Game title: Sonic Generations
Consoles: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, PC
Developers: Sega, Sonic Team
Release date: November 1, 2011
Pregame:
For the longest time, Sonic the Hedgehog games have been the stuff of nightmares for Sonic fans. Instead of excitement, the announcement of a new game invoked dread and exasperation. From the bastardizations of Arthurian legend to slow-moving werehogs with health bars (still makes me shudder), Sonic Team has been systematically dismantling their fans' devotion for years.
Sonic Generations aims to change all that with a throwback to the old days. In it, a time-warp occurs that teams the current version of Sonic up with the original version, and players will control both. The game takes level designs from several Sonic games that span the Blue Blur's career, hoping to recapture longtime fans' hearts. It succeeds, kinda.
Play-by-play:
The gameplay works like this: each level, or zone, is broken up into two acts. Act 1 is Classic Sonic's domain, while Act 2 belongs to New Sonic. This format, which will be familiar to Sonic fans, allows for equal play time between the two hedgehogs, giving the player a good mix between old and new. At least, that's the idea.
The first few zones pull this off pretty well, with each zone representing an entire Sonic game to boot. The first couple are Green Hill zone of Sonic 1 and Chemical Plant zone of Sonic 2, old favorites. The entire game is set up to be one big nostalgiagasm. The problem is that it peters out after a few zones. Don't worry, Sonic Team, it happens to lots of games.
The first few zones are great, and play like you'd expect, at least with the Sonic that originally appeared in that game. After a certain point (Sonic Adventure 2), though, that drops off. It's hard to feel nostalgic in zones based on more recent games, mainly because nostalgia is supposed to call up fond memories, and it's hard to feel fond about a disappointment.
Don't get me wrong, the later zones can be fun, but it's a mark against the game's core concept if you have to alter a flashback to make it worth playing. Because of the way the game is set up, the newer zones, which were designed to fit New Sonic's rail-grinding, tubo-boost-using, drifting-around-corners style, must also fit Classic Sonic's more basic style. While this mostly works, there are a few hiccups.
The idea of the game is to have the two Sonics play the same zone in their separate ways, but more than once, one hedgehog ventures into the other's territory. This is most apparent when Classic Sonic runs through faux 3D areas and when New Sonic races through 2D sections. Yes, those areas are sometimes present in the original games, but I would have preferred a greater stylistic divide for our heroes.
Thankfully, the actual plots to the newer zones are ignored altogether, possibly because they are utterly ridiculous and annoyingly corny. You'd thing that since this game's aim is to make a better impression than its predecessors, Sonic Team would do something less... grating with the plot and characters. Alas, no.
Sweet merciful crap this game is corny. I honestly find it hard to understand how a person can listen to the poorly-voiced, campy dialogue and decide it was a good idea. The plot of the game has the Sonics saving their increasingly bizarre and unnecessarily numerous friends from being colorless, immobile, silent husks, but there's a catch: once you free them, they open their mouths, and you'll immediately regret being the good guy.
Seriously, Sonic Team, why? Why the goofy writing, why the zany voices, just... why? I get that a lot of fans of newer Sonic games are young kids, but Sonic Generations was supposed to be aimed at fans of the original Sonic. If a Sonic fan were born on the day the first Sonic was released, by the time Sonic Generations came out, that fan would be a 20-year-old that would expect better.
Do not despair, though, for all is not lost in terms of voice work. New Sonic's voice is good, although his lines are atrocious, Classic Sonic is appropriately silent (although the Tails twins get old fast), and even Dr. Robotnik/Eggman is well-acted. There are also inside jokes for series fans. One of these is when Green Hill zone seems familiar to New Sonic, but not Tails. This is because Tails didn't appear until Sonic 2. Although the fox finds Chemical Plant zone "really familiar."
It's also nice to face off against some familiar bosses, although the new one is interesting too. The mysterious demon-like monster that drains the color and life from the various zones is pretty cool, and the explanation for his existence makes sense, in a wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey kind of way. Overall, though, he's an excuse to revisit old adventures, and I'm ok with that.
For the most part, the actual gameplay is pretty solid, and it's focused on running fast, as it should be. It has a couple frustrations, like dying when the 2D screen can't keep up with Classic Sonic, but overall, it's a fun game. Other than the gripes I've listed, the idea behind the game works very well. Classic Sonic plays like the old days, and New Sonic's special abilities are mostly fun, but not overwhelming. In particular, the turbo meter works well, and with its speed boost, it sometimes turns New Sonic into a real blue blur.
