Play Sonic Lost World at SDCC 2013!

[Autosaver]

That's weird. Sonic did a homing attack on the Sonic Heroes robot and he bounced off of it instead of killing it. Hmm.

 

On the boosters thing, it reminds me of Chu Chu Rocket (especially the Sonic Riders level) where you had things pushing you in 10 different directions.

[Nepenthe]

I didn't get any weird feelings with the camera. Again, I keep focusing on Sonic that I pretty much just tune out the way the camera's acting.

Also, gimmicks, gimmicks everywhere. I feel that kinda makes up for the linearity (granted, I don't think linearity is an inherent flaw), and there were also some splits in the path, presumably with their own gimmicks. I think it's a fun lil' level.

Frankly, the weirdest things to me were the lasers. Like... I just don't expect path-restricting lasers in a Casino-level.

[Person]

I like what we've seen of "Frozen Factory" so far. I'm glad that casino levels are back, and the screenshots and footage look promising and fun to me. The only thing I don't like is how the silver coins follow you. I'd rather have a counter of some sort for them instead.

[PSI Wind]

The boosters might be a crutch for demos but maybe not. I noticed they added spiked balks to that 54321 section of Windy Hill so that's making me think the boosters won't be THAT abundant.

[Chaos Warp]

That Casino level is linear as hell and has tons of boosters..............................my hype is already dropping. Damnit this is exactly not what I hoped for.................hopefully it's not a thing that extends to the rest of the levels...............if so then I'll be really fucking pissed 

[Sami]

Just saw "Frozen Factory" (what does that even...?). 

 

I thought the point of simplifying the production costs and slowing everything down was to make room for more open levels and exploration. Desert Ruins was linear and dull, and this was linear and dull.

 

I find it so strangely ironic that after Unleashed, Colors, and Gens' "it's only the first level" arguments, this game's first level seems to be the only fun one.

[PSI Wind]

Just saw "Frozen Factory" (what does that even...?). 

 

I thought the point of simplifying the production costs and slowing everything down was to make room for more open levels and exploration. Desert Ruins was linear and dull, and this was linear and dull.

 

I find it so strangely ironic that after Unleashed, Colors, and Gens' "it's only the first level" arguments, this game's first level seems to be the only fun one.

Dessert Ruins is a 2D level, so of course it's more linear than the first act which is 100% 3D. And I think the Casino level is a gimmick level.

[Sami]

Dessert Ruins is a 2D level, so of course it's more linear than the first act which is 100% 3D. And I think the Casino level is a gimmick level.

 

Being in 2D really isn't an excuse considering what series we're talking about.

 

 

And I don't buy the "gimmick level" thing, to be quite honest with you. So far every level looks like a gimmick level of some sort, apart from the first. 

 

Not only that, but they didn't show off the gimmick acts of Generations or Colors as much as the main ones; SEGA will show the most impressive stuff they've got. You really think the advertising team wants to hide the good stuff and show the lackluster levels instead?

 

Assuming they're not showing the best they've got is a recipe for disappointment.

[MegasonicZX]

Did anybody else notice that instead of just instantly kicking the enemy like before, the game stops for a second and then sonic kicks it.

[PSI Wind]

Being in 2D really isn't an excuse considering what series we're talking about.

 

 

 

 

And I don't buy the "gimmick level" thing, to be quite honest with you. So far every level looks like a gimmick level of some sort, apart from the first. 

 

Not only that, but they didn't show off the gimmick acts of Generations or Colors as much as the main ones; SEGA will show the most impressive stuff they've got. You really think the advertising team wants to hide the good stuff and show the lackluster levels instead?

 

Assuming they're not showing the best they've got is a recipe for disappointment.

I'm not saying it's an excuse. I'm just saying compared to an open 3D level, a 2D level seems more linear. It is linear I do agree.

[LATER BUDDY]

I kinda figured not every level would be the run of the mill type of level, so kinda glad there's some new twists on certain levels. That casino one certainly looks like a slower pace but at the same time all the gimmicks in it might make it fun to play. I like how it's in the same vein has Sonic 2 not only how it looks, but how it feels. By this I mean how I used to just kill time in that stage when I was little basically gambling my coins and getting points. With those silver coins and such it seems like it's just taking that into account of how the level functions, which is kinda cool I guess.

