My Sonic Generations after thoughts

I've been putting this off forever, mainly due to playing games, but now it's time to get some thoughts down about Sonic's latest adventure for the Xbox 360/PS3.

The premise of the game is to be a celebratory homage to Sonic the Hedgehog's 20th anniversary by uniting classic Sonic (short spines, from the Genesis/Mega drive era that we know and love) with his modern counterpart (longer spines, kinda love-hate) to revisit their past adventures across the 20 yeah history of the Sonic franchise.

So after hearing the idea behind the game I didn't expect much of a story, but they ended up pulling through after all, albeit the usual sort of Sonic fanfare.

The story opens as Sonic arrives at his birthday party with all of his friends (love 'em or hate 'em) in attendance. They chat, consume chili dogs*, and have a good time until a strange monster literally rips through the sky and blows the party away. All of Sonic's friends are swept away, sucked into portals created by the monster. Sonic himself is swept away as well and this is where you get full control of the game. The story is simple, to the point, and effective in uniting both Sonics for their adventure down memory lane.

As I stated above, the game is comprised of zones collected from various games spanning Sonic's 20 year history. Each zone has 2 acts in which you play as classic Sonic for act 1 and modern Sonic for act 2.

The classic Sonic acts are played strictly in the 2D perspective and do their best to mimic the genesis Sonic titles. The physics of the classic Sonic stages actually remind me a bit of how Sonic CD played, but not quite. The physics aren't spot on but they're tremendously closer to the Genesis era games than other attempts such as Sonic 4.

The action in these stages is fast and littered with platforming sections to test your reaction time as you blaze through the stage. As the game progresses the platforming gets harder, sometimes to the point where if you aren't exactly precise with your jump you may have to back track to try again or take another route, which can put a quick halt to any forward momentum you had going.

Modern Sonic's acts can best be described as improvements upon the Sonic Unleashed speed stages. The action takes place primarily in a 3rd person camera angle following Sonic, but can quickly shift to a 2D plane for platforming sections. This is probably the most delightful version of 3D Sonic there is to date. Sonic is fast, no REALLY FAST thanks to his boost ability. All his moves from previous 3D titles are available, such as the homing attack, sliding, lightspeed dash, etc. Rail grinding also takes a page from Unleashed which is a phenomenal improvement over the previous titles to use this mechanic.

The stages are built like elaborate roller coaster rides that reward players with better reaction times with greater tricks and more astounding pathways. Pitfalls that end your life instantly are still a part of the game, however this time bright red warning signs are scattered about to let you know to be more careful around certain pits. In addition the camera is probably the best it's ever been in a 3D Sonic game.

I'm happy to say that each death in this game was actually my fault and not the result of wonky camera angles, glitched rail physics or the twitchy controls that have plagued the 3D titles since Sonic Adventure 2.

The main story only takes a handful of hours to complete, however each zone includes 10 additional challenge acts to give you more to do while also switching up the gameplay in clever ways, such as doppelganger races or obstacle courses designed specifically around a certain power up. The challenges not only add refreshing tweaks to the traditional gameplay but also unlock pieces of art and music for the museum room.

The game also features skill customization for each Sonic, such as faster acceleration, faster breaking, and even the elemental shields from Sonic 3/Sonic and Knuckles for classic Sonic. You can save multiple presets so your Sonics can perform differently depending on which level you're working on. It adds a little bit more depth and keeps the formula fresh if you're willing to experiment.**

Sonic Generations is a love letter from Sega to the Sonic fans that have hung in there through the good times and the bad. In my opinion this is probably the best Sonic game to have been released since Sonic Adventure 2. Not to say there weren't some other good ones sprinkled in here and there though. They really put their hearts into this one, which is apparent not only in the game itself but in all the extra artwork, character profiles and extra remixed music tracks.



If you are or have ever been a Sonic fan you owe it to yourself to experience Sonic Generations.

Thank you for reading!

Pros:
-The Graphics are beautiful and the stages have really been fleshed out with major visual depth in the backgrounds. I wish I had a 3D enabled TV to take advantage of the game's 3D support.

-Music is top notch, something Sonic games always get right.

-Controls are tight and responsive. No longer will you completely lose control of Sonic at high speeds.

-Great stage designs offer a near perfect blend of speed and platforming.

Cons:
-If you're not interested in completing the extra challenges or finding the hidden items then the game can be relatively short.

-There's only one zone from each game, so chances are your favorite zones might not have made the cut.

Leftovers:

* I always thought Sonic's love of chili dogs was purely a western idea invented by the SATAM cartoon, but I guess it's part of the game cannon now. It's nice to see nods like this towards other regions of Sonic fandom.

** I had a lot of fun customizing Sonic's abilities and tweaking the character in this game. Dare I say this has given me some excitement for Street Fighter x Tekken's Gems mechanic that's receiving so much flack on the net right now? Character customization is no new thing, but it is for Sonic/Street Fighter. (Sorry, way off topic from my review).