3RM @ NYCC 2012: Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed

Sonic and Aaron Webber Commentary

Danica Patrick and Dragons

Alex:

Sumo Digital and Sega have been working well together for the last few years to bring us games starring a multitude of Sega characters, and this year, the two are releasing their second racing game starring Sonic and a collection of other Sega favorites: Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed.  While Sega itself did not have a booth at this year’s New York Comic Con, two demo units of the racer were at the Archie Comic booth, and we even got Associate Brand Manager Aaron Webber to chat with us about the game.  After my brief hands-on and some examination of the demos there, I can see the potential this racer has at the starting line.

Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed is the sequel to 2010’s Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, but the game adds a very significant twist to the gameplay this time around.  Initially, the game plays similar to that of its predecessor; players choose Sonic and Sega characters to race in vehicles along tracks designed from the worlds of Sega’s lore.  However, at particular moments in the race, the vehicles can transform from cars to boats or planes to accommodate changes in the track.  These other vehicle forms control very differently from the original form; whereas boats are affected by the flow of water physics, the planes add aerodynamic elements into the game.  The vehicle changes help break up what might otherwise be a simple course, and the changing track allows players to experience more of the environments around them.

Transformed appears to take content from its previous game while adding in a collection of characters expected and unexpected.  Returning are a number of characters from the original, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, AiAi, and Beat, but Sumo Digital is adding in new Sega favorites such as NiGHTS, Gilius Thunderhead, and Vyse.  The odder additions to this game are Ralph from the upcoming Disney movie Wreck-it Ralph and Danica Patrick, a JR Motorsports NASCAR Nationwide Series racer who will be driving in a Sega-sponsored vehicle in future NASCAR races.  I will admit, it was very odd seeing someone play through Panzer Dragoon’s stage with Danica, but at the same time, the gameplay does not get pushed aside simply because she was included in the game.  I was more concerned about how many reused environments we might see in the final release.  Sumo seems to be focusing a lot on the Sonic Heroes motif for Sonic’s world, and from the looks of it, we might be losing certain characters from the roster who were more niche, including Opa-Opa and Alex Kidd (but maybe I’m biased toward the latter).  We still do not know the final roster of courses or characters, so I might be wrong, but it is a concern to have now, regardless.

I got to play as Sonic in his franchise’s stage, and on the PlayStation 3, the game looks as good as ever.  I had only played parts of the first game's Xbox 360 demo before, and even then, I saw issues with the game’s framerate.  In this playthrough, however, I could see a definite improvement in the framerate, which remained mostly consistent throughout the playthrough.  The shading and color were very crisp in this game, as well.  The Xbox 360 demo showed a little weakness when it came to larger environment changes, but I imagine it will have been optimized in time for release.

I found Transformed to control fairly well, even if I made a few mistakes here and there at the beginning.  In the air, the car slowed down a bit too much in my eyes, but on the ground, the car turned and moved well around curves and through loop-de-loops.  On the water, I could feel the controls shift and really emphasize the water below me, and coupled with a giant octopus attacking me and a multitude of water mines throughout the final stretch, it felt a lot more action-packed than I expected when the race began.  As for weapons, there are the usual power-ups one can use to attack other racers such as snowballs or a tornado to flip them around, but there are also special All-Star moves which can be used once racers collect enough coins and do enough tricks in the race.  I did not get to use an All-Star move, but I got to use a few weapons and boosts to stay with the pack.  Even though I ended up in third, the experience was a fun one, and I wish I got to play it again during my time there.

Alas, only the PS3 and 360 versions were playable at the event, but the Wii U version is promising to have unique content to it, using the Wii U GamePad for asymmetric gameplay modes as well as five-player offline multiplayer.  I was unable to get any further details from Aaron about these modes, but hopefully more information will arise before it releases.

I found my experience with Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed to be quite good, and my concerns and nitpicking aside, I walked away more interested in the game than when I approached it.  Transformed should be releasing November 18^th for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U, and the handheld editions of the game will release sometime in December, as far as we know.

Oh, and Ristar is the flagman.  So, that’s cool.

