SAGE ‘08: The Fated Hour Review

Is this SFG in a time of revival or in its 11th hour?

In a way, I am so glad I don’t make fan games of any kind anymore–it quickly become a sort of horse race to keep up with the technology.  Sure, I had my opportunity to shine back in the day with Sonic PC Blast.  (Anyone remember that?)  It was well received by my close friends, but the online community at the time had…well, a much more critical response.  Let’s also not forget–on second thought, yes, do forget Sonic PC Blast 2: History, the demo of which currently sits in the Sonic Fan Games HQ Scrap Heap hall of shame, and the finished product…well, never saw the light of day.  I’ve put my technical skills to other things since.

Sonic PC Blast was developed and completed during the late 90s.  The fan game subject to my jurisdiction–as it is created by my colleague, review editor Ryan Bloom, and would result in a serious conflict of interest otherwise–has been around for almost as long.  Yet, when it comes time for SAGE–an event he originally devised–Sonic: The Fated Hour never shows real signs of progress.  By that, I mean a progression to completion.  Whereas other long standing titles in Sonic fan gaming like Sonic Robo Blast 2 have stayed the stalwart course with visual and mechanic innovation, Blaze (as most of you know him as) has always attempted to keep up with the times with each new build.

Unfortunately, that has resulted in mostly one level demos, each showing off new skills he learns, but none of them necessarily building off previous offers in the series.  For better or for worse, this year is no different.

Equally puzzling in particular is Blaze’s two-dimensional imagining of what we assume to be the sandcastle level from Africa, planned to be in the three dimensional (and official) Sonic Unleashed this fall.   While understanding that this demo was rushed by Blaze’s own admission, how smart is it to set a goal of possibly satisfying the naysayers about Unleashed‘ with pure 2D gameplay when the finished product isn’t nearly as visually interesting as other SAGE offerings, or Unleashed itself?  Furthermore, why even bother when it appears very likely the zone won’t be in the final product?

Visuals and thought process aside, there are some high points with The Fated Hour.  Using the Sonic Worlds engine, Blaze does an excellent job of capturing two core elements of classic Sonic gameplay: speed, and exploration.  Sonic’s physics appear well on their way to capturing the essence of the “glory days”–the hedgehog travels down hills, through loops, and racks up rings pretty faithfully.  Sonic can go fast…almost too fast, and if you’re looking to beat the pre-programmed time attack scores, you may miss the other paths this level has to offer.  Blaze has a know-how for level design, allowing the level to progress without lagging in obstacles.  There is some linear nature, but I never feet as if I was “holding right to win.”

The various shields Sonic has at his arsenal capture almost perfectly their execution in Sonic 3 and Knuckles–not to mention the enclosures got a nice visual update, possibly the best looking elements in the demo.  The way badniks exploded also was pretty cool.

Blaze also performs an excellent, but not perfect job of explaining the controls and setting up what is hopefully to come in a final version.  First time players will get a brief, clear tutorial of how the controls work by a well drawn Amy Rose.  She appears again at the beginning of the level, if you’d like further explanation on how things work.  There appeared an opportunity to shop for items, but that was incomplete.  Still, it looks to be an intriguing precursor of what’s to come.  However, with all the opportunities to have Amy talk out the mechanics, I couldn’t figure out how to grind–nor was it clear whether that feature was even built in.  Further, it took a bit before I was able to perfect Sonic’s wall jump, a feature that, at best, felt awkward with the hedgehog at the helm.

Above all else, I along with many others need to wonder out loud when this years-long project will be done.  It’s clear Sonic: The Fated Hour has potential, as it has from the very beginning. It’s clear this project has a chance to stand up to the test of time, with titles like Sonic XG and even Emerald Ties staring it down.  But the game can only do that if there’s any indication that Blaze is working toward a finished product, and right now that’s just not evident.  Creating what is essentially a rush job of a 2D mockup of a Sega-produced level still in development does very little justice to the originality that this franchise still has, and I would hate to think what was in development that this demo replaced.  I would even feel different if this level were building upon previous TFH builds, but it didn’t.

So, in the end, the choices Blaze made for Sonic: The Fated Hour this year are incredibly puzzling, though there are still signs of promise.  We can only hope that Blaze will be making fewer and fewer choices of similar nature in the coming months in the hopes a final product draws near.  I worry if that is not the case, The Fated Hour could soon see itself in its final hours, unable to keep up with either the direction other SFGs are going or, worse, itself.

Now, let’s just hope he doesn’t quit when he read this.  =)