Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U)

[The Deleter]

Also, I think the biggest problem with the werehog's combat was that it had no impact to it. If you picked up enemies, then you might be able to squeeze in a few pows into the battle, but other than that, the attacks felt so... weak. Like you were hacking at butter. If they had added in a bit more enemy recoil, had more intense sound effects, and the like, I think the werehog's combat would have been enjoyable even at level 1.

 

Sonic Boom, from what I've seen, doesn't have this problem. When Sonic kicks an enemy, they fall back a bit. When he homing attacks them, they get repelled with a resounding clang. And when he does his "Boom" attack, enemies fly backwards and fall onto their backs, or even get flung into the wall and explode. Seems pretty satisfying to me.

[Willsy]

Also, I think the biggest problem with the werehog's combat was that it had no impact to it. If you picked up enemies, then you might be able to squeeze in a few pows into the battle, but other than that, the attacks felt so... weak. Like you were hacking at butter. If they had added in a bit more enemy recoil, had more intense sound effects, and the like, I think the werehog's combat would have been enjoyable even at level 1.

 

Sonic Boom, from what I've seen, doesn't have this problem. When Sonic kicks an enemy, they fall back a bit. When he homing attacks them, they get repelled with a resounding clang. And when he does his "Boom" attack, enemies fly backwards and fall onto their backs, or even get flung into the wall and explode. Seems pretty satisfying to me.

That's what I like about the combat. Even if you are mashing buttons without much consequence, it'll still be satisfying to watch and enemy fly back or get smashed to pieces or whatnot.

[Your Vest Friend]

You thought the Werehog's combat had no impact? I thought it was really fun bashing and flinging enemies, watching them crash to the ground into a heap, get uppercut into the sky and bouncing off walls before skidding to their merciful demise. I think the attack where you bash two little Rex Dark Gaia together is the most satisfying since you could do it forever while hearing the bashing impact each time and their stressed little wails during it. 

[SlickEvan]

Also, I think the biggest problem with the werehog's combat was that it had no impact to it. If you picked up enemies, then you might be able to squeeze in a few pows into the battle, but other than that, the attacks felt so... weak. Like you were hacking at butter. If they had added in a bit more enemy recoil, had more intense sound effects, and the like, I think the werehog's combat would have been enjoyable even at level 1.

 

Sonic Boom, from what I've seen, doesn't have this problem. When Sonic kicks an enemy, they fall back a bit. When he homing attacks them, they get repelled with a resounding clang. And when he does his "Boom" attack, enemies fly backwards and fall onto their backs, or even get flung into the wall and explode. Seems pretty satisfying to me.

^ Totally agree with this.

 

 

Games are so big now and auto saves are such a common characteristic that it impacts the point of lives in a normal game setting. Even if you lose all of your lives, you're only set back to the beginning of the stage you played. Their purpose is trivial outside of an arcade title where the punishment for losing all of your lives is a total redo. But they're not about to do that with a game in the scope of Sonic Boom, so outside of some ridiculous one-continue run mode, they're unnecessary. The series should've ditched them long before now.

 

I personally like lives. I guess it's different stokes for different folks. But if it is in the game, if it is so inconsequential, it shouldn't be harmful to anyone's experience. Those who like it will like it, those who don't won't really care. Same goes with it not being in the game.

[Willsy]

You thought the Werehog's combat had no impact? I thought it was really fun bashing and flinging enemies, watching them crash to the ground into a heap, get uppercut into the sky and bouncing off walls before skidding to their merciful demise.

The Werehog is kind of difficult for me to explain. I almost felt satisfied, and I really wanted to...but I just felt that it fell a bit short of that. Something was missing that would make it click properly. I think it could have been the controls, but something was definitely missing there.

[The Deleter]

You thought the Werehog's combat had no impact? I thought it was really fun bashing and flinging enemies, watching them crash to the ground into a heap, get uppercut into the sky and bouncing off walls before skidding to their merciful demise. I think the attack where you bash two little Rex Dark Gaia together is the most satisfying since you could do it forever while hearing the bashing impact each time and their stressed little wails during it. 

I'm talking about the basic combat, not the super-cartwheel-of-death, drill-through-the-air, and pound-till-you-drop moves you get after you level him up enough. I'll agree that those moves had impact. That doesn't apply to Boom, though, as we can only see the first "level" of attacks, if there are more. And from what's been shown, they definitely have a lot more impact than the werehog's bare minimum level moves.

[JezMM]

Lives in Sonic are either so plentiful that you never run out and they might as well be infinite, or so hard to obtain (Lost World) that the lack of them annoys players because they're punished for not being able to perform an entire 10 minute level in a certain number of chances.

