... should stand for Sonic Team's neglect no more.

Some biases/personal info out of way first, as I'm a first time poster here, and depending on how this thread goes, this will probably be my only time posting here:

I've been a Sonic fan since I was about 12 years old, when I saw some grainy preview pics of Sonic 1 on the Genesis in a magazine. FOr 15 years I've loved Sonic games. I've played them, over and over, studying how they work. I can tell you countless tales of how I've studied how hills affect momentum, about the differences of gravity's affect on your character between the 2D Sonic games and the 3D ones, why you sometimes bounce really high after hitting an enemy, but sometimes don't. These are games I love and play to this day, and I know that they're flawed, but I don't care, because their pros outweight their cons.

Like you, I've defended the bum rap the Sonic Adventure titles and Sonic Heroes got. I even defended Shadow the Hedgehog's good points, though I couldn't get away with saying that I liked the game. Not every Sonic game has been perfect; I don't think Sonic CD deserves half the praise it gets, but it still reeks of effort and thoughtfulness, so I won't fault you for liking it. Same for Sonic Advance 2, which IMO Sonic Advance 3 and Sonic Rush improved upon immensely. For the most part, I've liked every SOnic game I've played, even some of the Game Gear ones, and I vehemently defend the series against those who "just don't get it."

Finally, I have a rather inflated ego, and I like to consider that my opinions are well thought out. I can be extremely bull-headed, and when I think I'm right, I won't back down unless it is in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I don't frequent Sonic fan sites because, frankly, I don't care; my enjoyment of the game series isn't something I feel the need to share, and whether or not you enjoy it doesn't matter to much to me... except in it comes to the next-gen Sonic game that just came out.

With all that out of the way, I'm going to say what I came here to say. If you disagree, fine... but you're wrong. Sorry, but I'm sticking to that, and allow me to say that any argument you have to convince me that my opinion on this particular matter is no more valuable than someone else's, save it, because mine is.

Here goes:

Sonic the Hedgehog for the X-Box 360 (henceforth abbreviated as "Sonic360") is a terrible game, and Sonic fans have to tell Sonic Team that trash like this is absolutely unacceptable. It has little merit and a metric ton of very real flaws, and enjoying it is telling Sonic Team that you're okay with them taking the series down a very destructive path.

Yes, I said it. If you consider it taboo, too freaking bad. I love Sonic games... but I should've realized something was wrong when Sonic Adventure 2 didn't correct Adventure 1's very glaring faults, and when both remade Adventure games for the GameCube didn't address said flaws either.

Sonic360 is Sonic Team's SEVENTH ATTEMPT at making a 3D Sonic. For the record, they have had these six games to learn from:

- Sonic Adventure (DC) - any problems can be explained as SOnic Team's first 3D SOnic attempt
- SOnic Adventure 2 (DC) - similar problems to Adventure 1 (worse camera, arguably worse controls, questionable level types that don't mesh with what Sonic is) that should've been fixed; this is also the game that we fans should've noticed something was rotten with Sonic Team's thinking, and yes, I'm no exception to this
- Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (GC) - even more glitchiness than the DC version, and no real fixes for the DC version's issues. This was a prime chance for Sonic Team to resolve quite a few problems.
- SOnic Adventure DX (GC) - ditto.
- Sonic Heroes (GC; I didn't try the other versions) - again, play types that don't really fit into Sonic (mainly Chaotix's missions) and more camera/control issues, but that's okay, because it was, again, Sonic Team's first try at a tag-team style game.
- Shadow the Hedgehog (GC; didn't try the others) - here's where I began to worry, even though I should've long before this. This game had to be the pinaccle of bad Sonic games, and the shame is that it could've been a very fun run-n-gunner if it didn't force the damn objectives down your throat. Other than drastically improved rail jumping, controls here are the worst of all the 3D titles, and the camera is, as always, no help.

So Sonic360 has no excuse. Other predominantly 2D series got their 3D jumps right after the first try, with consistently good followups. This includes several key Nintendo series, like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. I accept no arguments of "it's hard to make a 3D Sonic game!" Nuh-uh. THis is take 7, not take 2, not take 1, but 7.

And the flaws of Sonic360, a game that honest-to-goodness looks and feels like it is still in an ALPHA state, are plentiful, and this is where my angry-rant mode takes over:

*sigh* This is the FIFTH MAJOR 3D SONIC TITLE. Why. Hasn't. Sonic. Team. Fixed. The. Freaking. CAMERA!? Why are the controls, at any given time, either too stiff or too sensitive? WHY!? There's no excuse anymore. I forgave it in Sonic Adventure 1/2. I forgave it in Heroes. This isn't an acceptable flaw anymore.

Someone explain to me, please, why Sonic is so slow. Please. I'm asking. 'Cuz he is SLOW. He wasn't this slow in any game not titled "Sonic the Fighters".

