So a bit over a week ago a female housemate of mine was drunk
* P.P.A. raises an eyebrow.
and we were watching stuff on the iBBC player or whatever it's called. We saw somebody zorbing, and got talking about how cool it was, and this led to her saying "We should go skydiving".
* P.P.A. can feel your disappointment.
Nah but seriously, that's cool I guess. Not something I would do though, I'm far too afraid of heights. D:
Also surprisingly I too got this ONM issue. Even though last time I got the letter that I'd have to continue my subscription if I don't want to lose it. Oh well, seems that THIS was the last issue then. Fortunately. I raged numerous times:
(...)simple side-scrolling platformer(...)
Simple? One of the outstanding features of the early Sonic games were their unusually complex level designs.
(...)Sonic Heroes (and its unnecessary sequel)(...)
Err, what sequel? It's not Shadow they're referring too, as that gets noted just a few words after.
(...)and the les said about Sonic The Hedgehog on 360 and PS3 the better, if only because it was absolutely awful.
I don't deny S06 was a bad game (even though I like it), but constantly ignoring its few positive aspects (level design, music, concept, graphics) is just unfair. Also it's funny how they praise SatSR throughout the duration of the article in contrast. §easily the best 'proper' home console Sonic game for a long time", huh? (Damn it, I need to buy it so I can officially bitch about it. :/)
Think that the vastness of the 3D levels and lack of guidance through them goes against everything that Sonic's original speed freak gameplay stands for? Then it's gone.
"original speed freak gameplay", wasn't that first introduced in Sonic Advance 2 (the once-per-game speed levels of the old games aside (SLZ, SS, CPZ...)? Vast 3D levels, the only games to had those were Sonic R and 06 iirc. The others had linear, GUIDED almost on-rails levels that were definitely not what Sonic was in the first place. It seems these people have never played Sonic CD, or even Sonic Triple Trouble.
(...)classic level design, it lets Sonic fans get back to the business of running through stages at ridiculous speeds, relying on their reactions to dodge obstacles and generally enjoying the things that made Sonic good in the first place.
I begin to think these people consider Sonic Rush a classic Sonic game, because this is definitely not what I remember of the MD games.
The result? A game that lets you explore without letting you off the leash too much,
That doesn't even really make sense, unless a splitting path once or twice in a HOLD RIGHT AND RUN levels means "exploration" now.
doesn't over-complicate the action with levels that feel too packed with things to do (...)
Aw, crap. This sounds an awful lot like we're getting a Rush 3, where all you do is hold right. Also I am most certain all the old games had levels filled with gimmicks and numerous stuff to do, and that also was one of the reasons they were so good!
(...)the sole gimmick that Sonic Team has decided to make the key focus of the whole game.
Oh god. What did you say about "going back to the roots" again?
(...)Think of it as an attempt to mix up the gameplay a little,(...)
Yeah, just like the team feature in Heroes and the gunplay in Shadow (that was bashed a few lines ago, even though while admittedly crap, it was a lot less game-defining than Heroes' buddy bullshit, Rush's stupid boost move and so on), amirite?
To sum it up, I don't regret in any way that I discontinued my subscription. While I don't expect a Nintendo magazine to be 100% informed about the mascot of the former rival company, I do expect at least a bit of competence, or at least admittance to the lack thereof. But keeping referring to "classic Sonic gameplay" and then going on to list things that contradict that is just pathetic. I suggest the authors to play Sonic 1-3&K and Sonic CD some more, and then come back and claim that Rush (and probably Unleashed) are at least remotely similar to them in gameplay, style and spirit.
In fact I am tempted to join the forums of ONM just to copypaste this rant. Fuck, I'm in rage again.