3RM @ NYCC 2012: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

Alex:

I will admit, I was quite curious when I first heard about PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.  I had been wondering if another of the big three companies could bring a collection of mascots together and somehow merge them cohesively into a single product, whether as a fighter or otherwise.  Having played some of the game at New York Comic Con, I have to say it does a good job of making a competent fighter, with a couple concerns here and there.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a mascot fighting game in which up to four characters known to the PlayStation brand fight each other in order to be the best mascot around.  These characters range from the heroes on the original PlayStation (Parappa the Rapper and Sir Daniel Fortesque) to the newest characters on PlayStation 3 (Cole and Nathan Drake).  A multitude of third party characters are also in the roster, including Raiden from the Metal Gear Solid franchise and the new Dante from DmC: Devil May Cry.  Those looking to see Kratos and Nariko finally get into an all-out brawl will get their wish with this game.  The playable characters are not the only ones fighting for supremacy, too; the environments usually feature two worlds blurring together in the most cataclysmic ways.  Who wants to see Hades’ underworld lair become colorful and attacked by Patapon warriors?  I know you do.

What makes Battle Royale so different compared to other fighters is how points are calculated in-game.  No player has a hit-point bar, but instead, each character has a power meter which fills as the he or she lands attacks and collects items on-screen.  When the meter is filled up, the All-Star can use a special attack, and anyone who is hit with said attack will be defeated, earning the character a point per opponent felled.  Those who want to get points quickly can use level 1 special attacks, but as the power level rises, the attacks become much more destructive to ensure more points in the end!  My concern with this score system lies with balance of the special attacks, but I suspect the guys at SuperBot will be able to wipe this away when the final game arrives.

In my playtime, I got to try out Sir Daniel and Parappa, and both felt fairly different.  Sir Daniel’s sword attacks and alternative weaponry felt slower compared to the more active Parappa's punches and kicks.  At times, it felt like the attacks were a little slow, making landing them a little less effective, but when I got a few good hits in, the opponent was definitely feeling it!  Furthermore, fighting characters whose special attacks were at-the-ready made me a bit paranoid; what a worse way to go than have someone use a special move just as you are about to make a move on them.  Hitting characters with the special attacks themselves required a bit of timing and precision, too, because if you are hit mid-attack, you lose the ability to use it again until you fill the power meter once more.  Needless to say, halfway through the match, strategies have to change from straight brawling to tactical fighting.  All the while, the background shifts and occasionally attacks the stage, and even with only a handful of items, there is quite a bit of activity to be had.

There were a couple issues I had in-game that might go away with future playthroughs.  I was too used to pressing up to jump that on more than one occasion, I ended up punched in the face as a result.  Also, using items did not really have much impact in a match as I expected, and the button placement for using said item seemed oddly placed.  Then again, with three face buttons dedicated to various attack styles, I can see how it ended up on a shoulder button.  Also, I feel that the presentation of the game is a little too simple for a game featuring everyone from the PlayStation world in it.  Perhaps when I see the final release I will shake that off, but right now it feels a little patched together for one reason or another.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale comes out this November, and I look forward to having my rear-end handed back to me by Kratos again and again.

---

Tony:

Being the first massive crossover fighter using PlayStation franchises, I knew I had to try out PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale for myself at Sony’s New York Comic Con booth. Playable for both the PlayStation Vita and the PlayStation 3, I choose to play multiplayer on the PS3 version. For my hands-on with the title, I chose Uncharted’s main man, Nathan Drake.

The game has a number of similarities to Super Smash Brothers. Besides the crossover of characters, All-Stars is also a 2D fighter where up to four players battle each other using special moves, items, and the environments themselves. However, All-stars also changes up the formula resulting in some major gameplay changes. The biggest change being that instead of getting points by knocking the opponents off the stage, players get points by hitting other players with special moves, which were acquired by doing damage in combat. These special moves come in three different power levels. While a level 1 special move might only strike right in front of the player, a level 3 special might instantly kill everyone on the screen, although it takes a lot longer to reach that level. Since it takes time to fill the power bar, players must decide whether it is better to use more low-level powers or save up to reach more devastating attacks higher up. Each of these moves varies from character to character; for example, Drake’s level 2 special had me push over a large column, which defeated anyone crushed beneath it while Parappa’s level 2 had him riding on a skateboard along the stage. This new game mechanic forces players to rethink their battle strategies as you need to battle in order to increases your specials while avoiding other people’s specials. It definitely changed my battle strategy.

