in the world (when in fact, the official worst game in the world is Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing. FACT) when in fact it was little more than a beta version of what could have been a better game. No one sat and looked for the good game underneath the glitches. It existed. You just weren't looking.

And now there's bawling over this. The problem is, THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE WANTED! D:

Don't get me wrong, the game could still be utterly shite, but basing your opinion of it's quality on 3 seconds of gameplay in a teaser trailer and the fact the character model doesn't look exactly like you want it? That's being spoilt children and you know it. Give it the benefit of the doubt. Accept it for what it is. And then if, when it comes out, it is crap, then you can start flinging faeces at it. And only then.

And if you're that bothered by the way the game looks to the point of rage, just don't buy it. Simple as that. Those of us sensible enough to realise there are better things to spend angry energy on will enjoy it for what it is, most likely a fun 2.5D platformer.

In other news, in my world of finishing games months and years later than everyone else, in the past few days I have finished Assassin's Creed and Half-Life 2 at long last. Those of you who follow my Backloggery (link in sidebar) will already know this. So, after my thoughts on AC1 last entry, what are my official final thoughts on it?

It's a good game, if a little frustrating at times and very repetitive. The final moments were epic and enjoyable and pushed me right onto the sequel without hesitation, but overall, there were too many fiddly moments for me to class it as a truly great game.

Like I said though, I have started the sequel now, and I must say that every single complaint I had about the first seems to have been rectified. Time will tell if it stays this way, but right now, everything's fixed. The swordfights have been made more enjoyable simply by adding a strafe button. The story is more compelling (both Ezio's and Desmond's). The gameplay is much less repetitive. Guards are easier to elude, particularly as you can now blend into a crowd. In other words, it's fantastic.

But what of Half-Life 2? Well, not being much of an FPS player, it takes a lot to get me to play them. My reaction to the hype of Modern Warfare 2 at the end of last year was met with a simple "why should I care?". So why do I even have HL2 in my collection? One word. Portal.

Ah, Portal. A game I'd read loads about and thought "this game looks awesome, I must play it!". It then turned out that, due to my lack of a decent gaming PC, in order to purchase the game for consoles was to get The Orange Box, and by extension get HL2 and Team Fortress 2 as well. I largely ignored those, until my Advent Calendar special I did on Youtube at Xmas forced me to play 10 minutes of Episode One. I thought the plot seemed intriguing, and so decided to go and play through the main game. And I actually quite enjoyed it.

I mean, it's not going to convert me into thinking FPSes are THE BEST GENRE EVA! but it was certainly a step above the majority I've encountered. It had an interesting story line, some unusual challenges here and there and the final areas were just epic. But of course, due to my lack of experience of playing FPSes, I'm a bit shit at it. But hey, what can you do?

There's not much else I can say though. It was fun, and for someone who avoids FPSes, that's an achievement to get me to say that. But I'd hardly rank it in my favourites, and I'd probably never play it again, but hey. It kept me entertained for a while and that's all that matters.

Team Fortress 2, however, will remain untouched. It just doesn't appeal.

So yeah, that's another day in my world of gaming. And yes, I missed a day, but who really cares? :p