Sometime ago I posted a review of Sonic 4 http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29463 The game was meant to be the second coming of Sonic, Sega's chance to put 8 years worth of mistakes right. It sucked and then some. For the 20th Anniversary 'Sonic Generations' was announced, after Sonic 4, fans were naturally skeptical at first but then after a few game details were announced the Sonic cycle kicked into gear. As time went by more and more details were released and for once it seemed as if Sega may be onto a winner. So were they? A few days ago this arrived on my doorstep: I've spent the last 2 days playing the game solidly and I figured I'd throw you my thoughts on the game. First and foremost I have to talk about the Collector's Edition. It was £73 including shipping, while pricy for me it was a must have. I'm a die-hard Sonic fan. I've never in my life seen a game so beautifully presented and if you're a Sonic fan I strongly suggest you grab a copy of it while you can. Some pictures: Remove the lid and you'll find this The game itself comes with a lenticular sleeve which shows the two iterations of Sonic when tilted. You're presented with a metal and weighty "gold" ring which is inscribed with your collectors edition number. Apparently only 12,000 of these sets have been made which considering the popularity of the franchise is not a lot. Next is a pop up DVD/CD wallet which contains an audio CD (which is truly awful) and a documentary DVD outlining the history of Sonic. It features interviews with Yuji Naka, Tom Kalinske and a few others and is actually quite a nice feature to watch. You also get a book of artwork. Sadly there's nothing exciting in here, perhaps a few pictures which haven't been seen before. To finish off you get a statue of both Sonics. It's cheaply made but a nice touch. Anywho onto the review. Graphics The graphics in Sonic Generations are what I'd call functional. There are some nice touches here and there but nothing truly outstanding. With the PS3 version there are some texture pop in problems and at times the game can look muggy and bland. What is mystifying is that levels based on Sonic Unleashed look worse than their parent counterparts. From a style point of view, Sonic Team have done a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the earlier games. Sky Sanctuary is a sign that Sega were really paying attention to what fans wanted from a modern Sonic game. When I was a kid I used to dream of exploring the level beyond what the hardware allowed, now in Generations I get to see the environment in a whole new light and at times I was smiling from ear to ear all the way through the level. Sound This game is crammed full of music and sound. It seems to be the one thing the development have really gone to town on. Every track has been remastered and remixed, each level has a different take on the soundtrack depending on wether you're playing classic or modern. The classic soundtrack focuses on instrumental mixes whereas modern brings in heavier rockier sounds which we're familiar with from the Dreamcast era onwards. Even the menus and optional areas have an old tune remixed, some of them more obscure but nonetheless brilliant. Gameplay Now we come to the gameplay. Sonic 4 was a dire affair. A million voices cried out "physics' and nobody at Sega listened. I'm pleased to report that Sonic Generations gets it right. It's not perfect but it perhaps the closest we'll ever get. It's fun either way. The game is split into two. Classic and modern. Classic is the Sonic we all know and love, there are no fancy gimmicks or homing attacks and Sonic doesn't stick to walls. The levels are balanced and provide enough speed with platforming. There are off the screen death falls but they fit the level designs which in themselves are huge with plenty of room to explore. Like with the classic games each level has a lower and a higher route. The higher route gives better rewards and a faster finishing time but you'll have to work harder to maintain your position in the area. To younger fans the classic levels may be tricky and perhaps even frustrating but that only comes from Sega finally sticking to the old formula. Modern gameplay borrows from Sonic Colors and Unleashed. While fun to play it still has the same problems as the earlier games. Often you can find yourself falling to your death for no apparent reason and the homing attack can be flaky to lock on at crucial moments. The game often switches to a side perspective a a la Sonic Colors which can be confusing if you've just played a long session in Classic mode. In fact one of the largest issues with the game in general is getting used to the differing play modes. Problems aside the modern gameplay is still fun and it's great to see some of the older levels from a new perspective. In addition to the main campaign there are multiple challenges for each level. It's necessary to do one in order to progress in the story however playing more unlocks bonus content. There are some novel ideas in the challenge modes and they also introduce some classic content such as elemental shields and a few old characters. Rather than just use the same level over and over again, Sonic Team have rebuilt some of the levels and even changed the time of day. Green Hill and City Escape at night are very cool to see. The challenges are merely fillers but they are strangely addictive and you'll quite likely find yourself going back to them again and again to get that elusive S rank. Plot/Story It won't win an oscar and at times the voice acting can be