REVIEW - Sonic Mania - Good Things Come To Those Who Wait (23 Years)

Title: Sonic Mania
Developer: Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, SEGA of America & PagodaWest Games
Publisher: SEGA
Platform: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Release: 15th August 2017 (29th August 2017 for PC)

Right, first things first. I promise this is the last I'll talk about Sonic the Hedgehog in any capacity for a while. As I quickly glance back at some of my posts I see I may have mentioned him and his associates a few times. Sonic Mania is the new, delightfully pixilated sequel to Sonic and Knuckles that only took 23 years to get to us. (What 3D Sonic titles? You speak nonsense, away you loon!)

Taking place after the events of Sonic and Knuckles (quick recap: Sonic stops Robotnik collecting the Chaos Emeralds again) you encounter a new bunch of rotund goons called the Hard-Boiled Heavies successfully extracting the Phantom Ruby (a brand new MacGuffin) from its hidden location. This causes Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to be transported to familiar yet revamped versions of Zones from previous Sonic titles. (Including a few that didn't make the cut the first time round) To keep the old-school fans happy, the first level is Green Hill Zone complete with its iconic music and initial level layout. Straight away you can see that a lot of work has gone into the game. More frames of animation and more detailed environments make this game a complete joy to look at. If you've got time to look at it that is. This is Sonic the Hedgehog. You should be running as fast as you can, rolling into Badniks and grabbing all those precious, lifesaving rings. Gameplay is exactly as you remember it. Get hit, lose rings. get hit without rings, lose a life. Lose all your lives, GAME OVER!

Every level plays so fluidly. In my experience, there haven't been any cheap platforming sections that made me want to rage-quit. (Like games of a certain age tend to do) The new remixed levels are an excellent blend of classic nostalgia with fresh ideas. You can be jumping about on springs one minute then being forced through a giant popcorn machine the next. Some of the level obstacles are daft but they only add to the fun of the game. Checkpoints throughout the levels ding and spin as you pass them, offering up the classic bonus level from Sonic 3. These reward you (if you can successfully change all the blue balls red) with a silver or gold token. These are used to unlock the game's debug mode and sound test amongst others. The real bonus levels are hidden throughout the Zones. To access them you have to jump into giant rings that teleport you to a 3D circuit (in homage to Sonic R from 1997) where you chase a Choas Emerald until you catch it. Obviously, it's not that simple. There's a timer that's determined by how many rings you collect as you run around and you also have to build up speed by collecting little blue orbs. Chaos Emeralds are Earned. I'm overjoyed with pretty much everything this game has thrown at me. Pretty much...

Bosses are probably the one aspect of the game that I found can be very hit or miss. Every Zone is split into two. Part one ends with a mini-boss, which was introduced back in Sonic 3. These are your run-of-the-mill, tough robot jerks with that take about 6 or 7 hits to take down. Most of them are pretty basic, attack it when there's an opening, dodge it when they attack. Their designs are fun and emulate the style used years ago beautifully. Sometimes they can require a little trial and error, but for the most part, they telegraph their patterns pretty obviously. Main bosses, however, are a beast of a different nature. Some of them have made me laugh with how inventive they've been or with the concepts they've used. I won't spoil them as they are genuinely a joy to discover by yourself. Then there are the bosses that you have to wonder if the designers secretly hate you (yes, YOU) and don't want you to finish their otherwise brilliant game. Again, I don't want to spoil anything but let's say trying to smash something into a wall while simultaneously dodging projectiles made me stop for a relaxing scream and a calming storm from the room.

The music is a crowning achievement in nostalgia-jerking goodness. (Nostalgia-jerking is a thing, you just may not have heard of it shutup) Like the level layouts, they start as your classic tracks and blend with new music or other old tunes to create a sound that is a joy to listen to. I've always been a massive fan of the chip-tune music of the early series and here is no exception. Every little spring and ring have the original chime, the spin dash has the satisfying drill noise. The best thing? Sonic doesn't have an annoying voice. In fact, no one does. Everything is acted out using the cute, spritey animations. This was created by a team of people that have been modding and creating their own unofficial Sonic games for years. Because of this, this final product feels very much like a loved project that has been given the kind of attention to detail that a lot of AAA games don't seem to get nowadays. I digress. This game is great. So you may have guessed the answer to the question I always ask.

