Sonic Generations strikes the balance on the series again, and creates his best game is quite some time
GRAPHICS:
Sonic games tend to look great, but Generations tops all the previous ones. This game looks amazing... when you are running fast. The levels have huge amounts of details on them, and some additions, like the confetti on Rooftop Run, which are really nice additions. I added the bit about running because when the game comes to a halt, it tends to have a problem with blurry textures. It is noticeable, but not too bad. Still, when you are effectively playing the game, it looks amazing. 4.7/5
SOUND:
The voice acting of the game uses the same actors from Colors, which is a plus since they were already great in that game. This one also gives the new voices for characters like Rouge the Bat and Shadow the Hedgehog, and they sound appropriate and well made.
And the music is, like most other games in the series, amazing. If there is one problem is that almost all the soundtrack is made of remixed songs, but to beging with the remixes are simply amazing, like the Classic version of Speed Highway, or the Modern Crisis City, among many others. This soundtrack is upbeat, catchy and very well produced. 5/5
STORY:
This game's story kind of breaks the fourth wall, as it begins with characters commemorating Sonic's birthday. After that, a creature known as the Time Eater traps them in a different dimension, when time flows differently and the characters have been teleported to levels seen in previous games. Sonic has to go though the levels and get time flowing back again.
The premise of the story is solid, and it begins well, specially when Sonic and Tails make remarks about Green Hill and Chemical Plant, which is funny, but it falls flat on its face afterwards, which is extremely disapointing. To begin with, there is a huge missed oportunity to have the characters making remarks about all levels, which would have been a really good addition. Besides that, the writing isn't as strong as it was in Colors, which was really funny, and there are too few story expositions. It is extremely disapointing, as there is an incredibly solid premise, which is left almost untouched.
Thankfully, the game is fun enough to ignore the story, and the game doesn't take itself too seriously to hurt the game that badly (glaring at Sonic 06).
2.3/5
GAMEPLAY:
The game is a 2D and 3D plataformer. You play as two different Sonic's, its appearance now, called Modern Sonic, and its appearance from the Genesis games, called Classic.
Modern stages are a blend of 2D and 3D in the vein of Unleashed and Colors. But it is the perfect balance between both games, since there is a nice balance between the two dimensions, the plataforming is kept to a good amount and the game is very fast but you still feel in control. Although it is weird seeng that we have the 2D Classic Sonic, the Modern should have been only 3D, like on the game pre-Unleashed, but both play styles are really fun. Sonic's moves are about the same, with the boost (which is as abusable as in Unleashed) and the homing attack.
Classic stages are 2D in homage to the Genesis games. You can spin dash, and you only can jump on enemies to kill them. While I'm not familiar with the classic games, I have heard that Classic in this game is not that faithfull, but regardless it still is a lot of fun. Sonic can go insanely fast at times, and the control is just tight enough so that you feel like you have total control on Sonic always.
All the zones in this game are remakes from previous game. We have three eras, the Classic, Dreamcast and Modern era, spawning Sonic 1, 2 3, Adventure, A2, Heroes, 06, Unleashed and Colors. It is quite interesting seeing the classic levels remixed on modern, and vice versa, and most of the time the job is done superbly. The gimmicks are translated well on the other dimension, and the way they are set up they are just a lot of fun to play. Good examples are Modern Chemichal Plant, which uses well the water flows, and Classic City Escape, which uses the truck very well. Some level choices are odd, like Crisis City (06), since it was erased from the timeline, and one in particular does not work, Planet Wisp (Colors), which misuses completely the Wisps from that game. But overall, the 9 levels are fun to play, and replay, and even PW, which is not as fun, is still fun. The only negative to be brought up here is that 9 zones and a total of 18 levels is really short compared to the most recent Modern games and the Classic games. And this game completely ignores Sonic CD and 4. An idea? A level from CD in classic, a level from Shadow the Hedgehog in Dreamcast (it includes Heroes, why not Shadow), and one from 4 on modern. It would have been really cool.
The games ends up short in lengh that way, with the first playthough to take about 5 hours to finish. The incentive to go back is to collect Red Rings, and unlock artwork and music, besides replaying the fun levels. Also another thing to note are boss fights, which are also remade from previous games. And for the most part the job was done well, specially with Silver, which has a kick as boss battle instead of that embarassing moment in 06. But the final boss is just bad. Too easy and simple to be any fun. It is kind of a letdown actually. Besides going back to the levels, there are also missions to play. The game has a total of 50 missions for each Sonic, and they range from racing someone to finding something. Some are quite fun, but some are a real pain in the butt. But there are more fun ones than frustrating ones.
So, all in all, the short lengh of the game is backed up by some of the most fun levels in Sonic's history, which are more than worth replaying multiple times.
4.7/5
OVERALL:
Sonic Generations was an amazing surprise. After his 15th anniversary felt flat, he comemorated his 20th the right way. If you like the series, give this game a chance, and you will love it, and even if you aren't the biggest fan, this game might convert you.
The good:
-Graphics are incredible
-Remixed music is catchy and faithfull to the original
-Level design is some of the best in quite sometime
-Gets the balance the two previous games lacked
-Two Sonics that are both really fun to play as
The bad:
-Very short, but replay value kind of makes up for it
-Story is disapointing considering its premise
-Some games left out feel like missed potential