Okay Geek Farm
Xbox 360 - Sonic Generations review
Ricardo Trejo
We’ve waited year (nearly a decade really) for a proper Sonic game to emerge since its glory days on the Genesis and Dreamcast. Sonic 4 and Colors both had their hearts in the right place but they couldn’t help fill the void we’ve been feeling since we last played Sonic Adventure 2. Well, SEGA has heard the incepid crying and complaining, stripped off the fat that’s been tying the franchise down for so long, and have finally crafted the ultimate Sonic experience. And if you feel like this couldn’t be true in the least would it convince you if I dared to say that perhaps Generations might be the BEST Sonic game ever made?
Story
For the sake of the current generation of players it would seem that SEGA just had to put one of these “story” things into the game. The oldies never had any particular plot that couldn’t be explained without a slight interpertation that Dr. Robotnik had turned the cuddly creatures of the land into his robotic baddies and it was Sonic’s job to kick the ol’ mad scientist to the curb and save his fellow furries.
This time around it’s not that simple I’m afraid. As our modern day Sonic is treated to a birthday picnic — no doubt a nod to Sonic’s real-life 20th anniversary — by the extended family of the Sonic franchise (even the Chaotix guys show up), when all of a sudden Sonic’s buddies are all abducted by an evil monster and are individually sent into what appears to be separate time rifts. Sonic is then is thrown back in a retro version of Green Hill Zone where he meets his 1990’s counterpart. It is shortly thereafter that the two Sonic’s, with each iterations of Tails at their side, deduce that they must travel to each world and save their friends from this new enemy.
Gameplay
Alright, this is the meat and potatoes of the review… this is what all Sonic fans will have their full attention on; Does Generations play like the original Sonic games of old? Does the player himself have a perfect handle on Sonic much the way Mario can be controlled in games like Mario 64 and Galaxy? What about the stages, are they given variety, with more involvement to the player than simply pushing right or forward on the control sticks? What if I told you that the answer to all of these questions was a resounding and reassuring “yes!” ?
After finishing Green Hill Zone you are taken to a ‘Stage Select’ hub where you can alternate between the two Sonics and wander a colorless side-scrolling area with entrances to the varying stages throughout Sonic’s history — Chemical Zone (Sonic 2), Sky Sanctuary (Sonic 3 & Knuckles), and City Escape (Sonic Adventure 2), just to name a few. Each Zone contains only two “Acts”, one for Classic and another for Modern. There are a total of 9 Zones in all, racking the total number of acts to a whopping 18.
In terms of actual gameplay, you’ll feel like it’s 1992 all over again, with Sonic traveling faster than the speed of sound. When in control of the pudgier, classic Sonic his usual Spin Dash can be done by either repeatedly tapping X or simply pressing X one time for a quick boost. Modern Sonic gets a boost of speed whenever X is pressed in relation to how much boost he has collected and is displayed in a meter to the bottom left. The modern controls and gameplay are almost an exact replica of how the day stages felt in Sonic Unleashed, while the classic gameplay can only be described as perfection to how it felt to control our blue hedgehog with a Genesis controller.
The main objective to progress in the game is to finish up both classic and modern versions of a world and then revive that world’s corresponding Sonic friend. Upon doing so for three worlds you can then challenge a boss battle, and after finishing up that you unlock a number of challenge stages which could rightfully be deemed the remaining ‘Acts’ to the popular Zones. These challenge stages will change the levels layout, sometimes even the time of day, keeping it fresh and new for whatever the object may be to accomplish (i.e. race your doppleganger, save all the animals, jump through all the rings).
Audio / Visuals
When you initially begin the game in Green Hill Zone you instinctively want to marvel at this next-gen interpetation of the classic stage, but you may be hard to see what’s even happening behind you when Sonic runs faster than ever before. They don’t call him the ‘Blue Blur’ for nothing and in Generations he struts his stuff that I don’t think even a speedometer could handle. But as the game begins to move from less ‘just running to the right’ and offers varied ‘platforming’ puzzles and areas you’ll get the chance to see just how much detail and care went into bringing to life the stages that we’ve blazed through as Sonic over the past two decades.
In the audio department, I don’t feel anyone could feel short-changed in the least. Along with new remixes to classic tunes, after finishing a number of challenge stages you are rewarded with various songs from other Sonic games (Sonic Racing, Sonic Spinball) to use as a custom soundtrack to any level of your choice. So if you’re like me and want to play Green Hill Zone while listening to “Endless Possibilities” then well, Generations has got you covered.
And just as a side note, while there is some voice acting, unfortunately Jaleel White (a.k.a. Steve Urkel) does not voice our classic compadre. I know, I know, sad face :(
Overall
With the exception of a few boss battles, as well as the horrendous level design found fittingly in the just plain awful stage that represents the 2006 Sonic game, I find Generations to be leaps and bounds above anything we’ve ever seen in a Sonic game in recent times. I’ll even go a step further and say that it plays better than even the Adventure series on the Dreamcast. But how does it stack up against the the original classic series? Well, that’s a bit hard to guage seeing as we have a collection of Sonic’s entire history all wrapped up into one game, and so it’d be hard to judge an entire series of games to one single modern title, but y’know what… what the heck. I’ll go on record to say that the culmination of all the right working parts of the classic and modern gameplay found in Sonic, as well as the addition of everything you’ve come to love about the series; speed, catchy music, and a wide assortment of fast-paced action that also ranges into classic platforming. Sonic Generations takes the cake as my most favorite game in the entire Sonic library and there’s not much that anyone could tell me otherwise to convince me it’s not.
Pro’s
- Sonic controls as smooth as butter just like in the Genesis days
- Perfect blend of speed, fast-paced action, and platforming
- Soundtrack is filled to the brim with remixes and classic tunes from the entire Sonic catalog
Con’s
- Story is throw-away, completely unnecessary
- Boss battles are a let down