Would I recommend Sonic Mania to you? Yes! I've grinned ear to ear since I first booted the game up. That's literally all I have to say. (Aside from all that stuff above that I've already said above)

Available digitally on PlayStation Store (£15.99), Xbox Store (£15.99), Nintendo Store (£15.99) & Steam (14.99) Also available in physical form for various prices, as ever shop wisely.

REVIEW - Sundered - New H.P. Lovecraft Look, Same Metroidvania Taste

Name: Sundered
Developer: Thunder Lotus Games
Publisher: Thunder Lotus Games
Platform: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), PC, Linux
Released: July 28th, 2017

Sundered is a beautiful game. It was the main draw for me when I first saw it on Kickstarter. From the animations of the main character, Eshe, to the gigantic bosses and backgrounds of each area, everything is hand drawn. Some of the intricate detail is amazing, creating some striking visuals that wouldn't look as good if the game were in any way 3D. Coupled with music that's a little unnerving you are left feeling very isolated and vulnerable as you explore, fight and occasionally flee your way around the mysterious, Lovecraftian world you find yourself in.

When you start the game you have hardly any health, no power-ups, no upgrades to strength or armour. Only a voice introducing itself as The Trapezohedron, offering to become your weapon to help you fight for your survival and escape. From your starting area, the "Sanctuary", you have nowhere to go but down. Everything is a bit quiet at first, some might say "too quiet". You poke about a bit more, doing your best to avoid spikes and heading towards a part of the map marked with a mask. Getting there you unlock your first ability, the shield. Finally, you think to yourself, those spikes were tearing through my health. A gong sounds. At first, you think it's part of the music but then enemies start pouring in from both sides of the screen. You can fight them off but most likely you'll die. You die quite often in Sundered. Dying isn't the end though. Killing enemies and smashing objects earns you shards that you can use to buff various stats from damage to luck. When you come back to life you are back in The Sanctuary. Now you have access to The Trapezohedron's Tree.

Now it's time to buff yourself up. Hitting harder and being able to take more of a beating are the obvious routes when levelling up but the luck attribute is important as it determines how many shards enemies drop when beaten. Each stage of the tree requires you to spend three times on it before you can move past it. The price of the upgrade increases by 5 each time so at later stages of the game, it really starts to cost you for the basics. (I'm currently shelling out over 1000 per upgrade) Jumping back into the fray, you are better equipped to make it further, reaching new locations with bosses and new upgrades. At random points during exploration, the gong will sound again and the hoard will arrive. Depending on the location this can get a little overwhelming. This is kind of the point in terms of the setting for Sundered but at times it can feel like the game is being difficult for difficulties sake. Later, coupled with platforming sections that require a high amount of precision, you have the perfect reason to rage-quit and walk away for a few hours. As I've said though, dying just gives you an opportunity to upgrade yourself and push further into the game's mysteries and doesn't feel like the grind that a lot of games fall into.

A few issues so far. When the action gets high on screen the frame rate can drop to a point where you'll freeze then appear a few steps further than you were. This can throw you off in the flow of combat or make you miss time a jump which can be a little frustrating if you're in a tense situation. Loading screens are quite long if heading into a new area. This can be taken into account as large sections of the map are randomised and change every time you die or leave the area. (It has been optimised with a recent patch but can still drag a little) A couple of times I've encountered the game crashing on the loading screen or during a particularly intense amount of frame rate slow down. Most of these problems have been addressed by Thunder Lotus and steps taken to help fix them. They've been very open with their backers and with the public in general that if there is a problem then they are there to listen and help where possible which is reassuring. The patch that fixed a few of the problems also introduced the "Backer Rooms" which consists of around 50 people (5 per backer room) hand drawn into the game, providing the player with various timed buffs. These appear randomly but can provide some much-needed support such as increased agility or luck.

