While I have not played the newly released Sonic the Hedgehog 4, I have heard that some sniping exists between two differing viewpoints on the game. Some complain that the game is too similar to the old school Sonic games from the Genesis days, while others complain that it doesn’t feel similar enough. In my mind, that probably means that Sega probably nailed it on the head, but that’s a topic for another time.
On the discussion board for today is an impressive demo of Sonic Fan Remix, a lovingly crafted HD remake of a few Sonic the Hedgehog levels. It might be hard to tell from the gameplay video, but this bad boy was conjured up by a development team of just two people. If you want, you can download that sweet thing and play it on your PC. Apparently it’s a bit CPU intensive, but you’ll have to judge that for yourselves. Or just watch.
Although some are a bit premature in claiming that it might be better than Sonic the Hedgehog 4, I’m going to say that it is certainly stunning for a fan made project, and begs the question, yet again – why didn’t these guys just make their own game? Have we not learned from Notch that there’s a killing to be made for small indie teams with great games?
So what do you guys think? How many of you have played Sonic the Hedgehog 4?
Source – Sonic Fan Remix
I guess most people are of the mind that if they do something with built in notoriety, then their next game will be well received because they were the “Sonic remake guys” or what have you. The thing is, if you don’t strike while the iron is hot, the Internet can be merciless.
I thought this was a stunning video. It’s really amazing that two dudes put this together in their spare time, while it took a whole studio to turn out a product that is almost universally reviled (with some exceptions).
I don’t care for Sonic 4 myself, but I could see trying this. Number one, his run animation isn’t garbage, and the music is actually good.
The backgrounds do look a little too busy for my tastes, but I’ll still give it a go.
I really like Sonic 4, but I have to admit that this is pretty cool. I do think that it has the benefit of low expectations, though, which Sonic 4 did not have.
Sega was pretty much damned no matter what they did with Sonic 4. If it had looked like this, people would have flipped out and said that it was just a re-skin of the original games. Of course, that’s what some people are saying about Sonic 4 anyway, so maybe Sega should have gone this route in the first place.
I do like the animation for this much better. That’s my biggest gripe about Sonic 4. He looks fine when he starts running, but that walking animation is horrible. The physics are okay, but there are some odd instances where you can walk up the side of walls when it doesn’t seem like your momentum should be able to carry you that far. It does kind of feel like a tech demo at times. Maybe episode 2 will iron some of those issues out.
As for why these guys didn’t make their own game, it’s a lot easier to remake something and improve it than to come up with something original. I’m not saying these guys lack creativity, obviously, but I think a good analogy might be the difference between playing and writing music: You could be a fantastic technical guitar player and not be able to write a good song.
Still, Sonic Team should hire these guys immediately. Lord knows they’re in need of some fresh blood.
I have to say, I had more fun with this trial than half the full game of Sonic 4. Of course, there could be some work done with the ambient noises, and I wouldn’t of minded having a boss battle in the trial, but hopefully they go through with making this a full on title.
Tried this on the weekend, and I have to say it was pretty spectacular.
I play on a fairly beefy PC, so the CPU-intensiveness wasn’t a issue. Sonic was never really that good of a platformer, but this update brings back the good memories I had of playing Sonic 2 in my youth.
This game looks freaking gorgeous when you’re running it, by the way.