A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead Review
It’s terrifically tense, but A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead doesn’t quite have the story surprises or enough substantial changes to its simplistic stealth-based gameplay to allow it to completely go the distance.
It’s terrifically tense, but A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead doesn’t quite have the story surprises or enough substantial changes to its simplistic stealth-based gameplay to allow it to completely go the distance.
IGN
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead Review - IGN
It’s terrifically tense, but A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead doesn’t quite have the story surprises or enough substantial changes to its simplist...
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Since this is a Sonic review I’ll go fast and cut to the chase: Sonic X Shadow Generations is a fantastic combination of one of the Blue Blur's classics and a new helping of smartly designed Shadow levels built around his own abilities, and after spending some time with it has become one of my favorite Sonic games I've ever played. Sega and Sonic Team have learned from their recent attempts, Frontiers and Superstars, and have found clever ways to weave the best ideas of those games into a major refresh of a fan favorite. And certainly, when it comes to Shadow the Hedgehog, this is his definitive game.
Half of the content of Sonic X Shadow Generations is remastered from 2011’s Sonic Generations, which we gave an 8.5 In our review back then. It does have a few new bells and whistles, like the adorable Chao hidden in each 2D and 3D stages, but other than their level designs are mostly unchanged because they hold up just fine. I'd like to imagine that the Chao are a hint that we’ll see the return of the Chao Garden from Sonic Adventure 2 in a future Sonic game, but for now they’re just a nice homage.
If you never played the original, it’s definitely worth experiencing it for the first time here: Sonic Generations is a stellar combination of 2D and 3D gameplay that celebrated what was at the time a 20-year history by curating and recreating some of the best and most iconic Sonic levels that had come before. Shadow Generations wastes no time showcasing its creativity with multiple stand-out moments. The very first stage, or instance, transforms into fractals and looks like the alternate dimensions we've seen in Dr. Strange or Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The levels from Sonic Generations also get a slight but noticeable graphical boost thanks to the current generation of consoles: environments look more polished and the colors are more vibrant, making enemies, hazards, and springs just a bit more noticeable when you’re moving at high speed. So by default this is the best way to play it, even if the difference isn’t night and day.
This is the best way to play Generations, even if the difference isn’t night and day.
However, the real reason you’d want to play Sonic X Shadow Generations is the all-new campaign filled with creative reimaginings of Shadow’s stages from his past appearances throughout the Sonic series. Shadow's five-hour campaign is separate from the Generations storyline but plays out in a similar way, in that each stage has one part in 2D and another in 3D. Shadow’s stages have all the fast-paced appeal you’d expect to get when playing as Sonic, similar to when new paths open up when replaying a stage after Sonic has gained the light dash ability. Shadow starts with a similar skill called the Chaos Dash, and then goes on to open up even more pathways when returning to stages with abilities like the Doom Wings that let you fly short distances and skip whole sections of levels, making them play very differently.
Shadow’s Chaos Control ability also creates fantastic moments where he does things like freeze time to destroy a missile flying at him in a flashy mini cutscene. And, unlike in the 2D Sonic stages that play like classic Sonic with no homing attack or boost gauge, Shadow keeps all his abilities for his 2D sections so they feel just as fast as his 3D stages.
Besides the main stages there are various challenge stages with objectives like requiring you to destroy enough targets before reaching the goal, or finish a hazard-filled level with a single ring to unlock bosses and the next set of stages. It’s similar to Sonic Generations, with the main difference being that you need to complete all of the challenges to acquire the keys you need, instead of just one. I do miss the collecting of the Chaos Emeralds you get in Sonic Generations, because some of them had fun rival boss battles against characters like Metal Sonic and Silver, but since Sonic is collecting them in his portion of the story it wouldn’t make much sense for Shadow to be collecting them at the same time in his.
With both campaigns combined, the total number of stages is now over 150.
With both campaigns combined, the total number of stages is now over 150, including traditional, challenge, and boss stages. That would take even an avid Sonic fan about 15 to 20 hours to burn through. And for those looking for even more challenges, completing the Shadow campaign will unlock a new option that increases the difficulty of bosses and challenge levels when replaying them.
