Sonic Generations

PLATFORM: 3DS
PUBLISHER: SEGA
METHOD OBTAINED: Self-Purchased

Story
As with most other sonic games, there is not much of a storyline to talk about. But likely, you aren't playing Sonic Generations for the story.

The premise behind Sonic Generations is that a huge creature called the Time Ripper has kidnapped Sonic, Eggman and numerous other characters and turned their world into a colorless void. Sonic quickly discovers that in order to restore his world back to normal he must relive his past adventures with the help of his past self (in the form of "Classic Sonic"). There really isn't much more than that to the story.

Gameplay
This game is pure, classic Sonic gameplay. If you liked the Genesis games, or even the Sonic Advance series on the GBA, or the Sonic Rush series on the DS, then you will enjoy Sonic Generations.

The game's stages are divided into different "eras." You start out in the Genesis Era, playing classic stages such as Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1, Casino Night from Sonic 2, and Mushroom Hill from Sonic & Knuckles, and so on. You then move into the Sonic Adventure Era, featuring stages from Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2. Finally, there is the modern zone, and this is where the 3DS version differs from its console and PC counterparts. The console and PC version featured levels from games like Sonic Colors, Sonic Heroes, and even the dreaded Sonic '06! The 3DS game, on the other hand, takes the better route and features levels from the DS games Sonic Rush and Sonic Colors. Overall, the game has a vide variety of levels to keep things interesting.

Unfortunately, this level variety is also the games weak point. Even though all the levels are re-imaginings of the originals, they still retain the feel from their respective games. This means that the levels from more recent games, such as Sonic Colors, tend to have more frustrating level design than earlier levels. The Sonic Colors level in particular stood out for me. Personally, I hated this level. It started it alright, but I found the alien power ups tedious and hard to control. There is one section especially, where you have to cross a bottomless pit using a rocket-jump power up. I lost count of how many times my power up wore off before I crossed the pit. Instead of a challenge, it simply became a frustration.

The Classic Era levels, on the other hand, are great! The level design is excellent and it feels great to be playing new versions of these classic levels. If Sega had simply remade one of the Genesis games in their entirety, in the style of these remade levels, I would have been happy. These classic stages are where the game really shines, and if you are at all a sonic fan, you won't regret playing these levels. Even the Sonic Adventure levels are well executed.
Now, because there are two Sonics in this game, that means we get two perspectives on each stage. However, unlike the console and PC versions, these two perspective hardly change the gameplay at all. The only differences are in the camera angles and the fact that Modern Sonic can't spin dash.

Overall, despite a few frustrations in level design, I feel that this is fun, classic Sonic gameplay.

Controls
One of the issues with some of the more recent Sonic side-scrollers, is that Sonic felt a little sluggish (Sonic 4 Episodes 1 and 2, I'm looking at you...), which is a major issue for someone who is supposed to be the fastest thing alive! Sonic Generations, on the other hand, controls very well. Sonic seems as fast as ever, especially Modern Sonic with the aid of his Boost ability. As I was playing through the game, I never had any deaths caused by unresponsive controls. The homing attack (Which both Modern and Classic Sonic can use) works very well. All in all, I have absolutely no complaints about the controls.

Sound
I may be in the minority here, but I actually enjoy having my Sonic games feature voice acting. This game however features very little, and for some that may be a good thing. The voice acting is limited to only short phrases now and then.

The music in this game is GREAT! I have always loved Sonic music, and this game is no exception. Each stage has the soundtrack from it's original game, remade to fit a more modern game. Tracks such as Green Hill Zone, and Mushroom hill are among my personal favorites.

Graphics
Considering that this is an fairly early 3DS game (It was released around the same time as Super Mario 3D Land), the graphics are pretty good. The character models are a bit jagged at times, but that might simply be a result of the 3DS's screen resolution. I felt that the 3D effect was well done, but it doesn't really add anything to the gameplay, it is purely cosmetic. It would have been nice if you could have been tosses into the background of a stage, kind of like in Donkey Kong Country Returns, or even Rayman Origins.

Score 7 out of 10
All things considered, this is far from being a bad Sonic game. At the same time, though, it still isn't what I would consider a great Sonic game. I had fun playing it, and if you are a Sonic fan, defiantly check it out. If you have been put off by recent Sonic games, however, I would still recommend that you the the game a shot. It may not be perfect, but it has many redeeming qualities. I definitely look forward to seeing what the next inevitable Sonic 3DS game will bring.

Good job Utsi! I want to hear from Gamer_Greg and Hattrick to see what they think, but we might be able to post this to the front page.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I'll be working on a review for New Super Mario Bros 2 (including all DLC released so far) over the next few days. I should be posted fairly soon.

You may beat me to it. I've been trying to write mine the last couple weeks but to no avail.

Spelled definitely wrong, there at the end.

Ya, I noticed that. It actually said "defiantly" before, lol. I have corrected it now (using spell check, just to be safe, lol)