Sonic Generations Review

Sonic Generations

Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team Platform: Xbox 360 Players: 1 Release: 2011 Genre: 3D Platformer / Action Rating: 8.5 \ 10.0: Fantastic

Above shows Sonic and Tails alongside their original versions
 

Sonic Generations celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. In what I believe to be a nod to the classic titles, the game immediately begins with you playing through a redesign of Act 1 of Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. A splendid remix of the iconic stage theme plays, and you will notice that you're controlling the classic short and pot-bellied incarnation of Sonic. The current Sonic then finds that his friends throwing him a surprise party, which becomes humorous when Sonic receives a chili dog from his friend Tails as a gift. But suddenly, a deranged figure composed of a dark substance appears, and captures all of Sonic's friends and freezes the world in stone. In the next cut-scene, the classic version of Sonic travels into the present. You must then complete a 3D rendition of Green Hill Zone as Sonic. All of the stages must be completed with both versions of Sonic. The levels are 2D and side-scrolling when you play as Classic Sonic, and 3D / 2D when you play as modern Sonic. There are nine stages divided into three eras: Classic, Dreamcast, and Modern. Representing the good ol' days are Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant, and Sky Sanctuary When you complete both Acts in a stage, one of Sonic's friends will be restored, as will the stage. From the Dreamcast era, there's Speed Highway, City Escape, and Seaside Hill. Finally, Crisis City (Sonic '06 is canon now? Oh boy ...), Rooftop Run, and Planet Wisp symbolize the recent history of the franchise. One of my favorite features are the slight changes to the stages. For example, the G.U.N. truck in Act 2 of City Escape now chases you across the walls of buildings and is equipped with an arsenal of massive blades. After completing all the Acts in an era, you'll have to complete a handful of stage-themed challenges to earn boss keys. These tests of your skill range from doppelganger races to calling upon Knuckles to dig up medals. Many of these challenges can be very frustrating, which is why I'm glad most are optional. For each challenge you complete, you're granted a chance to ring a bell and track down a musical note with a 20 second countdown, earning you either artwork or a song. If you for some ridiculous reason don't enjoy the default music in the stages or just don't enjoy the Classic and Modern remixes, you can change which song plays. Wanna listen to "Live and Learn" while playing Green Hill Zone, or "His World" while in Rooftop Run? Weird, but go ahead. All the artwork can be viewed when travel to a shack located to the far left of the map. The skill shop is also located in this white, barren area, and it's here that you can purchase elemental shields, abilities, extra lives, and even an in-game copy of the original Sonic the Hedgehog (and infinite continues for the game) using the points you've accumulated. Each era also contains a rival battle and a boss battle. In the Classic Era, you'll face Metal Sonic and Death Egg; in the Dreamcast era, you square off with Shadow and Perfect Chaos; and in the Modern Era, you'll fight Silver and the Egg Dragoon. A Chaos Emerald is earned each time you win a battle. I'm not done explaining the plot-- how did Classic Sonic enter the present anyway? To make matters worse, Dr. Eggman has teamed up with his "classic" version who is under his original name of Dr. Robotnik,. But either way, the twist is a great way to celebrate Sonic's anniversary. This game is incredibly fun, but there are a few setbacks that prevent it from being any better. There is a steep difficulty curve, and I found myself tearing through my lives. Also, it becomes quite repetitive to play the stages twice, mainly because Modern Sonic has as much 2D gameplay as he does 3D, and Classic Sonic's sections are full-on side scrolling. Also, longtime fans will be miffed by the reminder of Sonic '06's existence), and that's really all. Sonic Generations is still a superb platforming adventure, but it could have been better. Still, Sonic Generations will provide loads of fun to any Sonic fan, and newbies will get something out of the redesigned stages.

Ups
Nostalgic twists
Classic references
Music can be chosen
Skill shop

Downs
Hard at times
Can feel repetitive to play each stage twice

ESRB: E Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $49.99 (Retail)