I really don't think that you're going to like it...
From IGN.com
Sonic & the Black Knight Review
Stuck in the Dark Ages.
by <Quoted Name Removed>
March 3, 2009 - Shadowy, gun-toting Hedgehogs, battle modes and so much more -- all twists on the classic fast and furious gameplay mechanics that helped propel SEGA's franchise to its mega-popular status around the globe. The publisher's tried it all, usually with disappointing results. Yet, the blue blur's last romp on current-generation consoles, Sonic Unleashed, came close to recapturing the intensity of the the mascot's 16-bit roots due wholly to the title's short, but sweet selection of super speedy daylight missions. And then, unfortunately, there were the Werehog levels -- slow, weird and uncalled for. I frankly dreaded the coming of nightfall and Sonic's transformation in Unleashed, but compared to the clunky, misguided mess that is Sonic & the Black Knight, howling at the moon suddenly doesn't seem so bad anymore.?
Black Knight is the latest in Sonic Team's so-called storybook series, the first of which was Sonic and the Secret Rings. These are Hedgehog games based on popular bedtime tales like Arabian Nights and now, for Black Knight, King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable. In this latest project, Sonic finds himself sucked through a portal into the ancient era and thrust into a battle between a sorceress named Merlina and a black gas-filled suit of armor masquerading as King Arthur. As with just about every Sonic endeavor, the storyline is brought to life via ridiculously high production values, from the wide assortment of stunningly clean and stylized pre-rendered cinemas to mid-level sequences that look like storyboards. All of the characters feature high caliber voice acting, although most of the dialog is so badly written that you'll likely find yourself wincing at the terrible one-liners.
The developer didn't stop with the story elements, though. The attention to detail is spread throughout the Wii-pointer-compatible interface, which is made to look like a medieval scroll of sorts. When you click over to the adventure mode, the guts of the game, you'll be treated to a realistic map with various points that you can select to trigger stages. It all looks great. Meanwhile, Sonic Team has also included a robust online leader board ranking system, accessed through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, in which players can compete against each other's times and scores. There's even a treasury mode that holds upward of 100 items that can be traded online with your favorite Sonic-loving pals -- of course, you'll need to swap friend codes first. And there's also a full-blown gallery that features dozens of unlockable character bios, movies, and illustrations, both from development team members and franchise devotees. Black Knight is overrun with welcomed fan service that diehards will undoubtedly appreciate.
And at a glance -- certainly in screenshots and even in some well-produced trailers -- Black Knight appears a polished, beautiful platformer, but don't be fooled by this wicked trickery. The graphics engine is dazzling at points, easily outputting detailed, varied environments blanketed in effects. As Sonic blazes through mountainous terrain, you'll be able to see individual blades of grass swaying in the wind. As he runs across rocky, magma-filled caves, a heat distortion effect will warp the screen. When he clashes swords with King Arthur, the screen will ignite in an awesome explosion of particle sparks. It's a good looking game through and through, even if the framerate occasionally dips in high-action sequences. The biggest presentational (and mechanical, if you want to lump it into gameplay) flaw is the camera, which proves downright obtrusive at points, shooting Sonic's movements behind foreground barriers -- a huge frustration.
But unfortunately for SEGA there 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.
His trusty sword is controlled with the WIi remote. There's an incredible amount of unresponsive waggle -- not gestures -- in the game. You simply shake, shake and shake some more to slice enemies down as they approach. The title does not consider vertical or horizontal motion, so you can just waggle the controller mindlessly and win. It's one of the worst control choices I've had to endure for any Wii game, not only because your movements actually have noticeable lag before they are translated on-screen, but because you battle so many enemies throughout any given level that you arm is sure to be sore by the time you're done. You encounter the occasional boss in fights that are supposed to be epic, but the ensuing battles are over in seconds -- all you have to do is shake continuously and you'll lay waste to your enemies before they are done with their opening dialogs.
Black Knight also features a horrendous four-player battle mode that is so pitifully heinous -- the hedgehog can fight at molasses speeds in waggle-fests with characters like Knuckles and Amy Rose to the backdrop of static arenas -- that you should avoid at all costs.
Closing Comments
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.
IGN Ratings for Sonic & The Black Knight (Wii)
Rating Description See Our Glorious Home Theater Setup!
out of 10 click here for ratings guideGet Ratings Information
8.5 Presentation
Slick interface, crisp cut-scenes, online trading system and leader boards. In-game graphics look good. Dialog is too campy.
8.5 Graphics
Really pretty. Varied level designs come to life with good art and great effects.
7.5 Sound
There's a lot of voice work and music and a good chunk of it is over-the-top campy.
3.0 Gameplay
Possibly designed by monkeys. Everything you've ever liked about Sonic games -- speed, great level designs -- is gone. Instead, you will crawl through stages and fight enemy after enemy, with waggle.