Though minimal, there are some new storylines that creatively weave between games where Shadow has appeared, tying them into big moments we've seen in past games, like Sonic and Shadow's duel in Sonic Adventure 2. There is also a healthy dose of new scenes filling in Shadow's past that reunite him with friends and foes, and offer more context to his storylines in games like Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Adventure 2. These moments ranged from fascinating to kickass, and they always left me wanting more.
Like Sonic’s, Shadow's is made up of fun reimaginations of some of his best stages across past Sonic games. We’ve got new versions of levels like Radical Highway, Rail Canyon, and the Space Colony Ark, and each stage is packed to the brim with creative routes that make good use of Shadow's old and new abilities.
What We Said About Sonic Generations (2011)
It feels refreshing to be able to say that Sonic is good again. His upward trajectory over the last year continues and he’s only gaining momentum. Sonic Generations is largely a game for the most hardcore of Sonic fans, but for the millions who have fond memories of narrowly dodging spikes, grinding on rails, or even that time he was a pinball, Sonic Generations is a game made for you. – Jack DeVries & Brian Altano, October 28, 2011
Score: 8.5
Read the full Sonic Generations review
He begins with his iconic Chaos Control ability, which stops time (including the stage timer) and allows you to outrun hazards like a runaway train, stop groups of enemies in their tracks so you can dispatch them with ease, or use the new Chaos Dash to reach strategically placed shortcuts.
From there, you unlock Doom abilities that give you new options for movement and combat. Without going into spoiler territory, one of my favorites that you get about midway through his story is Doom Surf. This power makes water levels a lot more fun by giving you a shadowy manta ray that can spin-attack through enemies and objects. These abilities are handed out after finishing a group of stages or an area’s boss, and they come at a fast enough pace to keep things consistently interesting and different from what came before.
Doom Surf makes water levels a lot more fun.
There are also some creative and enjoyable new versions of boss fights, like a metallic dragon that has you chasing him on the water, knocking trash into him, and charging up so you can unleash Chaos Control and land some real damage with a homing attack. I wish there were more of those, but those that are here make excellent use of the most recent Doom abilities and are all fantastic additions to the collection of egg robots and various other bosses from Sonic history.
In fact, the only stage that broke my momentum and reminded me of the missteps of modern Sonic games was the Sonic Frontiers 3D stage. It feels empty compared to most of Sonic X Shadow Generations and had an overreliance on a new sludge-based upgrade for Shadow that reminded me of one of my least favorite Wisp powers from Sonic Colors. Other than that, though, I enjoyed replaying every stage to find optimal paths, gather collectible keys to unlock secrets in the hub world, and improve my runs until I earned the coveted S-rankings.
Sonic X Shadow Generations also evolves the all-white hub world of Sonic Generations by taking it from a 2D plane to a three-dimensional one that expands outwards as you complete all the stages in a section and its accompanying boss. In between stages, I'd spend some time exploring the hub world to see what chests I could open using the keys I'd collected, as well as completing various optional activities like collecting 100 rings in a short amount of time to unlock multiple rewards like artwork, music, or journal entries about characters and the events of Shadow's life.
Similar to his blue counterpart, Shadow also has stages that are entirely locked to the old-school 2D perspective, and they feel right at home as he races his way to the goal. Besides a McDonalds toy called the Shadow Grinder from 2003 and a DLC stage in Sonic Forces: Episode Shadow, this is the first time we've gotten multiple full-2D Shadow levels, and it was interesting to see how his expanded move set impacted their designs. Abilities like Chaos Spears allowed me to hit switches from a distance to open up alternate paths, while Doom Surf meant no longer having to deal with those underwater sections of Sonic games that a lot of people don’t enjoy – you can just surf right on top of the water until reaching land.
Finally, I have to call out that the music accompanying our favorite hedgehogs as they race to the goal line is excellent, the guitar riffs for stages like Radical Highway and Space Colony Ark return, and are joined by some fantastic tracks like Crush 40's All Hail Shadow and Sonic Heroes Rail Canyon theme. One of my favorite elements of the Generations games is the selectable background music for every stage and challenge, so if you only want to hear Live & Learn across every stage like the Crush 40 sicko you are, you can do that! The only catch is that you have to find some music tracks in chests scattered across the Shadow’s hub world or by collecting the musical notes and Red rings in Sonics to unlock them, but that’s a price I’m willing to pay.