cringeworthy but it's a novel story idea and there are some truly funny moments at times. Sonic Team have quite clearly identified their failings and Sonic and Tails don't hesitate to crack a few in jokes now and then. The cast of characters is quite large however thankfully Sonic is the only playable character. It'll probably take no more than six hours to finish the story mode, despite being aimed at children I found myself compelled to see it through. Additional Content There are hundreds of unlockables in Sonic Generations. Sadly none of them are truly outstanding. You'll find music tracks, artwork and character bios as well as an opportunity to watch all of the cutscenes from the game but that's about it. In the skill shop you can use points to purchase additional skills for Sonic but none of them are really necessary to progress through the game and if anything they make a fairly easy game even easier. The extras are nice touches but if you're looking for a definitive collection of Sonic content I'd recommend a copy of Sonic Jam for the Saturn, it seems a shame Sega couldn't have filled the disc up with everything in their archives, it is the 20th anniversary after all. Final Verdict Sonic Generations is a great game. If you're a Sonic fan you'll get a kick out of the style and settings as well as the bonus content, music and easter eggs. If you're not that big on the franchise you'll still get a buzz out of the well built platforming stages and the replayability that comes from wanting to perfect the modern stages. It's not a perfect game but it definitely breaks the Sonic Cycle and for once I think the hype was worth it. If we're lucky Sega will add a few more levels via DLC and hopefully learn from the game for the future. Sonic Generations: 8/10
Thanks for the review. I guess i'll go for Uncharted 3 and willl wait for the price of the regular version drops a bit. Anyway, i loved the cover of the collector's edition, specially because they got rid of the top black border with the PS3 logo in white. Instead they left that space for the art and added the PS3 logo in black. It blends so much better, reminds of old consoles game covers.
Under the cardboard sleeve the box still has the black border. As for the large CE box, it's a plastic sleeve which slides over the whole thing which denotes which version it is, nice touch but it's really fragile and hard to store. The corners seem to tear every time it's taken off
I'm getting the game for the classic levels, but the LE edition? I dont know From your description of the extra content it seems Sega has kept their "half-assed everything" policy in place I mean really, Sonic Jam? Sonic Jam a 14 yr old game on a regular CD had more content than these DVDs and BR discs? Wow... Now is just me or someone else here agrees that the 3D sonic gameplay would make more sense in a sandbox game? Really, you cant have 3D AND speed with platforms and pitfalls, it makes the game unplayable
I finished the PC version and I say I agree with the qualitative parts of the review, concerning gameplay etc. It's good fun, the most important feature of all. It has a healthy dose of nostalgia, some good level designs, some fun challenges and a good attention to most details. They have really put effort in it and it shows - although I'm not very excited about the remakes of later sonic game levels.. there's a sore lack of Sonic Adventure 1 content in my view!
I saw the video you uploaded, At first I thought it was going to be a retrospective of sorts done by you, was kinda dissapointed but was a good quality upload.
That's the documentary that comes with the LE. Some peeps at Sonic Retro wanted a RIP so I went ahead and started it but by the time part one was uploaded someone else had done it.
Has the classic level frame rate issue been fixed? It looked blured on the demo while the modern levels looked fine. Yakumo
It seems better to me, the 2nd demo was blurry for me too. However there seem to be some colour differences too, Green Hill looks more yellow-y. The only framerate issues I've experienced are on Doppleganger challenge races. Sometimes it freezes for a whole second, other than that it's fine.
Twimfy, the bonus dvd have any kind of subtitle? If so, in wich language? I'm importing this special edition (with help from a member here) from germany.
I got my Sonic Generations today (360) and the classic Sonic Green Hill zone still has the awful blur on it but get this, it's the only classic level that does! Strange or what. So is it a good game? You bet you arse it is! I'm loving the classic stages very much. I've got this stupid big grin right across my face while playing. That's how much fun I'm having. The modern stages are what you'd expect. Think Sonic Adventure with better graphics. Not bad but for me the classic levels really make the game. I'm very glad that I bought this. Yakumo
Erm off the top of my head, french, spanish and german. Plus one more. @Yakumo - Glad you're enjoying it, I had the same reaction, just pure pleasure all the way through. The nostalgic trip and the half decent gameplay nicely overshadow the odd bug or glitch.
Hey Twimfy, look how my collector's book came. The pages have been cut in the wrong place and they are flipped. http://brtur.com.br/fraguas/sonicbook/img02.jpg http://brtur.com.br/fraguas/sonicbook/img03.jpg http://brtur.com.br/fraguas/sonicbook/img04.jpg http://brtur.com.br/fraguas/sonicbook/img05.jpg Despite this atrocity, the game is very good indeed. Also, I can confirm the game is region free and have english menus, subtitles and voice over.