3.0 Lasting Appeal
You can beat the primary single-player mode in a few hours and then you'll unlock some extra playable characters. But there's no point in going back unless you like torturing yourself.
3.9
Bad OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
(Source: http://wii.ign.com/articles/958/958855p1.html
AND http://wii.ign.com/articles/958/958855p2.html)
O.O
*sigh*
Anyone else think that the reviewers hate Sonic?
EDIT: The IGN video review is out!
Get ready for an assault....
http://www.youtube.com/v/j5vd3NGpRvE&hl=en&fs=1 (http://www.youtube.com/v/j5vd3NGpRvE&hl=en&fs=1)
I was expecting this from IGN.
This is really bad for Sega, their last chance was ruined, but maybe people will give them another chance.
this review is nonsense the review was probaly made by monkeys (though i haven't played the game yet).
It seems pretty horrible...
Sonic started to get bad after Heroes or Shadow...
For GBA/DS Sonic Advance 3 or Rush
But I still like the new ones sortof, but this one is GONNA suck, dont buy it.
Quote from: ArsTarpool on March 04, 2009, 10:06:25 AM
It seems pretty horrible...
Sonic started to get bad after Heroes or Shadow...
For GBA/DS Sonic Advance 3 or Rush
But I still like the new ones sortof, but this one is GONNA suck, dont buy it.
In my opinion the series went downhill after Shadow the Hedgehog.
And this is IGN, guys. Remember what they rated SU? Nintendo Power rated this game an 8/10. We'll just have to wait and see what other reviewers think.
I knew this would happen. Now its time for SEGA to stop using all these new ideas.
Even if they give the game a bad rating I'm still getting the game
Quote from: Elija2 on March 04, 2009, 10:10:50 AM
And this is IGN, guys. Remember what they rated SU? Nintendo Power rated this game an 8/10. We'll just have to wait and see what other reviewers think.
Wow, Someone shares my opinion of IGN's Sonic reviews almost to the letter.
Do these guys (IGN) hate Sonic or what?
Quote from: SonicFan47 on March 04, 2009, 11:07:49 AM
Wow, Someone shares my opinion of IGN's Sonic reviews almost to the letter.
Do these guys (IGN) hate Sonic or what?
They gave Sonic Unleashed 7/10 for the Wii and they gave the 360 version of Sonic Unleashed a 4/10
Quote from: Shadow84786 on March 04, 2009, 11:16:57 AM
They gave Sonic Unleashed 7/10 for the Wii and they gave the 360 version of Sonic Unleashed a 4/10
Yeah, I know.
I really believe that either
1. The reviewers at IGN can't play Sonic games
OR
2. The reviewers at IGN are on Crack.
Quote from: SonicFan47 on March 04, 2009, 11:27:24 AM
Yeah, I know.
I really believe that either
1. The reviewers at IGN can't play Sonic games
OR
2. The reviewers at IGN are on Crack.
true and i haven't got it yet but even though it got a 3.9 from IGN i say this. WHO CARES. IGN hates sonic because sonic could probably whoop there asses everywhere if he came to real life. our opinion matters. not there and besides Nintendo power might rate it more.
Quote from: jet on March 04, 2009, 11:30:57 AM
true and i haven't got it yet but even though it got a 3.9 from IGN i say this. WHO CARES. IGN hates sonic because sonic could probably whoop there asses everywhere if he came to real life. our opinion matters. not there and besides Nintendo power might rate it more.
Yeah I bet they would give it a better rating then ign.
Nintendo power likes sonic more i think really.
According to Wikipedia Nintendo Power game SatBK a 8/10.
IGN just suck.
Quote from: Elija2 on March 04, 2009, 12:02:59 PM
According to Wikipedia Nintendo Power game SatBK a 8/10.
IGN just suck.
Yeah they suck at reviewing games, you should look at the Lego Batman review they did.
Quote from: Elija2 on March 04, 2009, 12:02:59 PM
According to Wikipedia Nintendo Power game SatBK a 8/10.
IGN just suck.
yay at least Nintendo cares about our blue blur.. 8/10 is ok and i wonder the gameplay will be like.
Quote from: Shadow84786 on March 04, 2009, 12:06:55 PM
Yeah they suck at reviewing games, you should look at the Lego Batman review they did.
what rating did they give lego batman?
Quote from: jet on March 04, 2009, 12:33:44 PM
yay at least Nintendo cares about our blue blur.. 8/10 is ok and i wonder the gameplay will be like.
what rating did they give lego batman?
They gave it a 7/10 but I heard there review about Lego Batman sucks.
Quote from: Shadow84786 on March 04, 2009, 12:37:14 PM
They gave it a 7/10 but I heard there review about Lego Batman sucks.
why must IGN be a pain in the ass like that man?
