PS3 impressions: Sonic the Hedgehog
by Adams Briscoe 
{ May 11th 2006 at 1:45AM }
There probably aren't a lot of gamers out there who think about the blue hedgehog and don't have fond memories. The long and short of it are simple: he's come a long way from his grassroots on the Sega Genesis, but Sonic has never looked so good as he does on the PlayStation 3.
The thing that makes this so much fun is not just the splendid environments, and it's not just the pretty graphics. Essentially what makes it stand out is the raw momentum that the game employs in beautiful high definition. Thanks to the homing system, Sonic can jump into the air and then instantly bolt at a target from the press of a button.
It will happen in the blink of an eye. If gamers are fast enough, they'll be able to jump into the air, home in on an enemy and unleash their attack. This becomes even more involved as Sonic is bounced back into the air after ramming into the target and given another opportunity to bury another one.
This homing jump also gives him the ability to focus in on environmental elements which allow Sonic to reach distant objects. With the help of his speed, this is how the demo level progressed very quickly (airborne, that is). Judging from the demo, Sonic the Hedgehog for the PlayStation 3 is currently looking very well.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ben Cordes @ May 11th 2006 1:53AM
Video footage, please?
Ritz @ May 11th 2006 2:04AM
Hmm... pretty sure the whole homing feature isn't something brand new to Sonic. In fact, I'm pretty sure its been included with at least one of the Sonic Adventure titles, if missing from Sonic Heroes.
Nice that Sonic finally does get an upgrade from the Dreamcast graphics engine finnaly. Only had to wait a whole generation.
FreQ @ May 11th 2006 2:05AM
Ummmmmmmm.....no.
Wait, is that Gears of War over there....
FreQ @ May 11th 2006 2:09AM
So, where are we with HD a year later? Well, we're in the 1080p era now, but we're not seeing that as a full-on standard by any means. Most of the games on the show floor (both at Sony's booth and at other booths displaying PS3 games) were running at 720p in the current build, although higher resolutions are being targeted for the final game. Here's a rundown of what we have been able to confirm regarding resolutions for PS3 titles:
Gran Turismo HD -- Full 1080p
WarDevil -- 1080p
Madden 07 -- 1080i
Mobile Suit Gundam -- 1080i on show floor
Resistance: Fall of Man -- 720p, aiming for 1080 in either form (an Insomniac designer says that the game can run at 1080 in the current build, but the team is weighing the trade-off in system power consumption at that res ... basically, they can do it, and now it's all up to what's best for the game.)
Warhawk -- 720p on show floor
Heavenly Sword -- 720p on show floor
Eye of Judgment -- 720p
My SingStar -- *TBA
Genji 2 -- 720p
F1 '06 -- 720p, planning for full 60FPS but not necessarily any resolution bump-up
Virtua Tennis 3 -- 720p, planning for 1080i
Sonic the Hedgehog -- 720p
TaiZ @ May 11th 2006 2:14AM
He's had a homing attack since SA1, so other than being able to lock on to environmental elements, it's nothing new.
Sydney @ May 11th 2006 2:38AM
nifty!
Andy @ May 11th 2006 2:44AM
Those graphics look pretty ugly. Another site, Gamesradar, characterized this game as "Current-gen and a half." Lame...
Kamalot @ May 11th 2006 3:03AM
Sonic on the PS3 is filled with Jaggies. They look ugly and are supposed to be gone with this generation of consoles.
I'm going to side with FreQ.
Sony has been PROMISING us 1080p from the PS3. If the only 1080p games we get are PS2-level games, then I won't be alone in feeling gypped.
Sony has created a more expensive Xbox 360 that has a BetaMax player stuffed inside. Gamers get screwed.
snoopaloop @ May 11th 2006 3:11AM
I dont give a shit what this game looks like. I'm sure Sonic on the PS3 looks amazing, but does it play amazing? or more like something you played 6 years ago. I'll pass on this and wait for Sonic wild fire for Wii.
snoopaloop @ May 11th 2006 3:13AM
why the fuck are none of my fucking posts showing up. this is getting very frustrating. I've written several in depth comments only to have none of them posted. what is up with that? What a waste of my fucking time. I dont expect this message to show up..............
player1 @ May 11th 2006 3:18AM
The first shot is from Sonic on the wii. It's easy to see that.
Check out some the HD real time videos and you will see that p3s and 360 Sonic looks amazing.
President of Wang Computers @ May 11th 2006 4:06AM
"Sony has been PROMISING us 1080p from the PS3. If the only 1080p games we get are PS2-level games, then I won't be alone in feeling gypped."
