Back in 1991 SEGA unleashed their new mascot, a speedy blue hedgehog named Sonic. Sonic sped onto the Megadrive and Master System, kicking Alex Kidd to the kerb – becoming one of the 16bit generations most favourite heroes. Unfortunately time has not been kind to one of my gaming heroes.
As time has worn on each subsequent Sonic outing has been missing a vital kick, that little bit of character that made me so addicted to the first games of the series. Now twenty years after the original, our favourite hedgehog is back – with an adventure that promises to bring back the old magic…
Promising something for any Sonic fan, young and old; Sonic Generations combines traditional 2D side scrolling platforming action, along with the newer 3D/2D levels seen in Unleashed and Colors. It’s a mixture, which at first I was a little reluctant to try, my love for the hedgehog had waned, and I wasn’t sure anything could bring him back for me! I preferred to play the originals and remember fond memories – bloody hell SEGA, you proved me wrong!
Okay so let’s get to the story first; Sonic and friends are happily celebrating the blue speed machines birthday, alas nothing ever goes to plan and the main enemy of the game, the Time Eater, soon appears. Sucking all of Sonic’s friends into different time holes, Sonic is soon doing what he does best to free them all and defeat the evil Time Eater. Although to be fair the likes of Amy Rose should perhaps be left wandering alone in time somewhere, forgotten! Anyways, cue stages taken from Sonic’s past; including the classic Green Hill zone and the awesome Chemical Plant stage from Sonic 2. To each stage there are two acts; one for classic Sonic to zip through, the aforementioned 2D levels, and then the 3D/2D levels, where you play as this generations incarnation of Sonic.
After you clear three areas, you unlock challenges – a nice new little feature to the game. The challenges range from clearing an area in a certain time, to racing a doppelganger to the end of the stage. You need to complete at least three of the challenges to collect the keys to unlock the boss gate. Once you defeat the boss a new set of areas are unlocked for you to speed through. The bosses are a blast from the past and are a nice mixture, rather than Eggman/Robotnik every single time. There are also mini bosses in the form of Metal Sonic and Shadow; these little boss fights act as the special zones allowing you to collect the fabled chaos emeralds.
Classic power-ups make an appearance, as well as speed shoes and invincibility. Then there’s more unique power-ups for certain levels, including a skate board! Oh and did I mention you can unlock the original Sonic in all its 16bit glory to play through…
The classic levels have been lovingly redrawn, taking full advantage of the hi-def capabilities of the next generation levels. With vibrant colours the likes of Green Hill and the Chemical Zone are bought back to life with amazing care. They retain a sense of familiarity, whilst still managing to look like they belong in this generation. Tearing through Green Hill has never felt this good! It’s a full on assault for your retro senses, complete with the original tunes to accompany this foray into my childhood. For the second act, the 3D/2D levels still allow the essence of the original to shine through, making them work seamlessly together – a lot of thought has gone into the level designs. Making you actually wish for more! There are a few minor niggles; Sonic is fast and this game brings this back with a punch, in fact at times your eyes can struggle to keep up. Then with the 3D levels, at times you seem to just halt – for no particular reason.
However once all is done, SEGA have finally gone back to basics – bought back all of the best mechanics from the last 20 years and given us a slice of Sonic heaven. Sonic’s back and I for one am jumping with joy!
Title: Sonic Generations
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Genres: Platformer
Platform: 3DS, Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Release Date: November 1st 2011
Pros -
Pure platforming fun
Gorgeous visuals
Sonic’s BACK!
Cons -
Sometimes difficult to keep up with the action
Great article, is there going to be any DLC for Sonic?
Remember playing this years ago I sucked at it then and after downloading one off them on Xbox live I realised something I still suck at it!
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