Final call:
While Sonic Generations is certainly a fun game, it isn't the godsend longtime Sonic fans were hoping it would be. However, other than maybe Sonic 4, it's the closest we're going to get. It is a pretty short romp through the past, although there are quite a few optional challenge levels to keep you busy. You can also play around with the skill system to give yourself more rings or a starting boost or something similar, but it's not required if you don't care for it. Besides, once you unlock Super Sonic, it all pretty much becomes moot anyway.
All in all, Sonic Generations is worth playing. The different play styles might confuse people who aren't fans of the series, but it's not too hard to figure out. This may not be game of the year material, but it will certainly hold a place in a Sonic fan's heart.
Consoles: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, PC
Developers: Sega, Sonic Team
Release date: November 1, 2011
Pregame:
Sonic Generations aims to change all that with a throwback to the old days. In it, a time-warp occurs that teams the current version of Sonic up with the original version, and players will control both. The game takes level designs from several Sonic games that span the Blue Blur's career, hoping to recapture longtime fans' hearts. It succeeds, kinda.
Play-by-play:
The gameplay works like this: each level, or zone, is broken up into two acts. Act 1 is Classic Sonic's domain, while Act 2 belongs to New Sonic. This format, which will be familiar to Sonic fans, allows for equal play time between the two hedgehogs, giving the player a good mix between old and new. At least, that's the idea.
The first few zones pull this off pretty well, with each zone representing an entire Sonic game to boot. The first couple are Green Hill zone of Sonic 1 and Chemical Plant zone of Sonic 2, old favorites. The entire game is set up to be one big nostalgiagasm. The problem is that it peters out after a few zones. Don't worry, Sonic Team, it happens to lots of games.
The first few zones are great, and play like you'd expect, at least with the Sonic that originally appeared in that game. After a certain point (Sonic Adventure 2), though, that drops off. It's hard to feel nostalgic in zones based on more recent games, mainly because nostalgia is supposed to call up fond memories, and it's hard to feel fond about a disappointment.
The idea of the game is to have the two Sonics play the same zone in their separate ways, but more than once, one hedgehog ventures into the other's territory. This is most apparent when Classic Sonic runs through faux 3D areas and when New Sonic races through 2D sections. Yes, those areas are sometimes present in the original games, but I would have preferred a greater stylistic divide for our heroes.
Thankfully, the actual plots to the newer zones are ignored altogether, possibly because they are utterly ridiculous and annoyingly corny. You'd thing that since this game's aim is to make a better impression than its predecessors, Sonic Team would do something less... grating with the plot and characters. Alas, no.
Sweet merciful crap this game is corny. I honestly find it hard to understand how a person can listen to the poorly-voiced, campy dialogue and decide it was a good idea. The plot of the game has the Sonics saving their increasingly bizarre and unnecessarily numerous friends from being colorless, immobile, silent husks, but there's a catch: once you free them, they open their mouths, and you'll immediately regret being the good guy.
Seriously, Sonic Team, why? Why the goofy writing, why the zany voices, just... why? I get that a lot of fans of newer Sonic games are young kids, but Sonic Generations was supposed to be aimed at fans of the original Sonic. If a Sonic fan were born on the day the first Sonic was released, by the time Sonic Generations came out, that fan would be a 20-year-old that would expect better.
It's also nice to face off against some familiar bosses, although the new one is interesting too. The mysterious demon-like monster that drains the color and life from the various zones is pretty cool, and the explanation for his existence makes sense, in a wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey kind of way. Overall, though, he's an excuse to revisit old adventures, and I'm ok with that.
For the most part, the actual gameplay is pretty solid, and it's focused on running fast, as it should be. It has a couple frustrations, like dying when the 2D screen can't keep up with Classic Sonic, but overall, it's a fun game. Other than the gripes I've listed, the idea behind the game works very well. Classic Sonic plays like the old days, and New Sonic's special abilities are mostly fun, but not overwhelming. In particular, the turbo meter works well, and with its speed boost, it sometimes turns New Sonic into a real blue blur.
Final call:
While Sonic Generations is certainly a fun game, it isn't the godsend longtime Sonic fans were hoping it would be. However, other than maybe Sonic 4, it's the closest we're going to get. It is a pretty short romp through the past, although there are quite a few optional challenge levels to keep you busy. You can also play around with the skill system to give yourself more rings or a starting boost or something similar, but it's not required if you don't care for it. Besides, once you unlock Super Sonic, it all pretty much becomes moot anyway.
All in all, Sonic Generations is worth playing. The different play styles might confuse people who aren't fans of the series, but it's not too hard to figure out. This may not be game of the year material, but it will certainly hold a place in a Sonic fan's heart.
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