As you probably know, the Microsoft Kinect came out recently. And with that, the dashboard has changed. I don't know--the old one was starting to grow on me, but now, I just don't care anymore. Do whatever you want, Microsoft. It's your console, not mine.
And with the Kinect comes the new Sonic "Free" Riders game. Despite the fact that it's a "free" game, you still have to pay $50 for it on release. In theory, it is a "Sega racer," so we have to mention it. Well, to be quite honest, after looking at some preview videos a while back on Giant Bomb and whatnot, the game wasn't looking too good. And now that it's out, Kotaku just rips it.
Kotaku Sonic Free Riders Overview
And here's Jeff Gerstmann playing the game. You could see he was a bit narcissistic...come on, give it a break, it's a sad Sonic game. HERE WE GO! (Warning: Some Profanity):
The game itself doesn't look too bad graphically. As a matter of fact, the environments are damn nice. The gameplay, barring motion controls, is practically the same thing as in Sonic Riders 1 and 2. But the controls are so hard to calibrate they say, that they can't even get through the menu to play the game. Just great. Why is it that Sega had to use Sonic to test out the Kinect anyway? WHY SONIC??
I think this game will be compatible with the regular controller, but really, this game was BUILT around the premise of being a Kinect game. If it can't even get that part right, then that's one-half of the game in the toilet already. A waste of effort, perhaps? UPDATE: This game is not compatible with a standard controller so that sucks.
EDITEDITEDIT: Someone from Kotaku offers a counter-point to the previous review. The controls aren't so bad he says and he tells you something very important:
The tutorial never really spells out that you aren't supposed to crouch unless you're jumping or leaning forward to speed up, but once I figured that out, everything clicked. In the last race I played, I managed to execute a spin jump, dash, ring grab, and another jump before boosting over the finish line, all in rapid succession.
So that clears it up a little, but the game's still up in the air.
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I'm really not gonna lie here. Why is it that people are pushing motion controls past the Wii so hard these days? Look at the Sega CD. Ooh, you get to play the games on a CD. Well, it took the sacrificial lambs that were Sega CD, Phillips CD-i, Atari Jaguar and (to a certain extent) Sega Saturn until CD-based games came around in the form of the Sony Playstation. Like I mean, barring a few good Nintendo Wii titles, motion control is crap. It was crap back during the Power Glove, and only Nintendo has been able to save face in terms of this motion control travesty.
I'm gonna go ahead and say this. Making a game look better or use new technology is the last thing on my mind. I want DAMN GOOD GAMES first and foremost. Like people are more concerned with making their games look good than to make sure that they're actually, you know, FUN. Please, stop it, stop it, STTOOOPPPP IIITTTT!!!!!!!!!! Oh and before you say "Nintendo Wii," well their library's crap so don't bother.
EDITEDITEDIT: Oh yeah, and I was looking around on Giant Bomb some more and here's Jeff playing MotionSports, a horrendous abomination that further reinforces my belief that motion-control games suck.
WARNING: Even more profanity and and an obscene gesture. But it's hilarious, no doubt! "I want to marry this guy." "Rider, meet horse; horse, meet rider." "Smile for the camera! *weird face* "One of my favorite videos from these guys.
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Anyway, also worth mentioning is that Goldeneye Wii is finally out. It's a hit with reviewers, all in the 8.0+ range. Here's GameSpot's review. Anyway, I don't know what to say. These are the same reviewers that got thrills over Split/Second so who knows if the game's really worth it. At least it's something a little less mainstream for you people. I already talked a lot about this game already so it's not like I have anything new to say.
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