Is there a gaming franchise more frustrating than Sonic? After reinvigorating the platforming genre for a new generation of gamers in the 1990s, Sega's flagship character failed to grow with its audience, floundering with a number of mediocre releases during the heyday of the Xbox and Playstation 2. The terrible camera system of Sonic Heroes, the convoluted plot of 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog, the abomination known as Shadow the Hedgehog... the list is extensive, and even a few solid hand held titles couldn't stop the plight of the famous blue hedgehog. Even the retro-themed Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 couldn't recapture the magic of the old series, ultimately proving too short and nostalgic for its own good.
For the 20th anniversary of the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega decided not to go back to the drawing board (for once), instead integrating aesthetics from classic and modern Sega releases into a time-traveling, adrenaline-packed adventure. Although its not the most inventive title, Sonic Generations is a great homage to the fantastic titles of yesteryear, a lengthy platformer designed for speed runs and level mastery – two of the most important pieces of what made Sonic so great in the first place.
gameplay
Sonic Generations is defined by its interesting take on the traditional two-act structure of Sonic titles, thanks to the game's wild premise. When an evil entity starts rampaging through time, a young Sonic finds himself face to face with himself, only older, stronger, and with a few different abilities. Every zone's first act is played with the younger, 'classic' Sonic, all of which are 2D platforming levels that any old Sonic gamer will feel right at home with – and thanks to the HD treatment and bright color palette, brings the joys of modern visuals to the classic, run and jump gameplay of the old Sonics.
The second act is representative of modern Sonic titles: older Sonic runs through his areas in an over-the-shoulder 3D fashion, with a few areas moving to a 2D perspective for certain challenges. Older Sonic has a different ability set than the younger version of himself, and due to this, modern Sonic feels a lot more useful and exciting to play than old classic Sonic, whose move set is limited to the simple movements of past Sonic titles. Modern Sonic has a limited boost meter and the ability to target close enemies, and gives his character a much better sense of speed and precision.
Even though adult Sonic is more fun to play with, the level design of younger Sonic's 2D areas are much more fun to traverse. For some reason, the collision detection on modern Sonic cause momentum-jarring stops at times, and can sometimes cheapen the difficult task of mastering an optimum path through a world.
Sonic Generations isn't just limited to the traditional 8 two-acts zone that comprise the main story: in addition to grading and timing each level for leader board purposes, Sonic Generations adds a lot of replay value in the form of various challenges, which range from coin collecting, to speed runs and battle areas. Completing these challenges opens up purchasable abilities and character upgrades, more music tracks, and a plethora of other collectible unlockables.
It gives a nice change of pace outside of the game's main story, which at times, tries a little too hard to incorporate a number of minor ancillary characters into the game's plot. In fact, anything integrated from the last 5-10 years of Sonic games, from the obscure, lazy character design (I'm looking at YOU, Silver the Hedgehog) and odd level themes of later worlds feels like a sad reminder to the recent memory of Sonic releases. However, the painstaking attention to proper homage is executed so well, the shoe-horning in the game's later stages is more than forgivable.
graphics
Visually, Sonic Generations is far and away the most technically advanced version of Sonic, and look gorgeous on high-definition sets – especially the trademark Green Hill Zone, which is full of vibrant colors, detailed backgrounds, and some beautiful lighting and shadow effects. At times, the game's frame rate can't keep up with all the visual touches, enemy movement, and player momentum, and there are some small moments of lag throughout, though it hardly ever becomes more than minor annoyance. Overall, the level designs are well done, although sometimes, the dedication to capturing past titles almost becomes too familiar, leaving some segments feeling like cheap, HD re-skins.
sound
The most nostalgic parts of Sonic Generations happen to be the smallest and hardest to notice: the sound effects. Both classic and modern Sonic have their own set of in-level sound effects, most of which are simply minor tweaks of the well-known sounds of Sonic's past. Nothing triggers flashbacks to long nights with my face pasted to the TV with a Genesis controller in my hand then hearing those redesigned sound effects.
Additionally, a lot of the game's music contains the same familiar elements to provoke similar feelings. The game's soundtrack is a kick-ass compilation of infamous Sonic tracks, save for the more modern iterations featured from Sonic Colors or Sonic Rush, which are mostly goofy, easily-forgettable Asian rock-pop compositions. The soundtrack is available for purchase, so anyone who can't get enough of the chiptune/Eastern pop infusion can grab himself or herself a physical (or digital copy).
replay value
Like any platformer, the replay value is dictated by the ability to weave secondary challenges into the game's core mechanics, without feeling like arbitrary distractions from completing the main story. Outside of the various challenges mentioned earlier, there are a number of other in-game collectibles to hunt down. For example, there are five red stars found in each level: finding them will open up extras like concept artwork and other goodies aimed at pleasing the hardcore fan.
The ability system also provides a bit of replay: experimenting with different speed or power-based ability sets adds a little bit of strategy into true mastery – though the abilities really boil down to serve two purposes, speed or protection, so the value is a bit limited. A Time Attack mode complete with online leaderboards is great for the chart-topping speed demon hiding inside all of us – but outside of that, there isn't much else to do once the story is completed. A two-player co-operative mode is sorely missing, but considering the multiplayer options of other recent Sonic titles, this might've been a smart decision on the developer’s part.
bottom line
A part of me has a hard time embracing what is essentially the video game equivalent of a compilation album. As a piece of homage, Sonic Generations is a fantastic tribute to the best-sellers of past generations, but at times feels like the creative minds at Sega really don't know what to do with their signature character after a string of ill-received releases in recent years.
That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy enjoy Generations; its not a title that's going to save the franchise moving forward, but its attention to detail and unique two-character story, it's an enjoyable title in its own right. All worries for the future aside, Sonic Generations is the perfect title to introduce new gamers to the Sonic universe, and a kinetic, action-packed platformer for gamers looking to test their reflexes – or just want to beat up on one of gaming's greatest adversaries, the infamous Dr. Eggman.
Review by: Randy Dankievitch
Posted: 04/06/2012
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Gameplay:
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8.0 |
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Graphics:
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7.5 |
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Sound:
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8.0 |
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Replay Value:
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6.5 |
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Bottom Line:
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7.5 |