Each section of the game contains three mini-bosses and the main boss. In the first area, you can tackle any of the mini-bosses in any order and even challenge the big bad if you're strong (or crazy) enough. The mini-bosses reward you with an increased amount of shards for beating them and a fragment of Eldar Shard. Beating a main boss earns you one full Eldar Shard. These are the games important MacGuffin. Collecting three fragments makes one whole Eldar Shard and with it, you have the option to corrupt one of the abilities you've obtained (by revisiting the shrine you received it) or destroy it (by taking it to the Furnace). The tagline for the game is "Resist or Embrace". Either you destroy these shards and maintain your humanity or corrupt your abilities and become closer to the monsters you're fighting. (I took the "resist" option and can't go into detail on how the abilities change after corruption) For the most part, the "resist" path has felt pretty rewarding, allowing me to upgrade my various basic attacks. The game is easy enough to pick up and play that I'm more than willing to start a second play through to see what the "embrace" path has to offer.

Perks can be equipped that have both advantages and disadvantages. (Though most often one perks advantages can cancel out another's disadvantage) These can be from increasing attack strength 25% to earning health back per attack. Equipping the right ones for the right kind of run can really give you the edge in the more difficult areas later on. (I've had a "bonus exp" with zero disadvantages equipped since pretty much the start of the game) Exploration of the map is kept in check by enemy difficulty or requiring a specific ability to unlock a path. (Much like your classic Metroid games) While that can sound limiting it's implemented in such a way that you're still left to explore a vast area without feeling boxed in. Enemies can always be beaten and if there's the promise of a new ability somewhere then there's the excitement of finding out what it is.

Would I recommend this game to you? If you've missed the 2D Metroidvania hack-and-slash genre like I have then yes, this game is well worth your time and money. The right level of challenging combat mixed with some stunning visuals and gameplay makes this an excellent (spiritual) successor.

Available PlayStation Store (£15.99), and Steam (£14.99)

BOSS RUSH - Like a Boss

• Royal Sovereign & HMS Fearless - Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
  

Avast! You're sailing the Caribbean Seas, looting towns, singing shanties and sending Her Majesty's fleet to the murky depths, in search of... something related to Assassin's Creeds convoluted story. (I dunno) The Jackdaw is your ship and she sees you through some rough waters and even rougher sea battles.

Throughout the game, you'll get yourself into some pretty tight situations. None more so than the Legendary Ship battles. These are located on the outskirts of the map so you don't accidentally engage one before you're ready. (Don't be a hero, unless you have maximum armour and cannons don't even consider these fights) There are four of them in total, each rewarding you with some of the best upgrades for your ship. By far my favourite one is being beset by twin Man-O-Wars, Royal Sovereign and HMS Fearless, both of them racing towards you faster than any other ship of their size has any right to move at. I've talked about laughing and bosses giving me a good time as I fought them. This battle, and to a lesser extent the others, gave me The Fear. This isn't a standard fight where you can take potshots and if all else fails to ram them. A standard man-o-war has 32 cannons on one side. That's 64 total. Together these guys can hit you with that in one go, reducing your beautiful ship to bloody matchsticks in seconds. That's their main tactic. (Friendly fire must be off or something because they do shit all damage to each other) They also pelt you with mortar fire if you decide to try and keep your distance. Your only real option is to go in fast, strafe (in a large wooden vessel) and focus on taking down their health as evenly as possible. Why evenly, you ask? As soon as you take down either one of these monsters the other becomes faster and more aggressive. You know, just like real boats...

The sea battles in this game are excellent are one of its best aspects. (Aside from singing along to the sea shanties at full volume until you realise you aren't in the house by yourself) The Legendary Ships are the ultimate test of skill as even with your ship being as upgraded as it can get they still require the knowledge on how to manoeuvre effectively and an understanding of your ships weapons.

• Guard Scorpion - Final Fantasy VII
  

First bosses should set a certain standard in an RPG. If they can a) turn up within the first hour, b) be reasonably tougher than the enemies you've encountered thus far and c) have a mechanic that makes you think about how you choose your actions then you have a solid contender for "Top First Boss". Enter Guard Scorpion, a massive red robot scorpion with laser beams and guns and a big drill tail. (Probably something you'd have drawn when you were 5. Still cool though...)