Quote from: revenger on March 04, 2009, 09:05:01 AM
This is really bad for Sega, their last chance was ruined, but maybe people will give them another chance.
you just contradicted yourself lol
I stopped listening to IGN after they reviewed .Hack Infection
Quote from: windlessusher on March 04, 2009, 05:10:43 PM
I stopped listening to IGN after they reviewed .Hack Infection
Hack Infection?...
What is that, exactly?
Quote from: SonicFan47 on March 04, 2009, 05:16:52 PM
Hack Infection?...
What is that, exactly?
The explanation for that would tke too long and too much of an attention spam
Also you will not understand 2 craps of it until u have watched .Hack//SIGN
long story short
YT it :P
UGH, is anyone actually surprised????
Sonic, is great, but honestly, after Sonic Heroes (even Sonic Adventure 2 for others) it started to suck.
What they should do is like quit making brand new games that are gonna suck worse and worse every time, and instead do something like remake the sonic adventures (keep same camera, just change the graphics and possibly music, add a new multiplayer thing, and stuff like that ) or make a 2D sonic game, for the next gen consoles (remake of the first sonic the hedgehog with crysis/fallout 3 like graphics).
and its bitchin like this thats bringing Sonic down in the first place ;)
^^^^True dat.
Don't listen to IGN. They give bad reviews to awesome games, seriously.
I hate IGN's reviewers. They're a bunch of FPS fanboys.
Quote from: jonXjon on March 05, 2009, 10:59:28 AM
I hate IGN's reviewers. They're a bunch of FPS fanboys.
What does FPS mean?
well based on what you two said IGN must be terrible at rating games
Quote from: Shadow84786 on March 05, 2009, 11:12:36 AM
What does FPS mean?
First
Person
Shooters
like Halo and such
Quote from: jonXjon on March 05, 2009, 10:59:28 AM
I hate IGN's reviewers. They're a bunch of FPS fanboys.
That, and Mario fanboys.
Honestly, the only three good reviews I've seen from them are:
Halo 3
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (which just
barely makes this cut) and
Super Mario Galaxy.
It's very annoying.
I will complement them on their speed, though.
They had this review out within 12 hours of the game's release.
So you mean they
1.ran to the store and bought/rented it
2.Got back home
3.Played and beat it 100%
4.type out that long ass review
all in 12 hours?
Quote from: windlessusher on March 05, 2009, 03:39:22 PM
So you mean they
1.ran to the store and rented it
2.Got back home to the trailer park
3.Played and beat it 50%
4.type out that long ass review
all in 12 hours?
Corrected. :P
Quote from: Elija2 on March 05, 2009, 03:44:02 PM
Corrected. :P
I don't think that it is...
Quote from: windlessusher on March 05, 2009, 03:39:22 PM
So you mean they
1.ran to the store and bought/rented it
2.Got back home
3.Played and beat it 10%
4.type out that long ass review
all in 12 hours?
There we go. All better.
Honestly, they talk about it having a crappy replay value, but what they don't realize is that in order to have an opinion of replay value,
YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY REPLAY THE GAME!
Quote from: SonicFan47 on March 05, 2009, 03:53:39 PM
I don't think that it is...There we go. All better.
Honestly, they talk about it having a crappy replay value, but what they don't realize is that in order to have an opinion of replay value,
YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY REPLAY THE GAME!
I see what u did thar
but if they replay the game,they have less time for *gasp*
MARIO&PR0N :o
Quote from: windlessusher on March 05, 2009, 03:55:14 PM
I see what u did thar
but if they replay the game,they have less time for *gasp*
MARIO&PR0N :o
Actually, that last one is a HUGE problem on their site.
It's everywhere!
Quote from: SonicFan47 on March 05, 2009, 03:58:11 PM
Actually, that last one is a HUGE problem on their site.
It's everywhere!
uh,what's everywhere?Talk about low replay value?
Quote from: windlessusher on March 05, 2009, 03:59:56 PM
uh,what's everywhere?Talk about low replay value?
No, pron.
It's all over the IGN site.
It's dispicable!
Quote from: SonicFan47 on March 05, 2009, 04:00:50 PM
No, pron.
It's all over the IGN site.
It's dispicable!
*In Snake voice*Ur kidding right?O_o
Quote from: windlessusher on March 05, 2009, 04:04:11 PM
*In Snake voice*Ur kidding right?O_o
*in colonel voice*Sadly, no.
I am not kidding. *colonel voice ends here*
It's all over their site, and Yes, it really is dispicable.
That site can be dirtier than the inside of a toilet sometimes.
i cannot imagine PRON FROM IGN. i dont even want to think about the sick GIN
Quote from: jet on March 05, 2009, 06:25:17 PM
i cannot imagine PRON FROM IGN. i dont even want to think about the sick GIN
I don't know if it's really considered pron, but it is by me.