 

Either way they don't make the game more fun.

[Enesephus]

I just found another interesting article on the same site I found the first one (I'm not sure how I missed it). Allow me to bold a couple points of interest:

 

Sonic Boom Hands-On: Eggman Defeated By Sonic’s Electric Lasso

 

 

Sonic Boom is a departure from both classic 2D Sonic the Hedgehog and the 3D games like Sonic Adventure. The Wii U version developed by Big Red Button plays more like a platformer where Sonic kicks robot butt.

 

Sonic still has his Spin Dash, but other than zipping up ramps designed specifically for Sonic it isn’t that useful on the field. I found the Spin Dash was best used to close distance between Sonic and robot attackers. Crashing into a robot counts as a hit and you can follow up with a combo by pressing the Y button to make Sonic unleash a flurry of kicks. Sonic is a speedy fighter in Sonic Boom and completely the opposite of Knuckles who was paired with Sonic. Knuckles is slow, but powerful. His three hit combo smashed all of the fodder enemies I came across in the demo level. Knuckles has some new attacks too like a breakdancing flare move which is good for crowd control and he can burrow.

 

Amy is armed with a hammer and a three hit combo. Although, she doesn’t hit nearly as hard as Knuckles. Amy also has a move where she lunges forward with her hammer and spins it. The biggest difference Amy has compared to the other characters is she is the only character with a triple jump. Tails stands out from the Sonic Boom team as the only ranged attacker. He can fire grenades by pressing X and this move can be charged too. Pressing Y makes Tails drop a robot that seeks out enemies.

 

All four of Sonic Boom’s heroes have a new item called the Enerbeam, which is kind of like an electric lasso. You can use the Enerbeam to yank off enemy shields and grab enemies. After you tie an enemy up, Sonic spins the enemy around with the Enerbeam until you toss it at another enemy. That’s the trick to defeating the Crab Driller mini-boss in the demo.

 

You can run fast if you want to in Sonic Boom, but it feels like Big Red Button rewards players for taking their time to search for items. Sonic Boom has a lot of collectables. You can find robot scrap parts, which are used for upgrades. I also found a Crown when I backtracked and kicked a moving trampoline into place. Players can also search for Shinies, buried treasure which you can only see by using the Wii U controller to light up a path to the item. Big Red Button wouldn’t give specifics on what players will earn from collecting all of these items other than some items unlock concept art.

 

Another demo had a boss fight with Eggman. This was the first time where all four Sonic Boom characters were together and you can switch between any of them during the fight. The computer controlled the other three characters. Eggman takes his egg shaped spaceship and merges it with a walker way out of of Sonic’s jumping reach. Just like the Crab Driller, I grabbed robots with the Enerbeam and toss them at Eggman. When Eggman is stunned you can use the Enerbeam and yank Eggman. This makes all of the other computer controlled characters pull out their Enerbeams too and together you can pull Eggman to the ground. Once grounded, you can mash the attack button to make the Sonic Boom team rush Eggman as a group, kind of like Persona’s all-out attacks.

 

I'm not sure what the writer means by "you can go fast if you want to," but perhaps this guy played a later build than the one Gamexplain did where the characters are faster or have a run button or something? 

 

Also, concept art. Maybe we'll get to see the original character designs that traumatised Sega and Sonic Team.

[The Deleter]

I'm pretty sure that means there will be a secondary speed, yeah. The guardian section, for example, has the characters running at a speed faster than the usual jog, but slower than mach speed. And since there were no obstacles in the path, the only way for the guardian to be of any threat would be the fact that going slowly would get you killed. That will probably be the optional speed for the normal stages.

 

Why you would go slower is beyond me, though.

[SlickEvan]

To me, lives adds a challenge that makes me feel good, or can push to finish a level. The game will be fine off either, as I was trying to say before, but in my personal tastes I like the lives. 

 

 

*post*

 

^ That also interest me. Because, as I mentioned before, that Sonic ran on water in the initial trailer and Amy had a fairly decent speed. So maybe it is an earlier build or there is speed unlocks in some form or fashion. I might guess earlier build because it talks about grabbing robot scraps of sorts (or something like that) wasn't seen in any one of the gamexplain clips. Who knows?

[Phos]

"And the other game was Sonic Boom which is not a good game" -Jeff Gerstmann

I probably should have linked to where that quote came from, the Giant Bombcast:

 

http://www.giantbomb.com/podcasts/giant-bombcast-06-03-2014/1600-882/

 

Unfortunately I don't remember when it was.

 

The combat looks like padding as it is, bulking up the enemies isn't going to help.