You start the fight and think to yourself "Okay, here's a slightly bigger enemy than the previous effort". Fights up until now have been over within about five turns. After five turns of this encounter, you start to realise why it probably wasn't a good idea to be downing your limited amount of health-restoring potions like so much sweet lemonade. First off you're going to want to keep zapping this guy in the head with lightning. (REAL LIGHTNING) He has about 800HP and the lightning damage can do up to about 100 a hit. 8 times you think to yourself (after some quick mental arithmetic) this clown is going the way of the robot dinosaurs. It goes pretty well for the first few rounds then something happens. The camera changes position and Guard Scorpion raises its tail. You're then warned that in this stance attacking the boss will trigger a counter-attack. Like the curious player that I am (coupled with the fact I'd literally just saved) I think "fuck it, what's the worst that can happen". The worst comes in the form of a laser that hits your entire party for a pretty severe amount of damage for that point of the game. Lesson learned, if you can't attack but need to select an action then heal or guard.
It's not the most informative tutorial. It leaves it to your common sense to fill in the blanks. Like when your mum tells you not to touch the iron when it's still hot. Or scrape ice with your fingers then lick the ice over and over again. You are duly warned, it's up to you to resist the temptation. Hmm now that I think about it maybe this boss fight resonates with me for reasons I hadn't thought of... (Freezer burns suck)

• Dr Robotnik - Sonic the Hedgehog
  

In the last 8 months, I think I've mentioned Robotnik quite a few times on here. I make no apologies. You never forget your first... video game antagonist. For games that came out in the early nineties, Robotnik knows how to show up in style. Your speeding through the Green Hill Zone, collecting rings and smashing Badniks. Suddenly the screen stops moving and the music changes. (And what music *French chef kiss of approval*)

In floats Robotnik, at first seemingly in an unarmed little spaceship. He flies to the centre of the screen, gives the screen a cheeky wee grin then unleashes that big money ball. You're then left running from one side of the screen to the other, dodging and jumping over the good doctors massive, swinging euphemism. The combat is pretty simple and really just teaches you that while this is a game about moving fast you also have to be mindful of timing. After a handful of blows, you beat Robotnik and his ball and chain break off. (Read into that what you will) He then about turns and scarpers off the screen like he's just realised he left the oven on leaving you to wander over and free all the bunnies and birdies he was going to turn into robots.

I like most of the original designs for Robotnik's machines from the early games because they all worked off the same basic model. While this can sound limiting it forced the designers to not only try and keep the designs unique but also thematic for each level. Nowadays he keeps turning up in some sort of Disney knock-off Gundam suit and generally does a lot of pissing about with lightning and lasers. What happened to you, Robotnik? You used to be cool.

• Gogandantess - Onimusha 2
  

GOGANDANTESS! Greatest Swordsman of all the Demons! That's how this guy enters a room. He makes me pretty happy. In a game where the comic relief generally comes from your allies, Gogandantess (wow, I'm going to get tired of typing that name) is a breath of fresh air. You face this particular Genma (bad demons?) three times as a boss encounter throughout Onimusha 2 and for the first two times, he is virtually unbeatable. He blocks and parries most attacks you send at him. If he hits you it devastates your health and sends you flying. He really lives up to his boast. Unlike a lot of the other demons you fight, however, Gogandantess is surprisingly honourable in his way. Rather than seeing you as just another human to kill he regards you as a rival. Given that he's known for killing an entire clan of Oni (good demons?) pretty much single handed this is a pretty big compliment.

In your final face off with him, you have an item that lowers his defences. This means you can now damage him. All you need to do is not let him damage you back. Onimusha's combat system (from my rose-tinted memory of it) is actually really great. Blocking and parrying attacks are quite easy to pull off. Combat can be tense but as long as your paying attention you can really take advantage of what's on offer. This fight, in particular, is the crowning jewel in Onimusha 2 as both you and Gogandantess have the same skills. It's one of the few boss fights in the series you have a proper sword fight and it feels so rewarding when you win.

The Onimusha series is a series that I picked up on a whim because it was Capcom and it was coming up to my dad's birthday one year without a Resident Evil to get him. I'm glad I took the chance on it because now both he and I rank it as one of favourite game series. PS2 era, if you can get the chance to play through them then forgive the dated graphics and combat and enjoy an enjoyable story and fun gameplay.