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Okay so I picked Sonic Generations for £35 from my local Asda, I had been following it for a while but it did get lost within the release of BF and MW3.

I will set story parts into Spoilers so I dont give it away to anybody wanting it.

Currently I havnt played much of it, defeated 2 bosses or so.

The Beginning:

After going through the menus and starting a new game you are placed, as the Retro Sonic, in the ever popular Green Hill Zone. Its a simple sidescrolling platformer from here on. Proceed to the right hand side to reach the goal, pretty standard stuff.

After the 1st stage is completed the start of the story kicks in.


Pretty standard story tbh.

The Hub "Level":

As the name implies this is a level within the game to access all the levels in the game. It is a colourless void, only whites, blacks and greys exist here.
However upon completing a level only half of the mini-world is restored to its colourful self. This leads to having to do 2 Acts to fully complete the level, taken straight from the classic games. Complete the Acts to complete the level.

Upon completing the 1st level fully I expected to face a boss as usually is a case of 2 Acts then a boss in the classics, sadly this was not the case. I got put back into the Hub ready to complete more Levels.

After completing 3 levels(6 Acts in total) I then notice miniature portals dotted around the Hub, these portals lead into challenges. Pretty nifty I thought, but its obviously to extend the gameplay length.
To the far right was this blackish-purple matter which I could not pass through. Right next to it is a locked portal which requires 3 keys. The keys are contained within the Hub(1 for each level) but are surrounded by a force of some sort. You need to beat 1 challenge portal to unlock the corresponding level's key.

After completing 3 challenges I then fight the big bad boss, a standard boss fight for those used to sonic games, hit X boss is spot Y to win.

Then is rinse and repeat I presume.

The Level Components:

As I said the levels are split into two Acts, one for Retro style gameplay and one for Modern gameplay. Both need to be played to move onto the next level.

Classic:

Classical Sonic gameplay. Move from left to right, defeating enemies, jumping holes and completing the stage. Any Sonic fan should know this style of gameplay well, heck even Mario fans know it.

Modern:
As much I would like to say its fully modern, its actually not. This swaps between the 2-D style and the 3-D style, pretty well I might add. The easiest way to explain it is for those who played the awful game called Sonic Unleashed then the modern parts are the same as the daytime levels, which I loved.

So here we have 2 slightly different ways to play. Classic 2D style or a 3D level with some 2D stile thrown in.

Game Length:

The main let down is the length of the game. After completing 6 levels and 2 bosses I already have 4 of the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Each section(3 levels, 1 boss) currently has 2 obtainable Emeralds, 1 from the Boss and 1 from a rival. Beat the rival in a challenge of some description to win the emerald.

Sounds:

I would think the sounds would be perfect if two things were to happen:
Use of the original Songs - Some of the remixed stuff just doesn't sound as good.
Use of the original Voice Actors - Seriously, it seems every voice actor from previous games were fired and somebody else replaced them, its not what im used to their voices being :(

Graphics:

What can I say, each environment looks damn right pretty. It may not be up there with some highend stuff but it fits the game nicely.

Conclusion:

I would highly tell anybody looking for some quick nostalgia to really give it a go. While yes everything is updated to use newer models and such, the key gameplay we know and love is still there. I also love the remixed bosses, familiar bosses but different ways to beat them ( eg hit 2 may not be the same as hit 1).

Heres to a much longer time playing it.

There are other features I have not mentioned purely because they are either roughly the same as something else, or I think they are not needed to enjoy the game to its fullest.

I used to be a fan of Sonic games years ago, but they have pumped out so many terribad games in the last 5-10 years. Ill have to check this out, as Im either a glutton for punishment, or I have that sliver of hope, that its going to be a good game

KingCracker wrote:I used to be a fan of Sonic games years ago, but they have pumped out so many terribad games in the last 5-10 years. Ill have to check this out, as Im either a glutton for punishment, or I have that sliver of hope, that its going to be a good game

I will admit I was really unsure of buying it, the last decent one I played was Sonic Heroes. It wasnt easy to decide to get it as I didnt want to blow more money on a crap game. Im glad its pretty good compared to others.

KingCracker wrote:I used to be a fan of Sonic games years ago, but they have pumped out so many terribad games in the last 5-10 years. Ill have to check this out, as Im either a glutton for punishment, or I have that sliver of hope, that its going to be a good game

Slivers of hope are the last things you want in terms of sonic games. Reminds me of this.

johnscott10 wrote:

KingCracker wrote:I used to be a fan of Sonic games years ago, but they have pumped out so many terribad games in the last 5-10 years. Ill have to check this out, as Im either a glutton for punishment, or I have that sliver of hope, that its going to be a good game

I will admit I was really unsure of buying it, the last decent one I played was Sonic Heroes. It wasnt easy to decide to get it as I didnt want to blow more money on a crap game. Im glad its pretty good compared to others.

