‘Sonic Generations’ Review: Fun, But Easy

Sonic the Hedgehog, mascot, hero, influential icon and a videogame character who, at times, is famous for disappointing fans with terrible games. However, with the recent release of the blue hedgehog’s latest adventure, “Sonic Generations” pleases fans of the past and present just enough with a fun, yet short and shoddily controlled adventure.

Released for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, “Sonic Generations” literally offers a travel through time ,as the blue streak meets up with his past self when their timeline is distorted. Consisting of three eras of the hedgehog’s vast amount of Robtonik/Eggman stomping with three stages per era, we are first introduced to the Genesis era, which houses three iconic stages from Sonic’s past. The Dreamcast era is up next and lastly, the Modern era, which takes us on his most recent adventures. The best part of this deal is the fact that you can play as both “Classic” and “Modern” Sonic. With nine stages (acts) to blaze through at the speed of sound and two Sonics each, with a separate journey through each stage, you’re given a total of 18 stages.

If it doesn’t sound like much, it’s because it isn’t. Sega was smart enough to polish this game to near perfection however, as each stage offers a vast amount of variety and gameplay that would force you to play through each stage more than once to gain unlockables. Each stage has more than one route that you can take, leading to different surprises and faster playthroughs, depending on which route you take. There are also challenges that you can take on for each stage in every era, five challenges per Sonic for each stage, do the math and you’ll be presented with a total of 45 challenges for each hedgehog. Challenges may vary from the obvious to the random. In City Escape, you’re given the challenge to shred through a stage very similar to San Francisco with a skateboard, racing downhill while avoiding military grade robots that are out to destroy our blue hero, while an eighteen-wheeler tries to run him over.

The gameplay is solid, but there is more to be desired even from the start of the game. Despite holding the infamous title “Classic,” the hedgehog from the past controls differently from his genesis days with two flaws that clearly stand out. Classic Sonic’s jumps feel heavy and gravity-oriented, falling to the ground soon after he jumps which can be a problem for reaching simple platforms. Classic Sonic’s “Spindash” has also been altered to become an overpowered, game-breaking ability that can allow you to soar at great distances if used correctly, but also means missing most of what the game’s stages have to offer in terms of platforming. However, he can’t seem to blaze through a simple loop-de-loop, stopping halfway only to fall back down mid-dash. Being more of a platform-oriented character, slow and sluggish at times is the name of the game for Classic Sonic as you try to avoid deadly pits and try to reach for the highest and fastest route possible that will reward you with a moment of ease as you get the opportunity to race through the stage while admiring the high definition scenery.

Modern Sonic controls much differently from his past counterpart due to the fact that Classic Sonic can only progress in 2D while Modern can do so in both 2D and 3D. The transition between both dimensions is near flawless as you master Modern Sonic’s wide array of moves including the Homing Attack that allows you to target and bash an enemy. Boost is also pretty cool, as it allows you to run at the speed of sound and Drifting that helps turn tight corners to name a few.

Regardless of all this, it wouldn’t be a Sonic game without boss battles and this game boasts iconic fights from Sonic’s timeline, including the Death Egg Robot and Perfect Chaos.

But don’t be fooled here. Most of the fights are uber easy.

Boss battles prove to be a lot less of a threat than when they first appeared during their specific games such as Sonic 2 and Sonic Adventure which leads to easy wins and not enough challenge that may be desired by most gamers. Rival battles with Metal Sonic and Shadow end almost as soon as they start if you already know what to do which is shameful seeing as this may as well be their last major appearance as boss battles.

Overall, “Sonic Generations” is a game that not only celebrates the blue hedgehog’s 20th anniversary, but as a game that caters to the divided fan base of both Classic and Modern Sonic. Both hedgehogs live up to their names with boss battles, challenges and customizable skills to improve your gameplay. Despite the main story lasting at least 2 hours in length and obvious from the title alone, with challenges that act as side missions and music as well as artwork to collect and unlock, this game is worth the fifty dollar price tag to keep any gamer busy for a long time.