| Games - Console Gaming |
Time and time again, SEGA pulls some new ploy out their asses to rejuvenate Sonic and his buddies. Whoever’s sphincter this latest idea came out of must be in pain as Sonic has been bequeathed with a metal glove and sword this time around. Yeah, that just had to have stung. Wielding the indignant talking blade, Caliburn, Sonic must beat three of the Knights of the Round Table in order to stop the evil King Arthur. With a few odd plot twists, missing segments of usual gameplay, ample amounts of waggle, and a rather short play time, Sonic and the Black Knight is definitely not the knight in shining armor the series needs.
In the middle of a pleasant chilidog break, Sonic is magically pulled into the realm of King Arthur by a young sorcerer named Merlina. After a brief struggle with one wicked looking ruler, Merlina fills him in on the situation; the king has the Scabbard of Immortality and has (obviously) gone bad. With legendary sword in tow, Sonic must face off against a few lackeys from the Knights of the Round Table and strike down the once peaceful tyrant.
Once the deed is done, however, another foe claims the scabbard and attempts to take their plans at power to the next level. Sonic and the three knights (who are Knuckles, Shadow, and Blaze) then team up to stop the new villain. Eventually, and predictably, Sonic has go all super sayan on their asses to save the day. The kingdom then is put back in its place, peace is restored, and Sonic is pulled out of the book, back into the all but caring arms of Amy Rose.
What seems odd to me is the plot twists after defeating Arthur. The new enemy’s plan is to make an eternal kingdom and Sonic is against it. Sonic doesn’t think any kingdom should last forever because it doesn’t sound fun? I never expected that out of a video game. To me, it seems to be a bit of an antireligious sentiment. However, this odd response fits in as the rest of the game is a bit off the usual path the Sonic Team blazes.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; Sonic is about speed. Take that out of the picture and all you have left is a hedgehog. Though this game doesn’t take it completely out of the picture, the breakneck twists and turns you’d find in most games of the series is severely toned down here. It’s like Sonic is out jogging this time rather than his usual racing rate. As he’s lugging around a blunt sword (both physically and verbally), it’s not exactly a shocker to hear but the loss of velocity is coupled with another problem; Sonic’s patented acrobatics don’t come into play half as much as they should.
You see, there are these things called bells and whistles. They don’t add anything of significance to a deal; they’re just there to “ooh” and “ahh” over. The same applies here. A massive loop in the middle of the stage doesn’t do much to advance the story or gameplay but it gives the player something to be excited about. Here you might run into one of these obstacles once or twice the entire route of stage. In previous outings, you’d be likely to see more action in the first fourth of the map as you do in all of Black Knight.
If you plan to rent the game, don’t expect to know what in the heck you’re doing either. One of the biggest upsets I found is that they failed to include a button layout and move list anywhere. That might sound petty to ask for but when you’re fighting a boss who’s pulling off special moves you have no idea how to reciprocate, you may tend to agree. Since I rented the game and have no physical instruction manual, I can’t look back to reference that. All I know is the bosses were laying the smack down on me with some crazy moves in the sword fighting sections and I only beat the game with a massive amount of remote waggling and a bit of luck.
The lack of info’s also a bummer throughout the rest of the game. Rolling through adventure mode, you’ll inevitably pull off a few special moves unintentionally. Sonic can glide through droves of enemies if you know what you’re doing. If I knew exactly how to swing to pull off specials, I’m sure speeding through the levels would have gone by one heck of a lot faster.
Missing from most of the game is the ability to forge new items as well. Ingredients for new weapons are found at the end of each level and you’re instructed to identify them with the points you earn during the stage. However, there isn’t a use for most of them up to the point where Sonic takes down King Arthur, which is basically the entire game minus a few stages and the final battle. After that, you will be able to use the stash of goodies to forge new weapons for the three Knights of the Round Table. There is quite a selection for each knight but as I couldn’t figure out the controls the entire time I was playing, I found no difference between them.
Though most these qualms feel like a couple of pebbles in Sonic’s shoes, Black Knight isn’t a complete loss. The game is definitely not unplayable by any means. It may be a bit slower, a bit less action packed, and a bit… well, less of everything but that doesn’t mean it’s a total failure. I know the game would play a lot faster if I knew the correct methods of swinging. I’ve been able to pull off a few chain attacks but I just can’t figure out the right sequence you need to do. Plus, the game does look and sound pretty good. It has complete voice acting on all characters and the storybook cutscenes, though played out as they may be, are done well and are fairly humorous to watch.
Also on board to look forward to are a couple multiplayer modes. Trap Battle, Sudden Death, and Battle 100 modes are a few of the offerings this section of the game brings. You can play as 12 characters, including two versions of Shadow, Sonic, Knuckles, and Blaze as well as Tails, Amy Rose, Jet, and Silver. In each mode, you’ll face simple tasks such as collecting the most coins, having the most health before the match ends, etc. The mode may be a bit sluggish and hard to execute special moves (especially if you’re in the same boat as I am) but it does offer a nice bit of replay value.
All in all, Sonic and the Black Knight is about as mediocre as you can get. What usually defines a Sonic game is all but represented here. The slower pace and absence of unique obstacles that usually go hand in hand with the series brings the fun to a halt in more ways than one and the extremely short play time is definitely a drawback. However, the game still retains some amount of fun with the quirky dialect, fun multiplayer modes, and mildly entertaining gameplay. I still believe it would have been a much better experience if the controls were properly explained. Sonic and the Black Knight just fails to thrill and becomes yet another notch in SEGA’s lengthy “failed Sonic ideas” belt.
Graphics – 80/100 – The game certainly doesn’t look shabby. Environments looks great, special effects are done well, and the cutscenes are pretty good.
Audio – 80/100 – Complete voice work in-game and in the cutscenes plus pretty groovy theme music all around. I definitely like the Blacksmith theme more than anything myself.
Gameplay – 30/100 – Everything that is Sonic Is pretty much gone save the character list. Lacking speed, lacking fun obstacles, and lacking substance yet it’s amply supplied with waggle mechanics that probably would work far better if they would’ve included a move list.
Plot – 55/100 – It almost seemed like they couldn’t decide which route to take in the story. Sonic beats King Arthur, then another foe takes the place of King Arthur, then Sonic becomes King Arthur. Plus the whole antireligious sentiment Sonic has in the midst of it all.
Fan Factor – 50/100 – After stripping all that is Sonic away from the game, they add a bunch of related tidbits to help ease the pain. The multiplayer modes definitely house the most fan service of the entire game with its character list.
Lasting Appeal – 60/100 – The main game can be completed in under 10 hours but the multiplayer modes do shock a little replay value into the system. Plus if you’re a completionist, there are a bunch of items to find and weapons to build.
Overall – 50/100 – The game may not be broken, but it doesn’t exactly leave a good impression. Diehard fans should avoid this but I’d suggest this for children who are just getting into more advanced gaming. I think Sonic should forget the Black Knight and go back to the White Drawing Board.