You really don't need bulky enemies to make combat interesting, anyway. For example, rather than trying to have intense 1-on-1 battles, the focus could be on taking out multiple enemies quickly and efficiently.

My favorite game in the Hack n slash genre, Ninja Gaiden II, will frequently have enemies going down in very few hits.  Often times you'll get a dismemberment on the first hit which allows you to do a finisher immediately.  

[Cyrus]

Run button confirmed....? Also it looks like Sonic will be the go-to character in the adventure levels for those who want a more Sonical experience, since his combat's the fastest.

[Willsy]

Oh, so you can run fast in the adventure levels if you want to? Phew, that's a massive relief. It'll be useful for flanking enemies and then taking them down.

[Cyrus]

Odd how Knuckles' the character with a breakdancing move when Sonic is the breakdance king in the main canon...

[Willsy]

I really hope there is a run button, one of the main things that worry me is the pacing, but a faster speed for characters to run would break that worry.

[The Deleter]

Just watched the Polygon preview, and is this where people are saying the combat looks terrible? Because for Knuckles, his moves are really shallow. I can only hope that's the CP controlling him, otherwise this will probably be the worst character of the lot.

 

Also, I'm really glad they confirmed that both characters can traverse the level on their own path without the need to switch between one another. That was probably my greatest fear for the co-op gameplay; That one character's path would require another's help before he could progress down said path, ala TT's Lego games. That level design philosophy bugs me to no end.

[Autosaver]

Auto shared this video in the statuses but YES YES YES THIS VIDEO.

 

[SlickEvan]

I actually don't want a run button, just a higher top speed. I really don't like the idea of a run button. Boost - Lost World had it to where Sonic is slow as crap until you press the "run" (boost) button. I really hope that they just gain a higher top speed as the game goes on, IMO.

[Willsy]

Just watched the Polygon preview, and is this where people are saying the combat looks terrible? Because for Knuckles, his moves are really shallow. I can only hope that's the CP controlling him, otherwise this will probably be the worst character of the lot.

 

Also, I'm really glad they confirmed that both characters can traverse the level on their own path without the need to switch between one another. That was probably my greatest fear for the co-op gameplay; That one character's path would require another's help before he could progress down said path, ala TT's Lego games. That level design philosophy bugs me to no end.

Oh, so I don't have to play as the partner if I don't want to? And I could just complete the level as, say, Tails if I wanted to? That's pretty cool, especially for people who only like playing as Sonic.

[Cyrus]

I actually don't want a run button, just a higher top speed. I really don't like the idea of a run button. Boost - Lost World had it to where Sonic is slow as crap until you press the "run" (boost) button. I really hope that they just gain a higher top speed as the game goes on, IMO.

The top non-boost speed in the boost games was good enough.

[PickleBrows]

Here's the thing about a run button/secondary speed. If they're going to include one then the level design is going to need to be accommodating for it. If the combat sections turn out to be very balanced with open exploration then it'll be fine but if the game is going to be extremely combat heavy like the footage made out then it could prove useless. If they bothered to include it then I'll trust them until we see more.

 

Hopefully this is something Stephen can comment on, best to hear it straight from the source.

[Dizcrybe]

You think Boom will have those "defeat these enemies to go to the next part of the stage" sections?

[The Deleter]

You think Boom will have those "defeat these enemies to go to the next part of the stage" sections?

This being a Naughty Dog/Insomniac styled game, I don't doubt it, but it should be noted that not all battles in such games they've made have that requirement. Sometimes they just set enemies up on the sidelines so that you can take them out and harvest the goodies from them, and sometimes they were just irritations that didn't hinder your progress, but still tried to damage you.

 

I don't remember if the Werehog levels did this, but I know it didn't have half as many non-required battle areas as the games BRB developed in the past did.

[SlickEvan]

You think Boom will have those "defeat these enemies to go to the next part of the stage" sections?

Yeah most likely. Seeing as the "focus" is combat, it's most likely. 

 

The top non-boost speed in the boost games was good enough.

 

 

Eh, I used to think the same. But being how big levels were to accommodate for the boost and how poorly it controlled, I grew very un-fond of it. I don't know, but while it may have been fine I still think that the top speed shouldn't be achieved through a prees of a button. (Note! I do like the boost games! I'm just saying "top speed buttons" aren't my thing)

[Willsy]

The Werehog had a lot of these sections. And by a lot I mean all of them. It wasn't terrible though, but it just didn't click with me.

Also, Mr Frost, will there be a way to run faster in the adventure levels like that preview said or is it strictly jogging? Could you also comment on whether that was an early build or a near finished one? Thanks.