VideoGame Shattered Crystal, not what I was expecting...
Well, sure it's a fun game and all, but it has it's flaws. For one, the gameplay consist of findig your way through 8 maze-like levels, chasing down an robotic excavation worm, the occasional Sonic Rivals race, and a battle against Lyric. Now here's what kills the game: In laymen's terms, Eggman was only mentioned in one cutscene, Metal Sonic is an Giant Space Flea from Nowhere and any other possible mention of the duo was promptly cut from the game. I spent an large chunk of my time reassembling the Shattered Crystal, hoping that it'll be plot-relavant: Lyric will eventually steal it, therefore triggering an hidden boss fight. And what do I get from it? An figurine for completing an relic of ultimate power instead of fueling an potential hidden boss. The 8 levels are nearly identical in terms of gameplay mechanics, offering nothing new once you've unlocked all of the playable characters.
But hey, unlike Rise of Lyric, this game is glitch-free!
VideoGame Terrible
The combat has even less variety than the Werehog.
The gameplay is boring, and not at all Sonic-like.
Not even the soundtrack is good.
While it's not as bad 06, 06 was so bad it was funny. Rise of Lyric is just painfully boring and forgettable.
VideoGame The Demo Itself Was Horrible
First off, I love Sonic and even found stuff worth defending in even some of his worst games, even Sonic 06. However, I played the demo of Rise of Lyric on Wii U and found no joy whatsoever, only pain and boredom. The demo came out sometime after the game was released so it should be the work of a completed product.
The demo came with three varieties of gameplay, the Speed Run, the Stage (Water Facility), and a boss fight.
Speed Run: The worst of the three, the frame rate is horrible and the characters never shut up so I barely hear the music. The obstacles in the game are barely noticeable because of the frame rate and I never notice until it's too late. Even if I see them though, chances are the camera angles will still make it difficult to dodge. If it wasn't for the fact the Speed Run was short and you don't lose all your rings at once, the speed run would be almost unplayable.
Stage: Not as bad as Speed but simply boring. Combat is simple and uninspired, I had no idea where I was going and I died frequently because of bad camera angles. Running from the guardian was also non challenging and I never got injured from it. It didn't feel satisfying.
Boss Fight: Probably the best of the three and it involves a fight with Eggman. The goal is to throw unexploded missiles back at Eggman's robot and knock it down. However while you're throwing, enemies come after you and nonstop, I kept getting hit, I'm actually surprised I didn't die.
Overall, after playing this game, I am fully convinced this is actually worse than Sonic 06.