Sonic Generations – Review (PS3, 360)

written by gazzara on 10.11.11

There’s a saying that goes “Helen of Troy had a face that launched a thousand ships” and in gaming terms an equivalent would be that “Sonic’s character has sold a few million consoles” in a time when Sega were not only a software powerhouse but a hardware one too, dominating the landscape with the Mega Drive before coming unstuck with future consoles that were way ahead of their time, including the Dreamcast which I still consider the greatest console to date.

• Likes

  • Faithful to its roots
  • 3D Sonic works – yay!
  • Visually stunning

• Dislikes

  • Some race battles need a little work

Sonic, however, has managed to dodge a few bullets in his career as leading man – well hedgehog – and with his 20th Anniversary this year it only seems fitting that Sega release a game that takes all of the goodness from each game and rolls it into one glorious package.

As you have probably guessed by now, Sonic Generations is a who’s who of all of the greatest levels , reimagined for the present day and woven together by a storyline, that although not the strongest point of the game, ties the levels together beautifully.  As it is Sonic’s 20th Anniversary his friends have decided to throw him a little party which all goes swimmingly until the Time Eater (dum, dum, dum!) appears a little upset and sucks all of his friends into a time portal, into time different periods and it is up to Sonic to restore order in the different worlds and bring his friends back.

This sees you experience Sonic in the two different ways that you have played before.  Sonic classic and Sonic modern are the order of the day and although you maybe  ready to march on Sega HQ in protest of the 3D levels being included I am here to tellyou that things are not as bad as they seem, to be honest and dare I say it, the 3D levels play well to Sonic’s strengths this time around and are in no way truly representative of the modern gameplay that made Sonic more hated than Bin Laden.

Before we get into that, however, we should revel in what made Sonic so great in the first place and that was 2D scrolling platform goodness with no bells and whistles.  The 2D levels, although, remade for present day consoles reveal the portly Sonic in all his glory, outing the simplistic gameplay that put the character on the map on the first place.

Sonic’s 2D levels work primarily as a platformer, set on different levels of height, each with their own difficulties and rewards.  To be able to stay on the upper levels requires a skill and dexterity that comes with practice but yet reaps the most rewards in rings etc.  To go too slow will certainly cause you to lose the rings you have already collected, drop to lower levels or even lose a life as will going too fast.  The beauty about this simplistic gameplay is that you have to keep yourself constantly on the edge all of the time and running a certain level, eyes out for a couple of minutes can certainly get the old heart pumping.

Now, the 3D levels have caused a lot of controversy in the past and has been one of the reasons why Sonic has had such a fall from grace but I am pleased to tell you that the controls in the 3D levels feel tight, responsive and the levels themselves play out in a totally different way to which you would expect them too.  The levels themselves have been faithfully recreated classics reworked for the modern day in all of their glory and play to the strengths rather than weaknesses of the titles they have came from.  Gameplay is more speed based, as Modern Sonic spends most of his time in 3D running straight ahead, with a boost power to further increase the speed and charge into enemies. He can also perform tricks in midair to refill and extend his boost meter further which further helps with the mechanics rather than creating a lifeless experience.

Furthermore, in addition to the two modes on offer, there is a condiment to accompany the meat of the game in the form of race battles against Sonic’s enemies from games past and new and although certain missions are fun, there are also a few that can annoy and although the levels are again well thought through, the execution in gameplay can be a little negative.

Audio and visual presentation of the game excel in all departments with levels bright, colourful and faithfully re-create, as mentioned earlier, their original counterparts.  It comforting to know that each level’s soundtrack has been included to but with a modern re-mixed twist that although you may panic at first at the sacrilege of bastardising famous gaming music, you start to feel really at home with what they have achieved and how they have treated it.

Overall, Sonic Generations is a welcome return to form, producing a game that plays to Sonic’s strengths across the two formats it starred in as well as incorporating the best of the modern era too.  Sega has put a lot of thought into appeasing the hardcore Sonic fans whilst bringing that little blue hedgehog into the modern era without a glitch.  Unlockables are plenty, true to its roots gameplay and level design plus glorious visuals put Sonic back on the map and celebrating his 20th anniversary in style.  We would say that Sonic Colours on the Wii was a step in the right direction to get Sonic back on track and Sonic Generations is the game that will give Sonic another good few years in the limelight.