Sonic has gone through multiple hardships in an attempt to appeal to gamers throughout the years. So is it safe to say that the blue hedgehog has finally broken through that barrier and finally put into a game that relives the former glory that is Sonic the Hedgehog? The answer is yes. Sega has purposed their blue mascot by utilizing old merits into a certain generation title. The development team of Sonic Generations has abandon trying to play catch up with its red mustached rival and take a path that involves unforgiving high speed gameplay through both nostalgia and modern levels that rely more on skill and memory rather than luck.

A purple time monster has kidnapped Sonic’s friends during his anniversary party. In addition this monster creates a time paradox that allows Sonic to meet his pasted-self and now must travel through both modern and classic stages in order to restore time and space. It isn’t a excellent story but it gets the job done. As someone who has experience Sonic games that try to create an appealing story, to have one that isn’t as serious is relieving.

Sonic Generations allows you to control both modern and classic Sonic, each with their own variation of challenges and stages. Modern Sonic has the ability to boost and homing attack and classic Sonic has the ability to perform the spinball for a boost of speed. Each stage is a modification that tailors to each Sonic specific abilities and to complete the stage in a timely fashion will require timing, memorization, and dedication to gain that S rank or reach the top of the leaderboards.

After completing each stage there are challenges and special red rings to unlock. By completing these challenges you gain access to points and unlockables that range from artwork, powerups, and even the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis. Powerups are a new edition to Sonic Generations that allow you to tailor specific abilities like shield, extra lives, and more boost. Though some of these challenges are fun and can be a true test of someone’s skill some of these challenges are more annoying then fun.

The boss battles are hit and miss in the game. There are four major boss battles and a collection of mini-bosses that allow Sonic to face specific rivals such as Shadow, Silver, and Metal Sonic. I found it strange that each of these fights instantly rewards the player with a Chaos Emerald instead of included these gems in separate stages. Though the bosses are fun I would have enjoyed it more if there were variations of the bosses between Classic and Modern Sonic, like the stages, instead of allowing only one specific Sonic to fight.

The game looks great, especially in motion. Each stage is a recreation of level from a previous Sonic title that is wonderfully recreated with both modern and classic appeal. You will find each stage elaborately detailed, but much of the game will be you speeding across these landscapes.

The soundtrack for Sonic Generations solely depends on the person listening to, but the voice acting has definitely improved. It is delightful that the developers have included the option to change the soundtrack for each stage to ensure that the player doesn’t have to suffer to that same song over and over again. The sound effects are spot on with enemies exploding and Sonic rushing as max speed while objects pass by. And listening to the characters talk to one another is no longer a burden.

Though Sonic Generations is a step up from previous Sonic games there are still some notable issues. The controls are the most predominant issue that range from non-responsive moments that can stop the action. There are also annoying challenges that plague the game that include things like Treasure Hunter with Knuckles.

Sega has done an excellent job with Sonic Generations. They listened to the fans and took what was good about Sonic and clustered it into one great game. Though some issues persist the game remains a monument to Sonic’s excellence throughout the two decades.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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