Wahey! A new Sonic game for the Wii’s been announced…oh wait, cancel the party, throw away the balloons, lower your party streamers, I forgot, there hasn’t been a good Sonic game for the past 5 years.

So, here’s the thing: first we had secret rings, then we had a Werehog and now we have a sword. These are all things that recent Sonic games have contained, in a desperate bid to revive the series and draw in new players.

The question is, why does the Sonic Team constantly feel the need to include something unusual and different in their games? Surely they could attract new players and please old ones by just creating a good, old fashioned, back to the roots, 3D Sonic game. I mean, a Werehog? Really? Where did that even come from? Why a Werehog? It’s, the most random idea possible, and it really doesn’t make much sense in the story driven Sonic series. Yet here we are once again,with another silly, yet slightly more obvious, idea. We’ve had guns, albeit without Sonic wielding them, and now we have a sword, named Calibur, which should let Sonic slice enemies in a gory, blood-filled manner.

Or something like that.

First of all, let’s watch the debut trailer.

Epic.

What did you think? Feel free to let us, and the world, know in the comment box at the end of this post. But don’t comment yet! The article isn’t over!

A poster at NeoGAF has got lots of info on The Black Knight from Nintendo Power, so I thought I’d just run through all the facts, giving my opinion on each one.

Developed by the same people as Sonic and the Secret Rings

Meh and meh. The game wasn’t particularly great, nor was it shockingly bad. I’d imagine we’re going to be nearer the latter category this time.

As Sonic runs along, a simple flick of the Wii remote will execute a basic slash, which is enough to dispatch most low-level grunts.

Or, more simply put it, shake your Wiimote to complete the game.

More advanced swordplay consists of the ability to thrust, parry, and even pull off a buzz-saw maneuver midjump.

See above point.

During out demo, we saw the hedgehog leap from a high precipice, then thrust the blade into a wall to slow his decent, sparks flying impressivly as steel cut through brick

The blade probably wouldn’t cut the wall, thereby meaning the game suffers from inaccurate physics.

Combat is integrated in such a way that most of the time you can slice through any who stand in your path without even slowing down

See, my point below the second fact.

Sonic is controlled with the Control Stick.

Thank you, something good about the game! Finally, I don’t have to tilt my controller in order to gain some small chance in direction.

His sword, a talking blade named Calibur, serves as a mentor

Well done Sonic Team. *claps hands once as tumble weed rolls across the screen*

If you help civilian townfolk in need of assistance, you’ll earn points toward knighthood. If you smite one of those civilians, your reputation will take a hit. At the end of each stage, the game tallies your good and not-so-good deeds and updates your rank accordingly.

Hmm, this could be interesting. I hope there are rewards for playing as an evil Sonic.

You can purchase items from residents. “Sonic can acquire everything from gauntlets to magical tomes to new swords and, when equipped, each article bestows him with a unique benefit.. About 200 items in all, with some being able to be combined with others to make new ones.

/sarcasm

Well, at least they’re not over-complicating anything.

You have the option to go online and trade items with friends.

“Hey Tim, do you want to swap this Magical Tome for your slightly different Magical Tome? Cool, what’s your 12 digit friend code? Tim? Tim? Hello?”

Each stage has multiple branching paths and searching for townsfolk and treasure chests provides an element of exploration that recalls Sonic’s early Genesis days.

This could be nice, there was quite a lot of exploration in the earlier games.

The camera will occasionally pan to a side-scrolling perspective for a quick dose of classic 2-D action

Nice! Maybe some kind of Sonic Rush-esque platforming?

Other characters beside Sonic are playable, but it is entirely optional to play as them. Knuckles, who can hold two swords at once, and Shadow have been confirmed so far.

Yes! Shadow’s back! His ‘get out my face’ attitude really contributed to his appealing character…and I mean sexually appealling.

Ta Da! Now you can comment in the box below.

Source: Nintendo Wii Fanboy