I don’t intentionally look for games that frustrate and confuse me, in fact I work really hard to seek out games that will provide me with some kind of enjoyment, whether simple or complex; I had heard that “Sonic Adventure” for the Dreamcast was one of the rare successful games within the franchise after the move to 3D, so I didn’t expect Mario 64 quality (which I didn’t really find to be that quality, personally – though it was a step in the right direction, a step that Sunshine buffed, and I feel Galaxy perfected) but I did expect a little polish.
A little back story on my gaming style: I don’t really care about graphics if they are not the focus of the game. I believe that the potential of video games exceeds graphics. And I don’t really care that much about tight controls, though if the controls are tight it tends to help with the overall experience. What I do expect is a coherence. I want to know what I’m doing, and be able to figure things out on my own. Essentially, I want a game that is unintentionally confusing and doesn’t force me to wander aimlessly trying to guess the right direction to go. This is one of the major reasons as a child I had a much higher tolerance for *pardon the language* bullshit: I didn’t mind wandering aimlessly because I didn’t have better things to do.
“Sonic Adventure” doesn’t have tight controls, but still managed to be fun… at first. The railed experience allowed me to make forgivable mistakes and constantly bump into walls, and eventually I got pretty confident in my ability to navigate the tracks with ease. The graphics in “Sonic Adventure” are really pretty. I say this thinking primarily of the first stage in the game which takes place along the beach side where I was chased by a killer whale and saw dolphins leaping around me. The problem is with the “Sonic Adventure” overworld which tries to mask the ridiculously short length of each campaign.
For a quick compliment, the form of “Sonic Adventure” is quite nice. It goes through multiple stories that happen at all the same time just with other characters – which sometimes shows (probably unintentional) similarities to “Rashomon.” Then there is a story that is being told in tiny pieces throughout each characters path. To fully grasp the entire story one must play as the characters, which is a really interesting idea. But the story is garbage, even the little hidden one, and it’s as forgettable as a cereal breakfast.
As I stated above the problem with the game is almost solely found in the overworld. It’s confusing, dull, and filled with busy work. I spent a too much time trying to figure out what to do before each mission before I caved and ran to GameFAQs. By the fourth character I had devoted the entirety of my gaming experience to reading step-by-step instructions, even occasionally watching videos of playthroughs to help me out. Upon finishing the Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles levels I wondered why I was even playing – it would be a better waste of time just to watch the videos and not bother frustrating myself in between levels. I quit.
Sonic doesn’t really need an overworld in his games. I’m not sure why the developer thought this was an important addition. The series worked best as a purely linear one, and the less story it has the better it is. All I wanted out of my Sonic game was to run fast and have fun, and that’s hidden in this game. I had to dig through layers of poor design just to get to the good part, then it was over in about ten minutes and I was back to the crap. Then the choice to consistently recycle stages added nothing to what I liked about the game; it just made them feel old and boring. The truth is that “Sonic Adventure” was a shoddy job. There’s too much unneeded padding in the game and it ruins everything that could possibly be good.
Thanks to games like “Canabalt” and “RunMan: Race Around the World” we really don’t need Sonic anymore. He’s a jem from the past, that has lost all its glisten, and it’s not really a shame. Let’s enjoy the old games for what makes them great, and look to something new to replace it.
[...] Chad was up to his usual indie game snobbery with the People’s Games, playing Sunshine and Trundle, as well as indie titles, Guru Meditation and VVVVVV. He was also playing Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes and Sonic Adventure. [...]