Preview: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
The creators of Bioshock are bringing their own, dark twist to the Sonic series. We see for ourselves how things are turning out.
With Bioware at the healm, Sonic is getting a darker presence.
Hands-on:
When a series in dire need of a comeback meets a can't miss developer, expectations are bound to be sky-high. We got to try out the beginning of the Bioware-helmed RPG featuring the once-glorious gaming icon Sonic the Hedgehog, and while it's not quite a portable Mass Effect, it is an interesting new direction for the stale speedster.
It's almost immediately noticeable that there's a capable hand writing Sonic's latest saga. While the blue bomber's last few platformers featured forgettable storylines, what little we saw of Sonic Chronicle's narrative was enjoyable. The opening featured Sonic's return to his hometown, which was under attack by a mysterious robot race. Just because the team behind Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect is working on the title, don't expect mature themes or lesbian alien sex. Sonic's story is purely E-rated.
That said, the concerned chatter between Sonic and Tails was more interesting than everything the two have had to say to each other in their 3D adventures. The game even features an interesting comedic element in giving Sonic-stalker Amy a boyfriend which she makes a point to mention to Sonic while the city is under siege. As you'd expect from Bioware, the story allows for branching conversations depending on how nice or naughty you want Sonic to act.
Dialouge is more interesting than other Sonic games and include branching conversations.
As opposed to Bioware's previous work, which featured battles that blurred the line between RPG and action, Sonic Chronicles takes a more traditional RPG approach to battles. Like Chrono Trigger, the enemies are visible within the environment, and most battles begin only if Sonic touches them, with the exception of a few scripted fights. The battles are standard fare, with Sonic's speed allowing him to attack more often than most, which was a nice touch.
We also got to attempt a few combined attacks, which allow for some cool-looking combo moves, including one where Amy uses her mallet to knock a speeding Sonic into enemies. Due to the earliness of the demo within the game, we didn't get to try a wide variety of attacks, nor did we get to encounter some of series' stalwarts outside of Sonic, Tails, and Amy, but we were told that the cast of characters will be large (including Knuckles and Big the Cat). We can only assume that the later-learned attacks will be amazing-looking. Knowing Bioware, it's a safe assumption.
Battles play out in standard turn-based formations, but the combo attacks are anything but standard.
Sonic Chronicles looks like it could be Sega's answer to the Paper Mario series. It still has some kinks to work out, especially in adapting Sonic's speed to an RPG setting. We had trouble moving him about the environment and avoiding enemies, particularly with the Phantom Hourglass method of "touch where to go" movement. It really didn't feel fast enough for Sonic, but it wasn't slow enough for a traditional RPG. We have confidence an able team like Bioware can pull it all together before release. A mascot's future depends on it.
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