“Craps all over everything that has ever made the series interesting”
Is it IGNorance or is it the truth?
That will surely be the topic of debate throughout the Sonic community over the next several days and perhaps weeks, as IGN becomes the first major gaming media site to weigh in on Sonic and the Black Knight since Nintendo Power did it almost a month ago. Nintendo Power had kind things to say about the game. Overall, IGN’s Matt Casamassina did not.
In all, he gave SBK a 3.9 out of 10, a much lower score than the 7.2 given by them to Sonic Unleashed for the Wii, the 4.5 given to the XBOX 360 edition of Unleashed, and even the 4.2 given to the PS3 edition of Sonic the Hedgehog, a game almost universally panned by critics. You may remember that TSSZ News uncovered evidence that lead many to believe one of the IGN Unleashed reviewers, Hilary Goldstein, stopped playing the game not even halfway through.
Casamassina did praise the graphical prowess of SBK, but he warned gamers not to be deceived by the pretty pictures:
…Here is the second, integral component to consider: gameplay. And it’s here where Black Knight is defeated, slashed through its corrupted heart time and time again. Imagine the trademark intense speed, loop-de-loops, corkscrews, jumps and pinball mechanics that have helped define the Sonic name over the years. Good. Now throw all of that tried-and-true stuff out the window, slow down the action to a relative crawl, give the blue hedgehog a big sword, and throw enemy after enemy in his path. This is the backbone of the offensively awful design template that is a succubus, perpetually draining fun away from the experience. To make matters worse, Sonic himself is controlled clumsily with the nunchuk’s analog stick — he moves like a tank, barely able to nudge to the left and right so that he might sidestep approaching obstacles — and he is constantly locked in stupid swordplay.
Noteworthy in Casamassina’s review is that he did give the visual and presentation components of the game both 8.5 ratings. All in all, however, he wasn’t impressed, and there is again a comparison between the recent direction of the series and more classic fare:
Sonic & the Black Knight is a disappointing mess of presentational highs and design lows. The game will wow with its crisp cinemas, slick interface, online functionality and pretty in-game graphics, but when you sit down to play it, you will quickly discover a slow, clunky, boring affair ruined by stupid design choices. The intense speed, loop-de- loops, and pinball jumps that Sonic is known for have been altogether removed for insultingly bad swordplay tied to retarded Wii waggle that will leave your arm sore and your heart broken. There isn’t a level in Black Knight that is even one tenth as compelling as a single daylight mission in Sonic Unleashed.
This is a Sonic game that craps all over everything that has ever made the series interesting and then adds pointless waggle. More importantly, the end experience is altogether lackluster, not just for those who want a return to the form for the series, but for those who value fun, well-made games as a whole.
Let us know your thoughts on this review in the comments below. We will continue to bring you updates on reviews for Sonic and the Black Knight as they become available.
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Now hold on, Rabidkanid. What you said is not true about Nintendo Power. Let’s take a few for example. Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros Brawl, and Geist.
Now Smash Bros and Galaxy did receive high scores, but not just from them, but others like EGM, etc.
Geist is where my main point comes across. That game was “Eh” by critics, which is a 4 or 5 on a 10 scale. You know what NP gave it? A 5. Yeah, an average score.
The thing is though, Nintendo makes good games. You can’t deny that unless you’re rabid Sony fan or Obsessed Halo junkie. Nintendo’s first party title were always on top with their systems. Smash bros Melee is a perfect example. It was the best selling GCN game almost a year or two after it’s release, to the end of the Gamecube/Xbox/PS2?Dreamcast (Yes DC is part of that generation) era.
I didn’t want to rant, but I just hate it when people say that.
I haven’t played Black Knight, but SURELY it isn’t as bad as NEXT GEN!!! I’ve seen Black Knight videos, and the gameplay looks better than that glitchfest we’re all trying to put behind us.
I just got through playing the first 3 1/2 hours of Black Knight. I had a blast! The story is well told, the characters feel fresh while still being familiar, and I actually ENJOY the dialogue between characters. I haven’t truly enjoyed that since SA2 (minor parts of Heroes excluded). I had never been hyped for this game, but I kinda wanna shotgun this game all the way through right now. The visuals look like they got a little lazy with a 360 game, they’re that good. The game is plenty fast as well, in fact, using the sword speeds you up. The waggle isn’t annoying, a little over sensitive, but certainly not annoying. Mind you I haven’t even gotten to Percival’s (Blaze’s) level yet, so this ‘review’ (more like a consumer testimonial) is hardly a complete look at the game. PLAY THIS GAME. Fuck what any reviewer said. PLAY THIS SHIT. If you don’t like it after that, then hey, that’s on you. But, I defy any Sonic fan (not ‘true Sonic fan’, that shit’s stupid) not to like it after actually playing it though. If you don’t play this it will replace the Sonic Riders games as the best Sonic Game you didn’t play.
Skai: So the Riders games are actually good? I haven’t played either of them. Still going to give Black Knight a try. Graphics do look good, but how would you compare to say, the PS3 version of Unleashed?
omfg *facepalm*
Okay, now this just needs to stop. The bad reviews and all this damn BAWWWWing every time it happens. I’ve gotten really sick of it.
Get mad or whatever, it didn’t do as good as you’d hoped. Don’t mad at IGN. They just do their jobs. They didn’t like a game you like. Who gives a flying fuck? Just say ‘Aw shoot. Maybe next time.’ or something and get on with your fucking lives. It’s not that big a damn deal.
And does anyone here realize you’re all just as biased as IGN, if not more? I mean, you’re all Sonic fans. And I’m starting to agree with Calamitas on this: the fans are the cancer that is killing /b/– I mean the series. Calm the fuck down already.
And why hasn’t anybody said a damn thing about NP? Why is almost every recent Sonic game getting an 8 or higher? Isn’t that a little wierd to you?
Dark Prowl: We can be mad at IGN for changing the score, the fans are the cancer I agree with you(some of them), and no, It’s not weird that every recent Sonic game isgetting an 8 or higher, that’s because they’re good games.
Erm, no.
IGN has some sort of grudge against Sonic/SEGA games. I’d rather just buy the game and judge it myself. =D
It hasn’t come out in England yet, but it looks pretty good from what I’ve seen and heard. I’m not too happy about Jet being in the game though; I thought he wasn’t mainstream…
Oh well, I hope I’m not disappointed when I get to actually playing the game.
Jonaskin: The Riders games are good, the first one is better though. The controls for the first are better, but the story is better in the second. I’m not sure, about the comparison of BK and PS3 Unleashed, I won’t be playing that until this weekend at the earliest. It moves really fast though (except in multiplayer), faster than Wii Unleashed, which I know is faster than PS360 version.