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The weekend is officially here, and we've rounded up the best deals you can find! Discover the best deals for Sunday, October 20, below:
Resident Evil 4 for $19.99
Resident Evil 4 was one of the biggest games of 2023, with Capcom recreating one of the highest-praised action titles ever. As Leon S. Kennedy, it's up to you to travel to Europe and rescue the President's daughter, Ashley Graham. With the Separate Ways DLC also available, the Resident Evil 4 remake is simply one of the best action games ever. There's never been a better time to jump in, with this price acting as an all-time low.
EA Sports College Football 25 for $42.99
EA Sports College Football 25 is available on sale for $42.99 this weekend. This game marked the first college football title from EA since NCAA 14, as a lawsuit regarding player NIL (name, image, and likeness) prevented the company from producing further entries. Many of the older modes have returned to College Football 25, including Dynasty, Team Builder, and Road to Glory. Of course, dozens of new features have been added, including Stadium Pulse, which creates challenging road environments in college football's biggest stadiums.
Save on Popular LEGO Sets This Weekend
There are quite a few LEGO deals available on sale today. This includes the LEGO Super Mario Piranha Plant set, the LEGO Ideas Jazz Quartet set, the LEGO Walt Disney Tribute Camera, and more. If you're preparing to start shopping for the holiday season, these are solid gift ideas!
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Woot! (owned by Amazon) is offering The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for Nintendo Switch for only $39.99 after you apply a $10 off promo code "ZELDAWELCOME" during checkout. This promo will only work for first orders. Amazon Prime members get free shipping, otherwise there is a $6 flat fee. You'll be getting a physical copy, which also includes a 90-day Woot! warranty. Woot! mentions that copies may or may not be imported, but all Nintendo Switch games are region-free so you'll be able to play the game regardless. You won't have to worry about language either since that setting is determined by your Switch console.
Disney Classic Games Collection
Next up, you can save on the Disney Classic Games Collection for Nintendo Switch on Amazon. This package includes multiple different versions of Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Jungle Book that released over the years. You can use new features like Rewind, which allows you to retry any difficult areas, or start the game from any point with access to full game playthroughs. Additionally, there is even a CRT filter that is designed to mimick displays from the original releases!
Xbox Series X|S Seagate Expansion Card
Today, you can save $50 off the Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S. This is the 2TB model, which will allow you to increase your total storage on Xbox Series X to almost 3TB. Since neither Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S supports a standard NVME SSD slot like the PlayStation 5, you will need to purchase an Expansion Card to increase your console's storage.
Luigi's Mansion 3 for $39.99
Luigi's Mansion 3 is available this weekend at Woot for only $39.99. This is one of the best games available on Nintendo Switch, filled with charm and all sorts of fun puzzles. With Halloween right around the corner, there's never been a better time to pick up the game if you haven't already!
Kingdom Hearts All-in-One Package for $35
Kingdom Hearts is one of Square Enix's best series, and it's a must-play for any RPG fan. The series mashes together the worlds of Disney and Square Enix to tell the tale of light and darkness. This All-in-One package contains a total of ten games, with everything up to Kingdom Hearts III included. Now is the perfect time to get caught up before Kingdom Hearts IV, so pick up the All-in-One bundle today and jump into Sora's journey.
Mario Party Superstars for $39.99
If you're waiting for Super Mario Party Jamboree to go on sale, Woot has a great deal on Mario Party Superstars that can hold you over for the time being. Superstars features five boards from the Nintendo 64 era, recreated with new twists. You can hop online and play with friends anywhere in the world, with 100 different minigames to discover. While its content offerings are not as good as Jamboree, this is still a great Mario Party game and well worth picking up.
Metaphor: ReFantazio Collector's Edition Available
Metaphor: ReFantazio has quickly become one of the hottest games of 2024. Katsura Hashino, known for directing Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5, has led ATLUS' Studio Zero on this project, with illustrator Shigenori Soejima serving as Character Designer on the project. Metaphor is the first step into the world of fantasy for ATLUS, and it's been a massive success. In our 9/10 review, we stated, "Metaphor: ReFantazio is poetic, and at times, idealistic, but it also understands its complexities and that change requires action, and that even far-fetched fantasy stories can serve as inspiration to make our world a better place."
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