 

More of a fan of the regular stages but don't mind a break from them every now and then to do stages like this. Just hope not every stage branches off from the norm, since I don't find these stages in particular to have much replay value.

[Sami]

I'm not saying it's an excuse. I'm just saying compared to an open 3D level, a 2D level seems more linear. It is linear I do agree.

 

Not... really?

 

I'm sorry, I'm really not following here, haha. What difference does it make if it's in 2D or 3D? Just glancing at a single level of S3&K, and comparing it to literally every level of 3D game in the series isn't going to make it look any less enormous. 

 

I don't mind linearity in Sonic games; again, I adore the gameplay in Unleashed, Colors, and Generations. Gens is my favorite game in the series, actually. But that's because they took advantage of that nonlinearity to really push it to its limits. The gorgeous art style and amount of detail in the levels is only possible because it's non-explorable, and the amount of speed given really can't be used for anything other than going forward at blistering speeds. It embraced its linearity and took full advantage of it, and I love it for that.

 

This takes away those two benefits, and doesn't really add anything apart from the parkour system. It's two steps backward, and only one step in another direction. 

 

I see the cons. Where are the pros? Windy Hill is literally the only level I've seen so far to take advantage of the more versatile design. Everything else has been almost as linear as before, but without any of the thrill that made it good in the first place.

 

For the sake of analogy, it's like taking apart a computer to upgrade some parts, only to realize you don't know what the fuck you're doing and poorly slap it back together.

[Soniman]

Windy Hill was the only 3D level we've seen multiple videos of and has every nook and cranny of it explored almost, so of course it shows of the Parkour better than anything we've seen so far. Also all the 3D levels I saw in the trailers look to make at least decent use out of the parkour as well.

[SweeCrue]

We got another Badnik from Sonic 2.

(Stupid coin cloud! >:U)

 

Ahem... I believe it's Nebula from Sky Chase Zone.

[Indigo Rush]

NICE CATCH!

 

I'm all for having original enemy designs and everything, but they have such a massive back-catalog of badniks to pull from, it'd be a crime not to let them appear again. I for one welcome these returning baddies with open arms.

 

Here's hoping for Penguinator for the snow level.

[SilentDoom]

I more enjoy the fact that there's a slightly different way to defeat a number of the enemies.  It makes them all seem more like unique threats.  You have the weakest enemies (i.e. Motobugs, Choppers) that can be defeated by anything, you have the Snail Blasters which need to be kicked or Homing Attacked 3 times, you have the Antols which also much be kicked however you can't Homing Attack them unless you sweetspot your attack and hit them in the head (if you hit them from behind they catch Sonic), you have the Crawls with their shield that you have to attack from behind.  Heck even in the footage with the Egg Pawns, there's a point where Sonic uses his bounce attack on an Egg Pawn to get up a stack of poker chips and it only stuns the Egg Pawn rather than destroying it (possibly a nod to their increased durability in Heroes due to that game having HP for all their enemies).  

 

I think it's nice to see personally.  Not every enemy is just Homing Attack fodder now, and the Homing Attack is no longer the god tool for destroying everything (along with Boost).  Helps spice up the experience even more imo.

[ArtFenix]

Just saw "Frozen Factory" (what does that even...?). 

 

I thought the point of simplifying the production costs and slowing everything down was to make room for more open levels and exploration. Desert Ruins was linear and dull, and this was linear and dull.

 

I find it so strangely ironic that after Unleashed, Colors, and Gens' "it's only the first level" arguments, this game's first level seems to be the only fun one.

Absolutely agreed with this. When I saw the first screenshots of Casino level, I finally liked how it looked and hoped it'd play great but again I was really disappointed. The level is plainly BORING and SLOW and there is barely anything to do other than kill enemies and use parkour here and there (and colelct red star rings). This is fra from being the first/tutorial level so I have even less hope for the rest of the levels. Also, they continue on giving the levels unfitting names. Frozen Factory =/= Casion level. There is literally nothing that would make you think it has much to do with something "frozen" let alone "factory". I also didn't like that that bunch of coins was following you all the time.