Well wait a second, compared to the others? You realize the others are ass on a disc right? There are plenty games out there that are good compared to their other, crappier cousins, but are still bad games

I won a competition a while back and my copies of Sonic Generations (PS3 and 3DS) should be coming in the mail any day now.

I think Sega made a good move by going back to its roots with Sonic Generations. Sonic was one of those games that never made the transition to 3D game play very well (same with fighting games like Street Fighter). I think partly because the newer games tended to abuse pitfalls and quick time events too much as well containing awkward gameplay elements that moved the emphasis away from tradition Sonic fast paced platforming.

The last “great” Sonic titles I personally played were Sonic Rush 1 and Shadow the Hedgehog (not necessarily a proper Sonic game but it was great if you had previously followed Shadow’s storyline from Adventure2, Heroes and Battle). It is good to see that the console version gameplay for Modern Sonic uses the 2D/3D hybrid style.

Hopefully the gameplay elements in Sonic Generations aren’t a one off and Generations is a start of good Sonic games.

In fairness, Sonic didn't completely fail at making the transition to 3D. I think it was just losing the classic gameplay elements (or having them shoved to the side) that made the 3D games suck. Think of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle - the Sonic/Shadow levels were really fun, but all the Robotnik/Tails and Rouge/Knuckles were just tedious. Sonic Heroes was actually a damned fine Sonic game, and the gameplay itself was those same levels with extra elements that required switching between two other characters.

On the other hand, Sonic Unleashed tried to introduce a combat system, which sucked. Sonic Chronicles: the Dark Brotherhood tried to turn Sonic into a turn-based RPG, and it was awful. Shadow the Hedgehog tried to turn Sonic into a shooter (with the classic elements) and while it wasn't nearly as bad as some of the other titles, it definitely wasn't remotely as good as other Sonic games in the series.

I may well pick up Sonic Generations when it inevitably goes on sale during Black Friday on Steam. From the sounds of the review, it combined the best (or at least, not as bad) parts of the 2D and 3D Sonic titles, and meshed them together. Sounds like a fun game.

I have not laid hands on a Sonic game since Sonic The Hedgehog 3 on the MegaDrive (Genesis)....after hearing what people think of the transition into 3D, I'm glad I havnt. I bought a Dreamcast many moons ago, when it was a new shiny console, and a Sonic game came bundled with it. Can't remember which one it was but I never played it as Soul Caliber 2 came with it as well!
As for Generations, I might d/l the demo from PSN and give it a go. It can't be that bad, can it?

sarpedons-right-hand wrote:I have not laid hands on a Sonic game since Sonic The Hedgehog 3 on the MegaDrive (Genesis)....after hearing what people think of the transition into 3D, I'm glad I havnt. I bought a Dreamcast many moons ago, when it was a new shiny console, and a Sonic game came bundled with it. Can't remember which one it was but I never played it as Soul Caliber 2 came with it as well!
As for Generations, I might d/l the demo from PSN and give it a go. It can't be that bad, can it?

Dude! You missed out on the best 3D Sonic game to date imo, Sonic Adventures was an instant classic. While I did find it slightly annoying that it wasnt a game 100% based on playing as Sonic, the other characters helped break up Sonics style levels if need be. That and it contains the most badass boss I think.

AS for Generations, iv already said what I think so

johnscott10 wrote:

sarpedons-right-hand wrote:I have not laid hands on a Sonic game since Sonic The Hedgehog 3 on the MegaDrive (Genesis)....after hearing what people think of the transition into 3D, I'm glad I havnt. I bought a Dreamcast many moons ago, when it was a new shiny console, and a Sonic game came bundled with it. Can't remember which one it was but I never played it as Soul Caliber 2 came with it as well!
As for Generations, I might d/l the demo from PSN and give it a go. It can't be that bad, can it?

Dude! You missed out on the best 3D Sonic game to date imo, Sonic Adventures was an instant classic. While I did find it slightly annoying that it wasnt a game 100% based on playing as Sonic, the other characters helped break up Sonics style levels if need be. That and it contains the most badass boss I think.

AS for Generations, iv already said what I think so

I hated Sonic Adventures, Sonic is at it's best as a side scroller why mess with the formula.