Besides the special moves, there are also the normal moves needed to increase one’s power level. Having three buttons and four joystick directions, each character has an abundance of moves that reference their respective titles. Some of Drake’s moves were rather basic like throwing a grenade or shooting a handgun. However, there were also more unique moves such as Drake falling through ruin floors and having it collapse on the people below or going across a zip-line, shooting an automatic weapon along the way. The multitude of moves added variety and creativity in battle, but it also meant it was more difficult to learn the new move sets. Also, depending on the move or character, sometimes the moves seemed to lag or lacked the umpf one would expect from the attacks. Drake’s punch seemed to hold back a moment before actually hitting the other players. This might be because of character animations or it might be a way to create balance between the fast, weaker characters and the slow, strong characters. Since I only got points for specials, in the heat of battle it was difficult to tell if I was even making a dent against my opponents. This is something that more playtime might overcome.

The stage I battled on was LittleBigPlanet’s Dreamscape stage which started out empty and flat but quickly added platforms, trees, and other elements together, making the battle much more interesting. One unique feature the stages of Battle Royale have is the mix-up mechanic in which a stage is infiltrated by another franchise's characters or world. Once the LBP stage was filled, the announcer from the Buzz! series appeared in the background and asked us a question. We then had to stand in the right place on the battlefield corresponding with the correct answer, and although I got the right answer, I could not figure out what my prize was. This mixing of franchises has me intrigued to see what other mix-ups happen on the other stages.

Everything in the game runs smoothly and the animations are handled nicely as well. The only thing that stands out is how separated the characters and stages feel. Since PlayStation franchises range from fun and colorful to dark and dreary, placing them all together creates a sense of disconnect between them, but that might be what they wanted to evoke, in the end.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale has obvious similarities to Smash Brothers, but with a completely new roster of characters, moves, and levels along with a completely different goal to victory, it comes out acting like a different title entirely, as it should. The mixed-up stages and multitude of special moves should allow for All-Stars to create a unique experience for PlayStation fans everywhere. The only issues are that some moves feel slower than they should and it is hard to tell if you are doing anything in combat when the only thing that matters was using your special moves. A unique premise, I would like to see how it turns out when it comes out on November 20, 2012.

3RM @ NYCC 2012: Soul Sacrifice

Alex:

Not too long after the PlayStation Vita launched around the world, Sony held a special event in which it formally announced upcoming projects from a variety of sources.  One of them would be headed by the lead producer of Mega Man, Onimusha, and other games at Capcom before his recent departure: Keiji Inafune.  That game, Soul Sacrifice, has remained one of the biggest exclusive projects on the system, and now that I had time to play some of it at Sony’s New York Comic Con booth, I can see why many are watching and waiting for its release.

Soul Sacrifice follows the life of a young slave whose master, a powerful sorcerer, has locked him away, preparing him for a sacrifice.  While imprisoned, the slave encounters a demonic being in the form of a book, allowing the slave to read through the many fights between the sorcerer and a multitude of mutated beasts.  All the while, the slave enters the book, gaining the powers and experience from those fights as he reads onward.  It is not long before he and the player both realize that these monsters used to be humans themselves, twisted and distorted by their inner desires and the magic they encountered.  In the end, the slave must decide whether to free their souls from their curses or sacrifice them for his own gain to eventually face the sorcerer himself…but at what cost?

Soul Sacrifice is an action adventure title in which the player, along with any helper characters, is tasked to complete missions and face-off against giant monstrosities, ranging from a grotesque Harpy to a massive golem of flesh.  In my playtime with the game, I was sent out to a desolate city to end the life of a Cerberus knight of sorts; originally this knight and his two hounds fought to protect his land but shifted to this form in order to protect the land from anyone, friend or foe.  Before I could encounter the target, however, I needed to venture through the environment to find him, and a multitude of other beings emerged to fight me in the meantime.  These smaller monsters can be quite helpful in their own right; upon defeating them, you can choose to free their souls for health or sacrifice them for attack boosts.  What a way to start the adventure, to have an appetizer of lesser souls before feasting on the main course!

Some might say the “hunt down one giant beast” gameplay is a bit similar to Monster Hunter, and I would agree, save for a few immediate differences.  Rather than select a weapon class, an armor set, and a large stock of items, Soul Sacrifice sets up players with particular spells, and as more spells are used, the sorcerer mutates and grows stronger.  When the demo started, an attendant assigned six spells for me to use in-game; knowing what these spells actually did was not entirely possible, as the demo was entirely in Japanese.  It would take some guess-and-checking to figure out that one set of three spells dedicated themselves to offensive attacks and the other set was for self-modification.  One spell turned my arm into an armored ice fist, with which I could not only punch but also use to shoot ice gusts toward my enemies.  Another spell in particular spawned a monstrous plant being to fight alongside me, but I was not even aware it was my monster and proceeded to attack it in the process.  I will make sure not to do that again.  When in need of health or other attribute boosts, I was able to swap to the other set of three spells, healing myself or speeding up my attacks where possible.

