81

Blast from the past

georgecopos | May 16, 2013 | See all georgecopos's reviews »

Sonic Generations is a fun game that redeems the Sonic franchise of its status for putting out pitiful games of late. The game was designed to and succeeds in bringing back a sense of nostalgia with its classic gameplay. Each stage has 2 acts, where the first act lets you use classic Sonic in a 2-D environment and the second stage lets you use modern Sonic in a 3-D environment, but the ultimate goal is the same... to get to the end of the level. Both classic and modern Sonic control slightly differently and can both be equipped with unique unlockable abilities (such as being able to stop on a dime and starting a level with 10 rings instead of 0). The game has an emphasis on speed(it's a Sonic game after all), but at the same time the player needs to be patient and observe the area at times so the player won't run haphazardly into any danger. There are some frustrating parts at times, but none of them feel cheap... just usually the player's fault by either rushing through too fast or mistiming a jump.

Overall the game should take about 6-8 hours to complete depending on your skill level. The game has plenty of extra challenges for each level including racing an opponent and collecting a certain number of rings before finishing. You will have to do some of the challenges in order to actually unlock the bosses, but you are allowed to pick and choose and some are easier than others. Each challenge also has a high scorer's list if you are into setting records. Also the game has a plethora of unlockable items such as remixed songs from older Sonic games, and concept art. If you are a fan of Sonic, whether it is the Sonic of Genesis days or the fan of the modern Sonic games then Sonic Generations is a game I would wholeheartedly recommend for you

85

Best sonic game in a decade.

Vegimite | April 24, 2013 | See all Vegimite's reviews »

First off, have a game pad of some kind for the pc, it's not impossible to play it with a keyboard but the experience is vastly improved without having to. This is coming from someone who played sonic the hedgehog on the megadrive as well as sonic 2 and sonic 3 and knuckles. I later went on to play sonic adventure 2 on the gamecube. So I have a bit of experience with each.

  This game primarily has two distinct forms 2D classic sonic and the newer 3D sonic, you can switch between each before the level and doing so gives you both different gameplay and perspective on the level. The 2D gameplay handles well and is fairly precise so most of the time that you spend dead is going to be you being terrible and the sense of speed from the original games is recaptured well. The 3D sonic also maintains the great sense of speed you come to expect from sonic games but the platforming is also a bit floaty and the locking on system seems to behave a little bit more erratically then it should.
   It involves a psudo leveling system via unlockable abilities and while some of them are indeed cool and useful they don't change the game in a manner that is significant enough that I wonder if they would be better left out, or vastly improved in some way. In saying that getting all the abilities you want isn't difficult so it doesn't gate anything and it's just something extra.
    There is a good assortment of levels from previous games, but I feel the game could have benefited from more, but for the price tag it is very fair. Ultimately if you're vaguely interested in sonic games get it on a sale, if you've spent a good part of your childhood with sonic then buy the thing, it's good and you won't be disappointed.

92

A surprisingly fun game

Profoundly_Mad | April 22, 2013 | See all Profoundly_Mad's reviews »

Sonic Generations manages to return the blue speedster to glory after a long period of terrible to mediocre games for nearly a decade. Graphically the game is bright, colorful and expressive, with some truly breathtaking visuals as you boost around levels from Sonic's past games. Rooftop Run especially is a visual delight.

The game has two different styles of gameplay. Classic Sonic plays like the old Megadrive/Genesis games being strictly 2D and heavy emphasis on both platforming and speed, though his physics aren't quite the same as the old games. Modern Sonic plays like a more refined version of Sonic Unleashed's daytime levels, with multiple routes to take as you speed through the levels in stylish ways. You can also purchase new skills which give either Classic Sonic or Modern Sonic new perks or abilities which can make repeated playthroughs of a level somewhat different.

There are also challenges which can unlock concept art, music and various other things. Most of these challenges are fun but one or two are way too difficult than they have any right to be. The final boss, without spoiling anything is also a major letdown compared to how good the rest of the game is.

If you loved Sonic as a kid and you were lamenting the state of the franchise in the past decade, this game returns to form.

85

Sonic is Back to Glory

Nuxaider | March 2, 2013 | See all Nuxaider's reviews »

In my opinion, Sonic games have gone down in quality since Sonic Adventure 2. Each game disappointed me more and more so when I saw Sonic Generations, I was expecting more failure. Luckily, SEGA showed that they still know how to make good Sonic games.

Graphics: The game looks nice, but not in a technical sense. The game gets its impressive visuals from aesthetics rather than technical force. Each level is bright and detailed, giving each stage their own unique look.

Story: The story in Sonic Generations is bad. The plot itself is self explanatory: it's Sonic's birthday, Eggman creates a time warp, you fix it, but it's just so,...boring. The setting isn't explained so there isn't much motivation besides "Eggman is the bad guy so I have to stop him." The voice acting doesn't help the story out either. Don't get me wrong; the voice actors are excellent, but their lines are cringe-worthy. Sonic sounds like a car salesman and it totally ruins the interest in the plot. That being said, the plot isn't very important in a Sonic game.

Gameplay: Sonic Team finally got it right. Previous games were plagued by linear level design and speed crazy gameplay that was only designed to make the player feel a rush when they were playing. There was absolutely no skill involved and it felt like playing a racing game. This game does not do that. Modern Sonic levels are wondrously designed and have more branching paths than the older "go left or right" variety. Levels are open and encourage exploration to find new paths to the goal. Classic Sonic levels are similar to the style of older titles and is definitely a nostalgia trip. The physics are not 100% accurate to the first couple Sonic games, but they are leaps and bounds better than the horrid physics of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. The only minor complaints I have with Classic Sonic's stages are that there aren't enough loop based sections and the platforming is too "Mario-y" (simple hopping on one platform to the next.) Overall, excellent gameplay.

If you were disappointed by recent Sonic titles, Sonic Generations is the game fans have been waiting for.

82

Good game, Sonic reborn

israel_hlc | Feb. 20, 2013 | See all israel_hlc's reviews »

Sonic Generations is good, maybe surprisingly good. After many years waiting for a good Sonic game, this game brings us a really solid experience, worthy of the classic games from the Genesis era. The gameplay is based on both the classical 2D sidescrolling platformer and the modern 3D third-person based we have seen in recent titles (each of these are played with a “different” Sonic character). The 2D style resembles a lot the original games, and it is where the game got its strongest points: The levels are well designed and fun to play; the different paths bring good replay options. The graphics are excellent, colorfully designed and fit perfectly in the game. While running through the levels, the game has a nice fluency and I haven’t noticed any loading glitches. The game is not perfect, of course, especially in some boss battles which are just too easy. The plot is not a strong point too, but I really wasn’t expecting it to be. Unfortunately the 3D gameplay is built to be played with a controller and playing with the keyboard sometimes will be a bit frustrating.

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