Sonic and the Black Knight Review.

     As many Sonic fans know, the swift blue hedgehog has been in a lot of forgettable adventures ever since the turn to the seventh generation of gaming. I can say right now that this game is one of them. Sega has came up with this radical idea of Sonic the Hedgehog running around in the Middle Ages with a talking sword. Not the best idea. What with poor gameplay, a story that really doesn't interest, and repetitive lines and bad actors, this Sonic adventure should be avoided like the plague.

   First up, the story. A sorceress basically summons Sonic in the middle of his chili dog meal. He is assigned to save a kingdom from King Arthur, who has turned evil all because of the sword he possesses, Excalibur's scabbard. On the way, he tackles various quests with the help of his sword, Caliburn, and the blacksmith (played by Tails) and the Lady of the Lake (played by Amy). This is only the beginning of having Sonic characters with different roles. The Knights of the Round Table are played by Knuckles, Shadow, and Blaze. After defeating them, you square off versus King Arthur himself. You later find out that King Arthur was only an illusion, and that the sorceress was actually the enemy you needed to face off. I gave out a pretty big spoiler, but I think you'd be better off with this spoiler in the first place. If you're really that interested, than just look it up on Google. 

     Next up, gameplay. The Sonic games are usually about getting from Point A to Point B as fast as possible, while collecting as many rings as possible. Sega has complete disregarded this gameplay. Instead, you now have a sword, and with this being a Wii game, you already know how to swing a sword. Shake the Wii Remote around. You'll basically be doing this for 75 percent of the regular levels. At the end of levels, you'll be graded based on stars, from 1 to 5. But, they actually expect you to get to the goal fast. With so many enemies popping up on the screen, it's basically a conundrum of getting a good grade. You could attempt jumping over the enemies, only to have another wave at your feet, or you could hack and slash your way through enemies, which will definitely take a lot of time. So, if your goal is to get 4 or 5 stars every level, may heaven help you. The gameplay is also repetitive. It would've been nice to have a little bit more depth into the game, such as if you swung the Wii Remote to the left, Sonic would swing it to the left also. But no, all you will be doing is just shaking the Wii Remote. The boss fights are also repetitive. The game warns that the bosses are challenging to beat, but the style is just like Punch-Out. All it takes is just pattern recognition, and a quick shake of the Remote. 

     Graphics-wise, there's not much to say here. It's a Wii game, so the visuals aren't really that impressive. 

     I'll admit, I didn't beat the game, so I can't really tell you how long the game actually is. But do yourself a favor, and don't buy this game. I recommend playing Secret Rings or Unleashed first. 

     The good: graphics are a bit colorful.

     The bad: Everything else. 

Score:

3.5/10

     

Just Dance 3 Review

     Just Dance 3 is the third installment of the critically acclaimed Just Dance series. Just Dance comes back with an all new soundtrack, new moves, and a new game of fun.

     Gameplay here is very simple. You have dancers on-screen, and you have to mimic their moves as if they were your reflection in the mirror. On the bottom, you will also have little stick figures giving you a vague understanding of what to anticipate. There are also Gold Moves, which, if done correctly, will give you a points boost. At the end of the song, you will be given an accolade, which will tell that you were the most creative, that you were in rhythm, or the most lazy. Using the Wii's motion controls (or the PlayStation Move's or Kinect's), the game will detect how well you are doing the moves. With the Wii and Move, you basically just have to move the remote around the same way they do it, but where's the fun in that? You keep dancing to earn stars, from one to five, and the stars you earn are counted towards your experience in the game, known as Mojo. Anytime you level up, you get a different version of one of the 40+ songs included in this game, such as a Dance Mash-Up. Dance Mash-Ups include virtual dancers from others songs and Just Dance games joining in the song. The game also has a Just Sweat mode, where it has you doing different exercise routines. In addition to the songs already included, you can get downloadable songs that'll cost ya.

     Nothing much to say here. The graphics are pretty appealing, and they still hold true to the Just Dance style. One thing I must say, though, get this game if you know you'll have somebody else to play it with. Otherwise, you might feel that your money is wasted. It would have been nice to see a career mode or campaign of some sort in this game. The other flaw I see in this game is that you could be doing exactly what the dancer is doing, including the footwork, and it would still say that you're not doing it right. But, it could just be me not doing it right. I wish that songs from other games would be in this game, or at least for DLC.

     The verdict of this game? I would say that it's a good game for a party or something. That's about it. But if you do go to a lot of social events, it's not a bad idea to have this game lying around. 

    The good: hit tracks, funky dance moves, awesome multiplayer game.

    The bad: kind of shallow, single player is lame.

    Score:

    8.0