Sonic Adventure and various stuff

So yesterday I finished Sonic Adventure (in regards to the main storyline). I still have to get like 70 more emblems to actually complete it. The game is still fun but there are definitely some problems. The controls and camera are not so good at points but it's not like this is a new thing, it was that way on the Dreamcast as well. The portions of the game where you play as Sonic are definitely the best part of the game. The levels are fast and fun as Sonic, no BS collection levels or moving super slow. I still think the first level of the game is super fun even after seeing / playing it hundreds of times. I worked at a game shop for years and we had a Japanese Dreamcast in the shop before it came out in the US. Sonic Adventure was on display for at least 6 months if not longer, during that time I think I heard Sonic Adventure (in Japanese) in my sleep.

In this game you can play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and E-102 Gamma. So the game is really good when playing as Sonic and Tails. The Tails levels are basically just racing a CPU controlled character. So a good majority of Tails levels are the same as Sonic levels which is not a bad thing. Knuckles levels are basically scavenger hunt levels where you find pieces of the Master emerald. The levels for Knuckles are open and you have a radar that shows you if you are getting close to the pieces. Most of the time this is just kinda clunky and not very fun in my opinion.

I think Amy Rose is my least favorite of them all though. She moves so very slow and her levels are just running from a robot named Zero. They aren't fun just because Amy moves so damn slow. I am under the impression when you aren't going fast in a Sonic game that something is wrong and I don't think that I am wrong being under that impression. Big the Cat levels are basically a fishing game which is not so great but there is a good fishing boss battle which is kinda neat. When playing as E-102 Gamma it is kinda like a shooter while running at a moderate speed. I actually enjoy these levels fairly well, they move at a decent speed and you get to shoot stuff. More after the break about Sonic Adventure and more!

The part of the game that I don't like so much is the Hub worlds that they introduced. They are slow paced and you are just finding the next level or a upgrade for a character. I just don't like that I have to search for the next level or boss fight because sometimes things aren't easy to find. All I want to do is play the game and I have to sift through BS to do that. There is also a Chao mini game where you raise these little creatures. You can race them and give them animals that will change the way they look. I played it a bit on the Dreamcast but on the 360 I haven't really messed with it. I just feels wrong without the VMU allowing you to take the Chao with you on the go. As mentioned above the camera and controls aren't very good at times. The camera like to go into the walls at points and sometimes the controls are really touchy. Like you will be running along and lightly tap to the right on the analog stick and then the character will go hard right into the wall which sucks when you are going really fast. Despite these problems I actually really enjoy the game but that may be due to retro goggles. Speaking of Sonic, I saw this video the other day on Destructoid. I really wish they would just remake the whole game like this. It looks so awesome!



I got a chance to play a small amount of Dead Rising 2 on Sunday and that was very cool. Dead Rising was a favorite game of mine and I played the crap out of it. Dead Rising 2 is similar but there is no picture taking which kinda bummed me out at first but it still feels right without it. There are some funky things about the game but they aren't any big deal. Like you can make some Wolverine type claws out of boxing gloves and a bowie knife. The funky thing about it is that the 1 bowie knife turns into 6 of them somehow but I'm not gonna try to think about it too much. You can dress the main character in a assortment of silly outfits just like the first game. I had the main character who is kinda a burly guy in Daisy Duke style clothes, which is wrong on so many different levels. I would like to get this game at some point but I have no money for it at the moment so no go on Dead Rising 2 for me right now. So I'll talk more about it when I play it again.

On other news I found out today that I got accepted to a apartment which is a good thing. This means that I will have somewhere to live! But now I have to get the internet moved over and start up power and all that crap. Life never seems to be easy but if it was always easy then I guess it would get boring... or something like that. Well, that's all that's really going on with my life for now.