Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Worth playing"

Pros:
-Good visuals
-Great soundtrack
-2-D and 3-D Sonics are both great to play
-Lot's of challenges and extras
-Stages are dynamic and fun

Cons:
-A bit short
-Last boss is confusing

Modern day Sonic games have a bit of a muddy reputation, some fans appreciate them, others absolutely loath them, however in the case of Sonic Generations, SEGA has made a great game that will please all the fans, both the old and the new.

Sonic Generations revolves around an odd mix up through time that has modern day Sonic and his past self teaming up to stop Doctor Eggman from taking over the world (or at least time and space) and rescuing his (or rather, their) friends in the process. The storyline is fairly lighthearted as you would come to expect, but it does a good job at keeping you engaged and it's something that people of all ages can appreciate. The main story will take you from classic, and modern, Sonic stages. All of which have been perfectly designed with excellent detail and atmosphere.

You will enjoy running through Chemical Zone once again, or zooming through City Escape, and enjoying all the beautiful scenery that comes with it. The best part though is that you can enjoy all the great stages in two completely different ways, either classic style with 2-D Sonic, or much like modern style with 3-D Sonic. The gameplay is fairly easy to get a grasp of, Sonic moves as you would expect and jumping back and forth between 2-D and 3-D Sonic is a breeze. You will have no problems adjusting at all. You can also buy slight upgrades for either Sonic to use with your points, such as stopping on a dime or being able to hold on to more rings after being hit, and more. This provides a small, but nice customization option to Generations.

The main storyline however is a bit on the short side, which is a bit disappointing as Sonic Generations provides such a great experience that you'll wish it went on forever. However Generations does offer a lot of extra side missions and content to discover, from side bosses such as race duels with Shadow, to trying to find all the red emblem stars in stages, secret unlocks, or just competing for the top spot on the online leader boards, Sonic Generations does offer a good amount of side content to keep you busy after the credits are over, provided you can figure out how to defeat the final boss exactly. I'm not going to spoil anything, but it took me quite a while to beat him due to the poor directions that Generations gives at how to defeat the final boss, making it a bit of a frustrating experience. But this is a fairly minor issue in the grand scheme of things.

Visually, Sonic Generations is very impressive. There are better looking games out there, but Generations has an excellent art style that makes good use of the entire spectrum of colors, and the graphics are detailed with good character models. Sonic Generations provides a pleasing experience for the eyes. The soundtrack is also nicely done, with remixes of classic tracks such as Chemical Zone and Green Hill, to the newer stages as well, it's all very enjoyable to listen to. You can also choose the soundtrack (after you unlock them) for each level.

Sonic Generations gives everyone a way to enjoy Sonic, and overall it's a very well done platformer with minor issues. Whether you are a new Sonic fan, an old one, or you just like platformers in generel, Sonic Generations is definitely a game you should pick up.

Sonic Generations get's an 8/10