Controls are TERRIBLE. Why aren't both the X and B buttons used in attacks!? The B button could've easily handled some functions, with X handling others. Instead, the X button controls most attacks and is SUPER SENSITIVE. You want to do something that requires a tap!? Your finger better leave that button 0.00000000000001 seconds after you touch it. Terrible.

SONIC TEAM TOOK OUT THE ABILITY TO JUMP IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING A SPIN DASH. A staple "long jump" move of the Adventure games and Shadow the Hedgehog, as well as countless 2D Sonic games, is gone. Thanks, Sega. Bravo.

You think Sonic was slowed down!? WHAT HAPPENED TO TAILS!? I agree that in SA1, he was broken, but man, he's slower than Mario in Mario 64! And the ring bombs were a bad idea in SH; why bring them back?

While we're on the topic of slow; okay, I can understand that Silver is slow, but why is Shadow almost as slow as Tails? Why are Knuckles, Rouge, and Blaze so slow?

LOAD TIMES ARE ATTROCIOUS! There are literally times where you'll talk to a guy and have, and this is not exageration, a 10 second load time BEFORE and AFTER the conversation! That's 20 seconds altogether! And in the case of some of the mini-games, if you fail, YOU HAVE TO REPEAT THIS!

Level design is just bad. Did Traveller's Tales make this game or something? 'Cuz it feels like one of their games. It feels like I'm playing that Crash Bandicoot game they designed when Naughty Dog dumped the series, let alone any of the Sonic games Travellers has botched.

The "carrying Elise" idea doesn't work. What a terrible level idea. Sonic is all about speed, LET'S GIVE HIM A SLOWER LEVEL TYPE. Dispicable.

The "Sonic runs continuously and you just tap left/right ala running down the Speed Highway building" idea also fails. Half the first level is this crap. With all the non-interactive loops and whatnot, isn't Sonic controlled by the computer enough?

Buying upgrades. Granted, D rank gives you enough, and my constant A and S ranks guaranteed income, but why bother? Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, even, saw fit to give me all my abilities right away, and the adventure titles let me find them, not buy them. If you aren't getting A/S ranks consistently, you have to endure the painful town minigames, and boy are they painful.

There's a reason the town field system of SA1 was dropped. This game is a sad reminder why. Yet somehow, Sonic360 does the town field idea WORSE.

ONLY ONE SAVE FILE <-- There is absolutely, positively, no excuse for this garbage. Zelda 1, in the 80s, gives me three. Doom from XBL arcade gives me 10. Past Sonic games gave me plenty.

FORCED WIDESCREEN IN HD!!! <-- Ditto. My HDTV isn't widescreen. Why the hell are those stupid letterboxes in the damn way? Note that normally I wouldn't care, but since Sonic plays like he's coated in molasses, it's just another flaw brought to light.

Princess Elise. I don't give a damn who Sonic likes, but this isn't Xenogears or the first disc of Star Ocean 3. I don't want some 5 minute FMV explaining that Elise likes Sonic. BTW, the CG scenes are pretty beautiful, and stand as one of the game's only high points.

Every 3D Sonic before this, even Shadow, started with a small cinematic and throws you RIGHT INTO THE ACTION like a proper game does, showing off the feeling of the game to capture the audience. Before you even get to play ONE level in the hideous steaming pile that is Sonic360, you have to go through a town scene and an innane mini-game that shouldn't have been there.

Whoopdee doo, the Havok Physics engine. I'm sure that matters when Sonic just went through a wall and died. Glitches are a fact of life in Sonic ONLY BECAUSE the games are usually stellar. In this game, it's just another pitfall.

Pointless, un-fun town minigames to do, usually accompanied by brutal load times and, in some cases, a lack of direction on what you're supposed to do.

Countless other cons I could name but don't come to mind right now.

^ It actually hurts me to bring these forward, but I can't hide from the truth any longer. This series I loved is dying, and has been dying for a long time. Sonic Team continues to push to see how early into a development cycle they can release a game that fans will still buy. And if you buy this, if you sing its praises, you're telling them that it's okay.

Sonic Team isn't EA, a company that only cares about lining their pockets with gold at any expense. At least, they didn't used to be. Sonic Team has no excuse... and neither do any Sonic fans. This is the seventh try. You forgave six before this. Don't forgive this one. Rent this game first, and when you see what it is, don't buy it. ANd if you still intend to tell yourself that it is good, know that you're deluding yourself. This is a fact. The problems with this game are TOO numerous, too many to simply ignore, and the gameplay that allowed you to overlook these problems in the past SIMPLY ISN'T HERE. If you believe otherwise, you're wrong, or blatantly lying.

That's my post. Discuss. Or not. Your call.