Sonic and the Black Knight Review

Surprised to see this game up in the spotlight?  Well, that’s because this game was suggested to be reviewed here by Thousandfootwii-mote of the forums.  Want a certain older (Or a soon-to-be released game) to be reviewed here?  Well, make a post in the thread, and suggest it!

Oh, and I also want to wish every one a Happy Independence Day!  Hope your celebrations are exciting, don’t get in trouble by the law, and be sure to play smart and safe with the big ’splosions.  Anyway, time for the show!

~Quinten Vaughan

Sonic’s been running on a rocky road lately, tripping on rocks symbolizing his games in the process. Could the Black Knight be the smooth pavement fans have been asking for? No. Not at all. This game does nothing to help the hedgehog’s reputation in games. This game places Sonic, apparently eating two hot dogs (Yeah.), into a storybook land; ‘Sword in the Stone’ style. You run into this fierce knight, who seems like he’s several feet tall. You try to defeat him, but get pulled away by Merlina, an ally on your quest. This is the start of SatBK.

The gameplay is horrible. You run through levels, Sonic and the Secret style. But now, you have a sword. Yeah; of all things, a sword. This slows down gameplay tremendously. I’m serious, too; you swing that sword, and you lose speed. Good thing there are enemies on these levels! What was SEGA thinking? Oh, and the final boss is impossible to beat; literally, you have to swing your Wii Remote at the EXACT time it’s needed; you could spend hours trying, but not get it. I quit after 30 minutes of trying. I heard there’s a whole other adventure after the credits, where you get to play as other characters in the Sonic universe.

How does the game look? Better than average; at the beginning, and after the credits (I watched the rest of the game on Youtube.), there are beautiful, CGI cutscenes, that are just unbelievable. Sadly though, these are rarely seen, and the cutscenes are usually painted as though they were in a storybook. Nice effect, but not for me. The actual game looks pretty cool too; not the best, but average. There isn’t anything special about the way this game looks.

The game’s music is average too; they try to make Sonic more…  Skater-like? Just really hip and current. They did a good job of capturing that, but was it really needed? I mean, he’s in Medieval times. But, getting back to the music, they match the music to fast-paced rock music, and I’m not sure if I liked it; it doesn’t match the setting most of the time.

This game is nothing special. You could rent it or borrow it from a friend, and get a short day of Sonic fun, but be expecting of the challenge of defeating the final boss. There is a Wi-fi mode, but all it is is to trade items you could just collect in the Single mode; so, I didn’t bother to try it out. Sonic may be close to finally being dead. SEGA, please bring back old Sonic, please; give us Sonic Rush Wii!

Score:
Gameplay: 6.5
Controls: 5
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7.5
Replay Value: 7.5
Average Score: 7