Why can't you make an awesome 3D Sonic game? Okay, that's not fair, I did like elements of Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 for the Dreamcast. What elements might those be? The parts where you actually get to play as Sonic (or Shadow)

As a kid growing up I used to love everything about Sega. I thought the Genesis had some really awesome games at the time, and on the top of my list of favorites were, of course the Sonic games. I was never into the whole "console war" aspect of things; I saved the money to buy my own Genesis then Super Nintendo myself. I just like games; it just so happened that many of my childhood favorites ended up being Genesis classics.

So every time I hear about a new Sonic game, I get excited. Im almost always willing to try them out, even after many disappointments. I hold hope that one day, they might get it right. (Im talking the 3D console games here specifically. The 2D "Sonic Advance" games released on GBA for example, were pretty good)

My first question is. Why does Sega insist on not letting me actually play as Sonic in the traditional sense for the majority of the game? I don't give a flying hedgehogs ass about the other characters. I want to play as Sonic and I want to go FAST! Remember all the old Sonic games? Sure you could play as Tails and Knuckles later down the road, but the game play stayed about the same. (Minor differences between characters at best) Plus, lets not forget that they were simply options. You could play any Sonic game from beginning to end, as Sonic in the Genesis age.

From the Dreamcast into Sega's 3rd party era and onwards every time Sonic appeared in the 3rd dimension this would no longer be the case. More then half of Sonic Adventure for Dreamcast was about other characters who played nothing like Sonic. You never got a choice about who you could use, and in the end the "Sonic Adventure" had little to do with Sonic at all. I certainly wouldn't have bought the game if it were called "Lame cat characters awkward fishing mini game". Or "Knuckles dirt digging side quest"

Is it really that tough to just give me a full, gimmick free 3D Sonic game? The reason I bring this up is because ive been trying to play through Sonic Unleashed recently. This time around, you get to play as Sonic the entire time (At least so far) only now more then half the time, you're a "warehog". Meaning, you're still Sonic but the game play is completely different. It becomes some funky beat em up, platforming hybrid. Its not bad, its just repetitive and shallow. Plus, its not what I want to be doing.

I didn't cover all the games or gimmicks here, but I don't need too. The point remains the same. I just want to play, as regular old sonic, blazing a trail through levels at break neck speed! Somehow, even if Sonic Team managed to deliver this, the game would most likely fail on a technical level. Controls, camera issues and bugs are unfortunately a trademark problem for these guys as well. (yay falling through the world!) I plan to finish Sonic Unleashed asap, then ill get more in depth on that game.

I remember being maybe 18 or 19 years old the first time I ever-played Unreal Tournament on the PC. My computer at the time was pretty terrible. I was lucky to get it up and running using the "software rendering" option. Which basically means lowest possible resolution with nothing in the way of bells and whistles. BUT! The frame rate was surprisingly good and stable. It wasn't pretty but that didn't stop me from enjoying, what would become my favorite shooter of the era, endlessly.

Time passes and just like you'd expect from any popular franchise, ports, sequels and spin offs were made. I was a member of Sega Net and actually bought the Dreamcast Keyboard and Mouse peripherals in order to play Unreal Tournament online with that machine. I picked up a copy of Unreal Championship for the original Xbox. Then finally, I got Unreal Tournament 2k4 once I had a decent gaming PC. The point is, I always loved the games and would play them on any PC or Console that offered a version.

Then nothing. I just stopped. Maybe it was a sign of the times. My attention drifted to other interests like my long-standing love of fighting games, MMO's, among other things. As consoles and computers got more powerful, newer and more innovative games took the forefront. Even Epic Games themselves unleashed new modern classics like Gears of War that seemed to trump anything Unreal related in my mind.

Then one day I was looking through my Gamefly queue. It was a little bare so I checked to see what was out there I might be interested in trying. Unreal Tournament 3 for Xbox 360 caught my eye. I didn't expect anything. In truth, I forgot about it until one day it arrived in the mail. I wasn't even all that excited.

It didn't take too long though, for that old familiar feeling to return. KILLING SPREE!!! ULTRA KILL!! MONSTER KILL!!! GODLIKE!!! HEADSHOT! It amazes me that such a simple formula has stood the test of time and is still just as fun as it ever was. The graphics are better, the controls more refined (especially for a console shooter) but it's the same tried and true formula I got hooked on 10 years ago.

I ended up buying it from Gamefly for just over 19 dollars after tax. I cant say enough awesome stuff about Gamefly, but that's a different blog entry. Most people will tell you that nostalgia is cruel. UT3 is proof that sometimes, things really are as much fun as we remember.

Civilization Revolution:
Turned out to be a pretty fun game. I must have sunk in an easy 20-30 hours between sessions. I wanted to try out several countries and try for the specific types of victories. I got a decent little chunk of achievements doing so as well, so there is that.

FINAL VERDICT: If I can find it somewhere cheap one day, ill grab it. Otherwise, im glad I had the experience, but im not really in a big hurry to play it again.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Why does nobody like this game? Sure it takes a bit to get adept at the controls but once you do? Its crazy what you can do in this game. I read complaints about how you couldn't just spam your most powerful abilities to win, really? You mean I have to think and evolve my strategies around the types of enemies im fighting? Blasphemy! Oh well, I enjoyed the game. It wasn't the be all, end all Star Wars game, but it wasn't half bad either. Plus, I really did feel like a total badass Jedi by the end.

FINAL VERDICT: Not in a hurry to buy it. Ive seen both the endings and completed all the achievements I cared to. That said, im not deleting the save file just yet.

Ninja Gaiden 2:
I love this game. The sequel I was hoping for. Everything I loved about the first game just amped up like you'd expect.

FINAL VERDICT: Plan to buy.