 

So yeah.. Another disappointment. I really don't see how this game may turn out better than Generations or Unleashed or even Colors. I just can't. I can understand people seeing this game as something new without the boost but for me it's a huge step down in almost every aspect. That was my honest opinion.

 

What's even a point in 60 FPS if the game is that slow? It would make sense for a game as fast as Unleashed or at least Colors, but this.. 30 fps is enough and 60 fps don't make that difference, IMO.

 

P.S. I guess the only thing I really liked was the inclusion of "Miles"). I really missed seeing Tails' name).

Edited July 20, 2013 by ArtFenix

[Barry the Nomad]

SEGAbits preview of Frozen Factory! Our writers Shigs and Nux got a behind closed doors preview of the stage with Aaron, and Aaron also tacked on a look at the improvements made to Windy Hill since the E3 demo:

 

http://segabits.com/blog/2013/07/19/sonic-lost-world-frozen-factory-preview/

[KrazyBean]

What's even a point in 60 FPS if the game is that slow? It would make sense for a game as fast as Unleashed or at least Colors, but this.. 30 fps is enough and 60 fps don't make that difference, IMO.

 

60fps makes a game better, REGARDLESS of the games speed. Super Mario Galaxy is not fast, but bloody hell does it look good when it runs...after playing that then playing 3D Land, I was really disappointed that it was downgraded to 30fps.

Edited July 20, 2013 by KrazyBean

[ArtFenix]

60fps makes a game better, REGARDLESS of the games speed. Super Mario Galaxy is not fast, but bloody hell does it look good when it runs...after playing that then playing 3D Land, I was really disappointed that it was downgraded to 30fps.

Well, I guess.. But it still makes much bigger difference for fast games: racing games, flying simulators, Sonic games etc. I'm not sure for slower games running at 30 fps instad of 60 is a big deal.

Edited July 20, 2013 by ArtFenix

[Guest]

Well, I guess.. But it still makes much bigger difference for fast games: racing games, flying simulators, Sonic games etc. I'm not sure for slower games running at 30 fps instad of 60 is a big deal.

All games can benefit from 60fps, especially platformers. For example, if you'd play both the Wii version of Donkey Kong Country Returns (which is 60fps) and the 3DS version (which is 30fps) there is noticeable difference in how smooth the controls and visuals are. It doesn't necessarily ruin the game, but 60fps is definitely preferable.

Edited July 20, 2013 by TimmiT

[Milo]

Also, they continue on giving the levels unfitting names. Frozen Factory =/= Casion level. There is literally nothing that would make you think it has much to do with something "frozen" let alone "factory".

 

I thought it was already clarified that each world will feature levels with various level tropes? Like how Desert Ruins has a zone set in the forest and a zone based around candy in addition to the expected zone set in the desert?

[ArtFenix]

All games can benefit from 60fps, especially platformers. For example, if you'd play both the Wii version of Donkey Kong Country Returns (which is 60fps) and the 3DS version (which is 30fps) there is noticeable difference in how smooth the controls and visuals are. It doesn't necessarily ruin the game, but 60fps is definitely preferable.

Well, I suppose.. Never paid attention to that, only to fast games.

I thought it was already clarified that each world will feature levels with various level tropes? Like how Desert Ruins has a zone set in the forest and a zone based around candy in addition to the expected zone set in the desert?

Sure, I know about that but the confirmation doesn't make the names choices make any more sense or justify it somehow that it'd make more sense. If Iizuka himself says that it's like that, it doesn't suddenly justify the weird non-sensial name choice, does it?

 

Imagine Generations had the same thing. *Level loads and you see the name Ice Cap only to play Crisis City instead. You'd be mad, I bet)). I would be.

Edited July 20, 2013 by ArtFenix

[Xenos]

I just find it odd everyone is basing this off of a rushed playthrough of the level. I'm not saying the complaints hold no weight or anything, but I'm sure there might be more to the stage than what we see here. Didn't they already say those extra coins can be sort of cashed in to access other parts of the level?

[Ratcicle King]

We got another Badnik from Sonic 2.

 

 

 

 

Great! Am I the only one right now wanting some toys of these new designed badniks? Like those ones that were released around the time Sonic & Knuckles came out?