- SONIC UNLEASHED 2D FAN GAME UPDATE
- SONIC UNLEASHED 2D FAN GAME PC
- SONIC UNLEASHED 2D FAN GAME SERIES
But a karting game at 30fps? That's a problem, but not with FPS Boost.
It plays like a dream, serves as excellent Sega fan service and offers multiple modes of play, keeping the tracks especially fresh. I also tried Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed - one of the best kart racers of all-time.
SONIC UNLEASHED 2D FAN GAME SERIES
Series S? I would have loved to tried it, but there was no way to move my late-game save to the machine, short of re-buying a game I already owned in disc form - a shortcoming of the machine we have to live with, unfortunately. Again, there can be drastic drops to performance - one of the last levels, Adabat, is notorious for this - but Series X just blasts through, with just small, fleeting drops in the entire segment.
Unfortunately, there is no resolution enhancement here, so we're still running at 880x720, but in light of the improved frame-rate, we can let that slide.
SONIC UNLEASHED 2D FAN GAME PC
Of course, the same can be said of Sonic Unleashed as well which - with support for FPS Boost - is perhaps even more important as this is a game which had never received a PC conversion. More impressively, it features pre-calculated global illumination, combined with the exceptional depth of field and per-pixel motion blur used to accentuate movement. The Hedgehog Engine powering the game was architected to handle high-speed traversal while retaining a high level of detail and it genuinely works - it looks great even now. Sonic moves extremely quickly in this game - you cover a lot of ground in a matter of seconds. Honestly, playing through the game again, it's a miracle that this was even possible on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the first place. Series S does the same, just with a lower resolution. Areas where Xbox 360 could collapse in performance sees Series X power through with barely any impact to frame-rate - just a couple of dropped frames in some scenarios, flawless in others. Xbox Series X retains the near 4K resolution enjoyed by One X while Xbox Series S renders around 1760x1440. This is where FPS Boost enters the picture - when played on Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, the frame-rate cap is eliminated allowing the game to reach 60 frames per second.
SONIC UNLEASHED 2D FAN GAME UPDATE
Sonic Generations previously received a resolution boost update bringing it up to near 4K, basically around 3520x2160 versus the 880x720-ish of the original but it was still limited to 30 frames per second. A PC version exists but I've found it has become increasingly finicky when you desire a quick play session. In fact, during certain sections, the frame-rate plummets to near unplayable levels. The problem is, in its original console form, Sonic Generations was limited to just 30 frames per second and even that was not a guaranteed target. It's an explosion of colour and style that manages to hold up brilliantly to this day. It's this combination of high-speed movement, multiple paths that feel satisfying to nail and the perfect blend of beautiful visuals and excellent music. The boost style of gameplay retains the upper, middle, and lower tier design Sonic specialises in, really testing your reaction time. I love Generations: while it may not reach the heights of the 2D originals, I feel this represents the best example of three-dimensional Sonic gameplay to date. I wanted to start by looking at both Sonic Generations (which now possesses both resolution and frame-rate upgrades) and Sonic Unleashed (60fps only).
However, FPS Boost goes one step further, reminding us that 60fps used to be the norm, not the exception. Standard back-compat on Xbox Series consoles effectively solves their original performance issues - they hit their (mostly) 30fps frame-rate caps. In looking at these newly enhanced FPS Boost releases, I also decided to go back and revisit their showings on Xbox 360 too - because Series consoles aren't just delivering a doubling of performance, but often much, much more. In doing so, it reminded me of something I hadn't thought deeply about for some time - the fact that the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era actually delivered what must surely be the biggest gen-on-gen downgrade in overall game performance. Spurred on by the addition of FPS Boost to one of my favourite Sonic games, I decided to take a look at some of these improved experiences, gaining further appreciation for some classic titles. Not only that, it also doubled the frame-rate on select Xbox 360 titles that had already received enhanced 4K support for Xbox One X. As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, Microsoft didn't just add to its backwards compatibility library, it also added FPS Boost to Xbox 360 games for the first time.
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