Sonic Generations

Sonic the Hedgehog and disappointment go hand in hand these days. Anyone who played the abysmal Sonic 4 when released in late 2010 will know what I mean. No matter how many times they crank out another Sonic game Sega just don't seem to learn what makes the game great and what makes the game bad. This self-congratulatory 20th-Anniversary pastiche of his so-called 'best bits' transports across all of Sonic's strengths and, unfortunately, all of his crippling weaknesses.

The story has Robotnik/Eggman ravage Sonic's world with a time vortex, leaving him stuck in a Limbo that only high speeds through various levels can repair. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Sonic just does NOT belong in a 3D world. His best stuff is 2D. Sega have had many chances at getting the 3D presentation right but they just don't get it. It's incredibly difficult to keep control of Sonic, as a weird inertia pulls him in directions you don't want him to go, and if you get the timing wrong just once you'll pretty much have to quit the level and start over as you're always being judged on speed; something that this game consistently prevents you from achieving. Even with the 2D sections in this game they don't seem to understand that hurtling the character down a declination at a furious speed, the screen unable to keep up with him, only to hit an unforeseeable dead end, is ABSOLUTELY INFURIATING!

My biggest complaint is one which ALL Sonic fans will be familiar with. The one where Sonic is on an ever-so-slight inclination but just cannot get up it because he needs to build up speed. This character, this hedgehog, is sold on speed. GIVE US SPEED! Stop giving us dead ends and cement shoes! What don't they understand? And can anybody, anybody at all, explain to me the purpose in giving us tokens that knock 5 seconds off the counter when it takes about 10 seconds to reach and collect said token? Is it no more than a sick joke at our expense.

Graphically, the game is very intense, and it may take a while for you to get used to it. The soundtrack is, as usual, absolutely brilliant and features many unlockable classics from Sonic's history, but I think they really missed a trick by not including the Lava Reef Zone theme (undoubtedly the best Sonic tune), Bridge Zone, or even a new version of 'A New Venture' from Sonic Rush Adventure. The games they chose to pay homage to are a curious assortment too. I expect reincarnations of stages from Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic & Knuckles but why give us re-hashed levels from the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Unleashed - games that were universally hated and practically disowned by Sega. They should be ashamed of those titles, not referencing them. The Sonic Advance games were far better, as was Sonic Rush. Why were they not remade instead?

The game also features 50 trophies, but there's no way I'm going for the Platinum, I've got better things to do with my time than play the same levels over and over and over and over. I got to 52% and I'm happy with that.

Sonic Adventure DX, despite it's flaws, was a better game, which is quite sad as it's 12 years older than Generations. I really wish Sega would initiate stricter quality control with their mascot. The one thing that brings Sonic down again and again is the controls (and frequent agonizing slowness).

Pros:

Lots of sunshine, blue skies. Brilliant soundtrack by Jun Senoue.

Cons:

Unresponsive, sluggish controls. Lots of slow sections.

Graphics A Sound A Gameplay C Lasting Appeal C

After the disappointing sonic games on this gens consoles, it's nice to see a game that stays true to the original sonic games. The 2D sections of this game are almost exactly the same as the original sections. The 3D parts are also great! Each stage is a recreation of a stage on a previous sonic games, whether it's sonic heroes or sonic unleashed, they all play great.The boss enemies are epic too. You'll be surprised at how many characters from the sonic series are in this game! Alsong with the main story, there are lots of challenges and an online mode.Playing this game almost makes me want to play sonic unleashed... almost. Saga couldn't have done a better job on bringing the series back to life, and I hope that the future sonic games will be like this one.

Considering the time this game came out, It was refreshing to see Sonic go back to his roots to fix the troubled history of the franchise. The story isn't too complicated but it didn't need to be since this was a game celebrating the franchise's anniversary after all, and it didn't disappoint.

The early 2010s were an interesting time for SEGA since they were looking back in hindsight of some of the blunders of the previouse decade like Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic 06, SEGA took into account of fan's complaints and created Sonic Unleashed with the cutting edge Hedgehog Engine which broke the limits of what Sonic games could be. Following the awesome and imaginative Sonic Colours for the Wii, Generations is the second game that uses the hedgehog engine and improves on the gameplay even more.

With reimagined stages from past games, Sonic runs faster than ever before with stages so crisp and colourful, It's a joy to play every time. The return of classic sonic was also a great idea as every stage has a modern and classic mode to please all fans.

I loved this game and thought it was the perfect way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iconic character. With the Sonic movie coming out now listening to the fan's voices about what they really want to see from the character, Sonic's future is looking bright. Maybe SEGA will make a 3rd game using the Hedgehog Engine, come on SEGA, I know you read these reviews

"SONIC GENERATIONS" (2011) got me very excited when it was released. It looked to be the best Sonic game since "SONIC HEROES" (2003). Although I was initially impressed with the graphics the game became a bit of a bore. It's very well packaged but, again, old levels rehashed, games mashed together and much the same.

Tails used to be to voiced by young boys. In fact, boys did his voice from Sonic Adventure to Sonic Heroes. In Sonic Heroes, Tails' actor, William Corkery, was only 8 or 9, and could have had a long career being that fox. But after being on the job for only two years, Corkery was dismissed. From there, old sluts took over doing the little fox's voice to this day, and it seemed that Sega would never use a boy again. As a Tails fan, I find this obscene and depressing, knowing that Sega is disregarding the fact that Tails is a boy fox. I can imagine a lot young lads who thought of doing Tails' words but have been denied because of Sega's absurdity.

Yes, this game is cute and colorful as any Sonic video game. But with the disgustingness Sega continues to do to no end, I'll never play Sonic Generations or any subsequent Sonic game for as long as I live. Thank you Sega for ruining Tails.