Xater said:
Maybe we can pay just half for the game and just get half the content? I would be down for that.
I really wonder what Sega's problem is? Do they think they can't sell a pure 2D gameplay title at retail in 2011? Did they not see Donkey Kong Country Returns or something?
Sega told us what their problem was, during the Unleashed Dev Diaries.
Classic gameplay is fast, but takes money to develop the graphics they want, that's un-even to how long you spend in those areas. Hence, they make a game that cost as much as any regular HD game, but offers an hour or 2 of gameplay.
The need something else, in order to make the cost and the result a worthy game, value and length wise. Something that says "we didn't create all that texture and stage work for simply 15 minutes of gameplay!". The consumer wants a considerably in depth experience, and they want their resources to get used to their money's worth.
"Generations" looks like a good compromise, given this. With the multi-layered 2D, the speedy 3D, exploration in 2D, the fact they'll be multiple zones... they can really stretch the use of their assets, but do it with very different gameplay.
Oldskool fans can think of 3D Sonic's parts like extended bonus stages. Modern fans can think of the 2D parts as nostalgia-driven rides to a slower-paced, more methodical past. People who accept the best of both get a game that brings it all together, with the strengths of each, with diminished weaknesses.
No matter which side you're on, so far, this looks like some of the best "filler" Sega has made for the HD generation, lol. It's not a hub world, RPG elements, Beat-Em-Up segements, horrific load times, or new friends. It's just 2 pure gameplay styles, hooked together to make a game that embraces the old, and new.
Now I just hope in the end, they're smart enough to offer modes that allow you to do ALL new, or ALL old as a single run-through, kinda as if each character gets their own game. Shouldn't be hard to do at all, but would help offer 2 "pure" experiences.
Oh, and plane switching sounds cool for 2D Sonic. Kinda like Shantae 2. It sounds like a mechanic that coulda been born in a 2D Sonic, basically.