My short experience before the three-headed knight had helped me out, but certainly not enough to survive the fight.  Soul Sacrifice provides players with the ability to lock-on enemies and move the camera easily with the right thumbstick, something I found very useful in the state of frenzied battle.  Dodging attacks seemed harder than anticipated, and being the only one fighting the monster at the time, it was easy to be beaten into submission hastily.  As in all Monster Hunter-esque games, healing takes valuable time, and before long, the monster would be atop anyone healing not behind cover.  This brought about another difference with Monster Hunter: rather than fail you on a time limit, Soul Sacrifice fails you the moment you fall in battle.

Soul Sacrifice is grotesque but beautiful, and it looks very smooth on the Vita’s screen.  I did not see any unnecessary need to use the Vita’s extra features, although I might be a bit early to say that.  Furthermore, the game does offer up to four players to cooperate in these missions, although the group needs to agree on whether to sacrifice the soul or free it at the end.  Keiji Inafune has said this adds another gameplay element into the mix, but I am unaware as to what that element is at the moment.

From my short experience, I found it easy to jump into and hard to master, and the multitude of spells and monsters should make this game far from boring in the long-run.  I just hope that the next time I see it in my hands I can understand what spells I am actually using!

Soul Sacrifice releases for PlayStation Vita early next year in Japan, and hopefully it will see worldwide release by the end of 2013.

3RM @ NYCC 2012: Assassin's Creed III: Liberation

Tony:

In Sony’s booth at New York Comic Con 2012, I had a short hands-on with the PlayStation Vita’s exclusive Assassin's Creed title, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. Even though I only had a short time with it, I noticed some good signs and some bad signs of how the game will play in its final form.

The demo started with this game’s assassin, Aveline de Grandpré, and a guide canoeing through a dense swamp.  What should have been a simple task of rowing behind the guide was made complicated and frustrating with the use of the rear touch pad. In order to speed up the canoe, I had to swipe my finger along the rear track pad while moving with the joystick. While I could use a button to move the canoe forward, it did not move very fast. Having to swipe my finger continuously eventually wore on me, especially since it took too long with little conflict. As soon as both characters hit land and was given a briefing of the next mission, a massive alligator appeared in front of me without any warning. Within seconds, the large reptile attacked me, and I encountered a quick-time-event to dodge its jaws. After messing up once, I finally killed the beast. And then I stole its eggs. That’s right: in Assassin's Creed III: Liberation you get to assassinate a large alligator and steal its eggs.

Once I was done pillaging the eggs, red markers appeared all over the play area. Each of these markers represented a different thug for me to assassinate. Holding the right trigger, I raced toward the encampment, leaping from moss-covered tree branch to tree branch. Leaping around was effortless and seamless in a way that would make the series proud. After some tree acrobatics, I eventually snuck behind one thug high up in the encampment. Despite sneaking behind him, I was not given a prompt to kill him, so I ended up trying to push him off the ledge. This failed to work, and he slowly turned to face me. The thug did not seem all too threatening as he moved around, giving me ample time to strike him down. Hopefully not all of the game’s AI acts like this. Finally, I moved myself through the trees over to the masts of a broken ship. Seeing another thug on-board I decided to move into position to dive him, only for Aveline to dive into the water instead, where I stopped playing.

The graphics looked great as would be expected on the PS Vita. The characters closely resembled console counterparts, and the environment looked murky and full of plant life. While the game’s animation looked smooth and natural, the game suffered from an inconsistent poor frame rate, choking up with any detailed character movements. This is a shame since the game has great graphics that would have benefited with smoother animations. While I did not encounter a group of thugs together, I am worried that the frame rate issue would have made any large encounter drag the gameplay down.

The game looks like a proper Assassin's Creed title and is filled with the advanced climbing system that fits its newest entries. However, the use of the rear track pad felt out of place, and the frame rate issue may hurt one’s experience with the game overall. Liberation has a high bar to reach if it intends to stand next to other Assassin's Creed titles, especially with III coming out so close to it, but we will have to see if it can.

Third Rate Game Play: Wipeout 2048

Game: Wipeout 2048 System: PS Vita Developer: Studio Liverpool (Wipeout Series) Publisher: Sony Player: Alex Experience: Played Demo

Check out the article after the jump!