This game's been sitting there in my steam library for the better part of 4 years. Sometimes I opened it and played the first level, but it sat mostly untouched. Today I finally sat my ass down and decided to finish it all in one go. I only played Sonic's campaign, and it only took about three or so hours.I'd heard many things about sonic adventure, mostly how it's one of the best 3D sonics with tight, momentum based gameplay and excellent controls. I went in expecting a bit of jank, but a good game nonetheless. There's so much jank. There is no game, it is only jank. I mean, I understand, it was made back in the early 2000s and it REEKS of that atmosphere. The music, the visual style, everything - but damn, it's buggy as all hell. The controls are indeed momentum based, but only slightly. This is mostly due to the fact that it's so hard to maintain speed in this game! As soon as Sonic touches a wall, tries to turn or jumps, all his speed is kaput. This is SO frustrating, especially since the level design constantly flip flops between making excellent use of the character controller, and throwing it out the window. And to even GET to the levels you need to do some kind of fetch quest most of the time, that the game doesn't tell you how to do, or give any pointers at all. I had to pull up **** IGN to get to the next level most of the time. And the camera. Holy ****. I feel like the camera has some kind of vendetta against me. Every god damn time I jumped on a platform or something it snapped to a new position, and most of the time it was so badly framed that I could not even see where I was going. Trying to turn it using the triggers does absolutely jack ****. No, I wish - it makes things even worse. It feels like the camera actively tried to punish me whenever I tried to adjust it, spazzing out and vibrating or just straight up not **** story is pretty cool. Extremely cheesy and simple, but it's a Sonic game. If you don't take it too seriously, it's really fun, especially considering how badly voice acted it is and the amount of times they repeat the same exact lines over and over again. If you're into that kinda stuff, it's cool. Overall, it's not the masterpiece some Sonic fans make it out to be. Not even close.I don't think I'd even consider it a good game. But I can see pieces **** game floating around in it, like the music, the overall ambiance and rare pieces and parts of levels that were actually really good. Like this one part in Ice Cap zone, where you're snowboarding down a mountain as a huge avalanche chases after you. Hell yeah. If it was to ever be remade, I could see it being really good. But in its current state, it's not too good. Oh, and Egg Viper can go to hell.
Genuinely, one of the best games of all time. The music, the level design, the unique take on the Mario formula - this has all the makings of an incredible 3D platformer, with some stunning visuals to boot (especially for the Wii). The boss fights are all unique and fun, there's tons of replayability in the form of comets, and truly the only thing I feel it falls short on is that it could be a bit longer. Super Mario Galaxy holds a special place in my heart.
A more linear take on 3D Mario, managing to stick the landing pretty well. Has its own unique personality, and although it still has that distinct "playing-it-safe early 2010s Nintendo" vibe, still a really fun time nonetheless. Have had a lot of fun so far blasting through the levels, trying to get every green star and stamp on the way through, and the new additions to the movement like rolls and dives make this a really fun Mario to control. I've had a lot of fun!
One of the most solid "boost formula" sonic games, however it's still a boost game. Linear, slightly boring. Classic stages are cool, but classic sonic's physics are kinda wacky. That said - I did thoroughly enjoy my time with this game. I had a lot of fun with the challenge levels, the story was solid and had its funny moments. It's a really fun game! Solid 8/10.
Penny's Big Breakaway is a fast-paced, extremely charming romp through gorgeous worlds that both skillful speedrunners and casual players can enjoy. Although at times janky or glitchy, the game more than makes up for it with tight controls, solid level design, an incredible soundtrack by the legendary Tee Lopes, and an amazing art style reminiscent of a bright neon coloured Sega Saturn game.