It's more along the lines of extremely scantily clad women who pose for cameras.
Not to mention that IGN also has movie trailers, including R-rated film trailers...yuck
They are wrong in like...
OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!!
ways...I guess that tells you NOT to listen to the crappy reviews on IGN.
Quote from: SlashXVI on March 10, 2009, 12:43:04 PM
They are wrong in like...
OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!!
ways...I guess that tells you NOT to listen to the crappy reviews on IGN.
IGN = IGNorant all the way they always diss sonic games i dont get it makes me sso >:(
i actually like it it's fun if u make it fun this is a good sonic game
>:( ign know nothing about sonic and the black knight, its a brilliant game, they done the same thing to sonic unleashed
Ya, Thats Good Game, Swing' The Wii remote n' Stuff.
But the game is for wii, so its expensive. ;D Ask me.
it does need more speed and loops and corkscrews and all that
Quote from: joeyknock0 on March 25, 2009, 03:51:47 AM
it does need more speed and loops and corkscrews and all that
coughgenesisjunkiecough
I think that the black knight is going to be a good game
I think that the raters at IGN don't have a IDEA of how good sonic games are.
For example, they said that Sonic Unleashed was too a very bad game, but myself and THOUSANDS of other Sonic fans and gamers loved the game! So who decides IGN or us? I think that we should let us stop buying and playing sonic games ONLY because IGN says they are crap, which they aren't!
Sonic forever!
I totally agree with you. I feel the game doesn't really offer any new technology that I like.
:'(
Quote from: jerseyboy261 on March 27, 2009, 08:12:09 AM
I totally agree with you. I feel the game doesn't really offer any new technology that I like.
:'(
how does the game offer technology? -_- good graphics+nice story+sonic,Gawain,lancelot,percival playable+epic music+wonderful fanart section= SUPERSPECIALEPICAWESOME game
Quote from: jerseyboy261 on March 27, 2009, 08:12:09 AM
I totally agree with you. I feel the game doesn't really offer any new technology that I like.
:'(
How about this? Sonic and the Black Knight Character Models!
(Remember, this game is on the Nintendo Wii)
http://www.youtube.com/v/hJuTm18cWcU&hl=en&fs=1 (http://www.youtube.com/v/hJuTm18cWcU&hl=en&fs=1)
I'm pretty sure that it gives us this new tech...
It shows that the Wii is capable of PS3/Xbox360 Graphics!!
Quote from: Kristomaster on March 27, 2009, 07:44:04 AM
I think that the raters at IGN don't have a IDEA of how good sonic games are.
For example, they said that Sonic Unleashed was too a very bad game, but myself and THOUSANDS of other Sonic fans and gamers loved the game! So who decides IGN or us? I think that we should let us stop buying and playing sonic games ONLY because IGN says they are crap, which they aren't!
Sonic forever!
It's basically because they're judging the game on it's gimmicks, instead of it's real gameplay. They thought that Unleashed sucked, because of Sonic becoming a Were-Hog, but, both gameplay of day and night worked fairly well. They also trashed SATBK because of the idea of Sonic wielding a sword. But there were some things (and probably a little fanservice) that made the game pretty good.
...That, or they just plain suck at playing Sonic games nowadays.
Post Merge: July 30, 2009, 01:25:47 PM
Quote from: SonicFan47 on March 05, 2009, 03:53:39 PM
I don't think that it is...There we go. All better.
Honestly, they talk about it having a crappy replay value, but what they don't realize is that in order to have an opinion of replay value,
YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY REPLAY THE GAME!
Personally, I think it's more of like this (sorry for the double post)
Quote from: Windlessusher on March 05, 2009, 03:39:22 PM
So you mean they
1.ran to the store and bought/rented it
2.Got back inside an abandoned apartment
3.Played and beat it 10%
4.type out that half assed review
all in 12 hours?
But, basically yeah. true with all of these quotes... sort of...
lol, IGN would think i'm crazy! :D
To be honest I loved all the non-2D platform Sonic games. :D
COMMENCE THE FLAMMING! :D
I've always wondered why most big gaming reviewers (like G4 and IGN) harshly review sonic games, but mario, even if it's bad, can get a 5 or 6/10 for a crappy game while sonic games that eem moderately decent, like black knight, that fans could give a 6, are given 3's (or on g4 a 1.5)
It makes me pissed off >:(
Quote from: silvershadow20 on March 04, 2009, 09:57:12 AM
this review is nonsense the review was probaly made by monkeys (though i haven't played the game yet).
Lol, THEY probably didn't even play the game yet. They probably went you YouTube and watched some crappy gameplay videos and went from there.
Quote from: SlashXVI on August 19, 2009, 04:47:01 AM
Lol, THEY probably didn't even play the game yet. They probably went you YouTube and watched some crappy gameplay videos and went from there.
That's a bit of a bump, slash.