I think it's safe to say Sonic Generations is the best 3D Sonic game...even if more than half of it is 2D. Either way, it's a great game and though it doesn't reach the same great heights as Super Mario Galaxy 2 or Rayman Legends, it's a must have for fans of platformers or Mega Drive nostalgia.
The game has a pretty amusing and slightly metatextual plot where the lanky legged modern Sonic teams up with his shorter pudgier past self to take on a seemingly new baddie that has the power to alter and erase space/time. This leads them on a journey through a game world made up of HD rejigs of levels from across Sonic's past.
Starting at the beginning (in more than one sense) you play as retro Sanic in glorious 2D with a fairly accurate approximation of the original's tight controls. It's much more accurate than the recent Sonic 4 episodes, that's for sure.
Once you beat the stage as 2D Sonic, you run through it again but this time with the perspective shifted to 3D as modern Sonic. These levels most resemble Sonic Unleashed, minus the weird Werehog bits. It's actually really good and moves very quickly. There are even multiple routes now which is cool though there are still problems with locking on to enemies. How Sega still haven't fixed this is mind boggling but it is much less of a problem here than in previous 3D entries.
I don't really have many other complaints as far as the gameplay goes. It's a very tight experience and in both modes it captures that feeling of exhilarating speed that first drew people to the series way back in 1991.
I also can't complain about the story. It's very minimal and when it does pop up is cute rather than annoying. There are a few good natured digs at the cannon, Charmy is still irritating but at least Sonic Team recognise that now, and actually makes sense which puts it above either Adventure game.
Maybe it would have been nice to see some more self reflection on the franchise as a whole by the writers. But then can I really expect Paul Auster levels of introspective absurdism from the team that gave us Silver the Hedgehog? No, probably not.
My main complaint with the game is the choice of levels. Now, I've read that the levels were chosen by fans and developers in a online poll but I have to question how A) Sonic Team let so many urban themed levels pass and B) how any elements of Sonic 2006 ended up anyway near the final game.
Crisis City is without a doubt the worst level in the game and it shows a strange lack of judgement on Sonic Teams part to let it in. My theory is that they were trying to redeem Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 somewhat by retouching the level (and the accompanying boss fight against Silver) by editing it into something more coherent and they sort of succeed but as the saying goes, you can't polish a turd. It's definitely the level where you'll die the most due to the controls rather than lack of skill. And it looks pretty ugly in my opinion.
The way the "Generations" are split also means that the Sonic games most fondly remembered (read: the good ones) only make up a quarter of the game. This means classic games like Sonic 3 and CD don't get a look in but Sonic Heroes and Sonic 2006 do.
There is respecting your back catalog and then there is just plain revisionism. Personally though I would have liked to see something from the SMS or handheld games.
There are some nice bonuses to salve the wound though with a good range of songs from many Sonic games being unlockable and playable on any level or challenge, as well as bits of art and hidden trophies. It's not as fully featured as Sonic Jam's museum mode but it's pretty nice all the same and adds to the celebratory mood of the game.
The only other thing that bothered me is that, and this will sound weird, it takes a few minutes for my eyes to get used to the graphics, especially on the 2D stages. Sonic doesn't really stand out as well as he used to and the action is so fast it took my decrepit peepers a minute or two to catch up.
But yeah, this is the best 3D Sonic and one of the best platform games from the last gen. Give it a shot.
The game has a pretty amusing and slightly metatextual plot where the lanky legged modern Sonic teams up with his shorter pudgier past self to take on a seemingly new baddie that has the power to alter and erase space/time. This leads them on a journey through a game world made up of HD rejigs of levels from across Sonic's past.
Starting at the beginning (in more than one sense) you play as retro Sanic in glorious 2D with a fairly accurate approximation of the original's tight controls. It's much more accurate than the recent Sonic 4 episodes, that's for sure.
Once you beat the stage as 2D Sonic, you run through it again but this time with the perspective shifted to 3D as modern Sonic. These levels most resemble Sonic Unleashed, minus the weird Werehog bits. It's actually really good and moves very quickly. There are even multiple routes now which is cool though there are still problems with locking on to enemies. How Sega still haven't fixed this is mind boggling but it is much less of a problem here than in previous 3D entries.
I don't really have many other complaints as far as the gameplay goes. It's a very tight experience and in both modes it captures that feeling of exhilarating speed that first drew people to the series way back in 1991.
I also can't complain about the story. It's very minimal and when it does pop up is cute rather than annoying. There are a few good natured digs at the cannon, Charmy is still irritating but at least Sonic Team recognise that now, and actually makes sense which puts it above either Adventure game.
Maybe it would have been nice to see some more self reflection on the franchise as a whole by the writers. But then can I really expect Paul Auster levels of introspective absurdism from the team that gave us Silver the Hedgehog? No, probably not.
My main complaint with the game is the choice of levels. Now, I've read that the levels were chosen by fans and developers in a online poll but I have to question how A) Sonic Team let so many urban themed levels pass and B) how any elements of Sonic 2006 ended up anyway near the final game.
Crisis City is without a doubt the worst level in the game and it shows a strange lack of judgement on Sonic Teams part to let it in. My theory is that they were trying to redeem Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 somewhat by retouching the level (and the accompanying boss fight against Silver) by editing it into something more coherent and they sort of succeed but as the saying goes, you can't polish a turd. It's definitely the level where you'll die the most due to the controls rather than lack of skill. And it looks pretty ugly in my opinion.
The way the "Generations" are split also means that the Sonic games most fondly remembered (read: the good ones) only make up a quarter of the game. This means classic games like Sonic 3 and CD don't get a look in but Sonic Heroes and Sonic 2006 do.
There is respecting your back catalog and then there is just plain revisionism. Personally though I would have liked to see something from the SMS or handheld games.
There are some nice bonuses to salve the wound though with a good range of songs from many Sonic games being unlockable and playable on any level or challenge, as well as bits of art and hidden trophies. It's not as fully featured as Sonic Jam's museum mode but it's pretty nice all the same and adds to the celebratory mood of the game.
The only other thing that bothered me is that, and this will sound weird, it takes a few minutes for my eyes to get used to the graphics, especially on the 2D stages. Sonic doesn't really stand out as well as he used to and the action is so fast it took my decrepit peepers a minute or two to catch up.
But yeah, this is the best 3D Sonic and one of the best platform games from the last gen. Give it a shot.
