Review: Sonic Generations

Although today most video game characters are big musclebound guys with a raspy voice and carries a gun, Sonic remains as one of gaming's most iconic heroes and my favorite childhood star. Unfortunately the last few years the blue blur has been starring in game after game that were slammed by critics and failed to capture the true Sonic experience. After many missed attempts it seems that Sega has finally hit the mark in this short but sweet title, Sonic Generations.


The Good
-Crisp Graphics and framerate
-Great Level design
-tight controls
-enjoyable story
-plethora of in game collectibles and goodies
-you can play the classic Sonic the Hedgehog game
The Bad
-Too short
-hardly any replay value
-minor mistakes can lead to death
-cheesy voice acting
The Ugly
-Celebrating several years of awful Sonic games

Story

Sonic Games were never known for a rich character - driven story, but then again you shouldn't be playing a Sonic game for that reason. However, the plot stands out amongst than in previous Sonic titles.

Tails and the rest of the gang threw a huge surprise birthday party for Sonic himself. During the festivities a mysterious entity appears from the sky and begins sucking up all of Sonic's friends. Sadly Sonic was unable to defeat this creature and was thrown into distorted time and space where he meets up with his past self. The only way to restore the world is for the two Sonics to use their super speed to bring back time to its original state.

While the story and dialogue is cheesy, it fits into the world of Sonic. Sega also decided to poke some fun at theirself and various plotholes from Sonic's past. Ex Knuckles asking the past Sonic if he's gained weight.

Story Grade: C-
Graphics

Thanks to current-generation possibilities this is not only the best looking Sonic game, it has some of the best graphics to date. One of the best parts is seeing some of Sonic's old stages brought to glorious HD ie. Sky Santuary has some beautiful use of its ancient architecture and shrubbery. And while the game had used the same graphics engine as Sonic Unleashed did, this game uses it to its full potential.

Possibly the most beautiful stage in the game

The new HUB world uses well detailed environments of Sonic's stages in 2D and mixes it with black and white with an MC Escher vibe that gives it a surreal look that adds emphasis to the broken time and space theme. As you save each world the stage entrance will regain its color making it even more impressive. Character models are also well crafted and fit into the cartoon styled universe without pushing it too far.


Since the two hedgehogs move at such high speed people would worry that the frame rate would suffer, however all those fears can be put to rest as this game runs at a smooth constant pace that doesn't slow down. Another note-worthy addition is that every stage uses enemies that were present in the game itself. You won't see old school badniks in Crisis City but the fire monsters that controlled the alternate dimension as well with all other stages.

Graphics Grade: A+

Sound

Everyone knows the lyrics to city escape and the tunes to green hill zone. And while Sega brought back the original score of each stage, either classic or modern Sonic will get a remixed version of that song, and while past remixes were bland and generic, each song remix was beautifully orchestrated and multiple versions for different parts.

All of previous Sonic games had memorable sound effects that left can easily be discerned by any fan and they all make a return for this game. Whether you're sucking an air bubble underwater or avoiding those blue bubble things in the Chemical Plant Zone, you'll recognizes these old school sounds. However, this game brings new sound effects that also work well, classic Sonic can hop onto a skateboard in City scape and you can hear the realistic sound of the wheels spinning on pavements. However some can be cartoon, for example when fighting Silver every time you land a homing attack on him, you'll hear a cartoonish SMACK when Sonic makes contact, and while it is cheesy, it is satisfying knowing you caused Silver the Hedgehog pain. (it gets even better when you crush him with with a huge pile of debris and you casually run away from the wreckage)

One problem with modern Sonic is his voice. For several years he went through different actors, each getting worse. And it's not just him, even his friends have suffered from bad voice actors. While his latest voice wasn't as bad as the 4kids Dub actor, it's still just as cheesy since Sonic first spoke. Characters like Charmy and Silver's new voice were greatly improved (and honestly it couldn't get as annoying as the old ones) however Amy, Classic Tails and some others were just plain unbearable.

Fortunately Classic Sonic doesn't talk

Sound Grade: A-

Gameplay

Sonic Generations brings you two different ways to play, and while each are necessary to beat the game, both are amazingly fun to play as unlike Sonic Unleashed (I'm looking at you Werehog). Classic Sonic plays just like he did in 1991 and feels just like he did. However now his classic 2D sidescroller even better with the introduction to an all new dimension, meaning he'll go in more ways than left or right without going into a 3D perspective. Sega has also included some clever and challenging platforming segments that give it a Classic Sonic feel.

While Classic sonic uses 2D platforming, Modern Sonic mixes it up with a mix of 2D, 3D and uses pure speed. As the hedgehog got older he learned some new tricks that make him more mobile and agile including wall jumps and the lightspeed dash.

Modern Sonic stages are certainly more action packed

While Modern Sonic is just as fun as his classic self is there such a thing a too fast? While he runs at a blazing and eye-popping speed some parts of a stage can require lightning fast reflexes and it happens way too suddenly to have a proper reaction and sometimes even a minor mistake can lead to hedgehog killing consequences. Fortunately these instances rarely happen and does act as part of a learning experience to better increase your skills in the game.

Both Sonic's each face a major from their past and each one has a different strategy that keeps things fresh. Some boss fights will play just like they did in the past like Perfect Chaos and Shadow but some will add a new twist to the classic experience. However my main problem was that the final boss was confusing and didn't explain or show well how to defeat it.

Gameplay Grade: B+

Replay

The worst part about Sonic Generations is that it's too short. Ridiculously short. The main story will only take a couple hours to beat and the only thing that would keep you playing afterwards are the challenge levels, getting all the collectible songs and artwork or just trying to get an 'S' rank on each stage. And while many Sonic games had this problem present, this one might just be shortest. But hopefully Sega will be releasing some DLC of other classic levels.

Replay Grade: D

This is without a doubt the best Sonic game in a long long time however the experience goes by just as fast as the blue hedgehog himself. Any fan of Sonic, old and new will most certainly enjoy this game, but to those who haven't played much of Sonic at all should rent it first since you'll most likely beat it the first day (if not the second). Sonic Generations proves that Sega can make a quality Sonic title but now there's the question if they can keep it up without just slapping him in a few new stages. Only time will tell.

Overall Grade: B-

Both Sonics soar in this all new title.