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Sonic and the Black Knight :: Wii Game Review

Reviewed by on Mar 05, 2009
Rating: 2 Star Rating

Segas more recent Sonic games have disappointed many fans, and this one only continues that trend downwards. Even though, the game has great graphics, it is a horribly designed game that doesnt make any sense, game play-wise.

Sega's more recent Sonic games have disappointed many fans, and this one only continues that trend downwards. Sonic and the Black Knight, despite its great graphical presentation, is an astonishingly badly designed game that doesn't make any sense at any step of the way, gameplay-wise.

Not Fast

The big change this time around is the game gives Sonic a sword, to slash enemies with. Unfortunately, this makes the game exactly what a Sonic game shouldn't be: slow. The enemies in your way are nothing but irritating, as you just want to keep moving quickly. You might try to jump over them, but the game wants you to attack them, so this is difficult sometimes. The slashing itself is pathetic, though, as you just have to waggle the Wiimote in any direction or pattern to make a sword swipe. This means that you don't really get a good response when you want it all the time, so combat is frustrating to say the least, even if you do want to bother with it at all.

Not Cool

So, the game's set inside the legend of King Arthur. Except, it doesn't actually follow the Arthurian tales at all, besides having characters who are technically named Merlin(a), Lancelot, Gawain, and Percival. King Arthur is the "black knight," which doesn't make any sense in any respect. The storyline isn't really that interesting, which isn't a big deal because it's often so awesome looking in the cutscenes, but at least the game attempts a plot twist (no spoilers here).


Not Fun

For the first many, many levels, you have no idea what's going on. You can gain followers, but how? You get "knight style" points, but why? There are enemies and villagers, but do I have to actually deal with them at all? Also, some levels are literally twenty seconds long where others can last twenty minutes, and there's no rhyme or reason for it. There are plenty of levels that are man-I-want-to-fling-the-controller-against-the-wall annoying, and none of the controls feel right. You're running, often in completely random directions that change every second, with little real control. Sonic can barely turn left or right, and even though sometimes you need to go backwards, Sonic is never very helpful in doing so. This game feels awkward, has some awful ideas for gameplay, and in general just isn't a good testament to the Sonic name. If you're a humongous Sonic fan, don't allow Sega to do this to the franchise. Don't buy this game. Go back and play Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection instead, to find out what real gameplay feels like.


Game Rating: 2

Price: $49.99

ESRB Rating: E10+

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