PS3 has not even been released yet & the stuff we have seen so far are just demo's or real-time footage. I suggest u wait until the games are finished & the console is released proper before making stupid comments like that.
Kwipper @ May 11th 2006 4:07AM
The new sonic game is nice and all but I have 2 questions.
1.) When is the camera system going to be fixed.
Ever since Sonic went 3D the camera system has been... horrible. Sega! Please fix the camera
2.) When is the game going to focus on SONIC and not on his friends.
With each new Sonic game it seems that the games were focusing less on Sonic and more of his annoying pals. I want to play as Sonic and only Sonic. Everyone else can just get kidnapped by Robotnik or something! Come on Sega. Is this too much to ask?
theboy @ May 11th 2006 4:39AM
to #11, sonic on wii has no other heroes except for sonic. thank. god.
Miche Ackerman @ May 11th 2006 4:40AM
Um whoever said that the first shot is "Sonic Wilfire" they are wrong. All of those shots are Sonic The Hedgehog PS3. Also the PS3 isn't even up to the task of rotating the camera with the second analog. Its really slow and almost non existent. I believe this is the hardwares fault and not the game. Its pumping out such a high frame rate and resolution it just can't handle it. My screen had to do a quick refresh when I tried to force the camera to spin around sonic. Also the controls are not that good. I am very disappointed at that...sigh.
embassy @ May 11th 2006 5:44AM
how does this look compared to the 360 version?
jay @ May 11th 2006 7:19AM
I don't think people have played 3D Sonics. A summary would be - They're shit. Sonic does not work in 3D, at least in the same extremely playable way the 2D games work.
Spreeguy @ May 11th 2006 7:45AM
Maybe they could use the motion sensitivity of the new controller to rotate the camera? Haven't seen any video of gameplay yet, so just thinking outloud.
SquirrelPhister @ May 11th 2006 7:49AM
11. "2.) When is the game going to focus on SONIC and
not on his friends.
With each new Sonic game it seems that the games were focusing less on Sonic and more of his annoying pals. I want to play as Sonic and only Sonic. Everyone else can just get kidnapped by Robotnik or something! Come on Sega. Is this too much to ask?"
I TOTALLY agree. I'm so sick of the completely uninteresting side characters. One thing though, isn't Dr. Robotnik known as Dr. Eggman now for some retarded reason? I thought it was just a nickname in the Dreamcast version, but he's labeled as 'Dr. Eggman' in the new trailers. Anybody know what the deal is?
Sense @ May 11th 2006 8:55AM
His name in Japan was always Dr. Eggman. They changed it to Robotnik for the American release. Then in the American version of Sonic Adventure they used Eggman as a nickname to ease Americans into the name. His name might still be Robotnik in the American Sonic Next-Gen, but I wouldn't be surprised if everyone just calls him Eggman.
Momus @ May 11th 2006 10:38AM
I was totally psyched for this game, until Sony ruined it for me by making it an expensive waste of money fit for caviar-scarfing bourgeois motherfuckers.
Sony, why do you suck so much? :*(
chuck norris @ May 11th 2006 11:54AM
#4, we are not in 1080p era... I don't know anybody who actually played (games or videos) any 1080p contents.
In US, it will take us like another 2 years before HD (480p or 720p) will be common...
dsub @ May 11th 2006 2:25PM
To momus:
"I was totally psyched for this game, until Sony ruined it for me by making it an expensive waste of money fit for caviar-scarfing bourgeois motherfuckers."
You are aware that "bourgeois" is a term that means "middle-class" aren't you? It doesn't mean upper class at all. Don't want to play it on a expensive console? Then get a 360. The same exact game is coming to 360 as well.
Fel @ May 12th 2006 12:32AM
Hopefully, this sonic game will be better than the rash of sonic games we've recently encounter. Sonic+PS3=Me wetting my pants (happens more often than I'd like it to.)
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Repsode @ May 12th 2006 9:19AM
With regards to the whole eggman/robotnik thing. According to sega, he's both. They worked it that Eggman is an alias, though his real name is Robotnik. even worked that into Japanese canon with the whole Gerald Robotnik grandad thing.
If you prefer Robotnik, keep using it, It's still correct.
Daniel McCormick @ May 15th 2006 2:52AM
Not everyone thinks that 3D Sonics are shit. I am one of them. Sonic Adventure 2 was awesome and quite challenging in parts. I look forward to something as good as SA2!