A 3D Sonic game that’s actually playable?
Every single 3d sonic game that’s been released so far has been absolute rubbish probably because that speed is meant for 2d platforming and just doesn’t translate well into 3d. Sonic Generations is combining both 3d and 2d gameplay as well as being a fan tribute to all the past Sonic games. Surprisingly this works quite well, although I believe a lot of people have lost faith in their ever being a decent 3d Sonic game ever, I hope this gets the attention it deserves.
In Sonic Generations you will play as either modern Sonic or retro Sonic in order to save Sonic’s mates which have been sucked up by a big black purple swirly thing in the sky whilst they were having a lovely picnic. Every level has to be played through twice, once with classic Sonic and once with modern Sonic. This sounds like a cheap way of extending the gameplay, however it’s actually quite clever as classic Sonic will play through the level in an old school 2D side-scrolling form collecting as many rings as possible as you whizz through at breakneck speed jumping on enemies heads or avoiding them completely until you get to the end of the level. Modern Sonic will play through the stage in 3D form from an over the shoulder angle again at lightning fast speeds, these 3D will all shift into 2D at some point similar to Sonic Rush and Sonic Unleashed. The shift from 2D to 3D can be confusing at times as they both have different moves, 3D Sonic is armed with a mid-air homing attack and a speed boost whilst 2D sonic has only the familiar spin dash. This confusion is overcome simply by playing the game more and I didn’t feel frustrated by it.
All the levels you play through are freshly updated versions from previous games in the series and you will get to play through various stages from Green Hill Zone from the first ever sonic game and Speed Highway from Sonic Adventure to the Chemical Plant from Sonic 2 to the Planet Wisp from Sonic Colours. Each stage has multiple paths to clear with the usual array of spike pits, lasers, springs and various other obstacles to overcome. As well as playing through the levels from start to finish you will unlock various challenges to complete in each stage. These are enjoyable and give the game some replay value for those that like to get everything.
The boss stages are equally impressive as the rest of the game, although it’s disappointing that there’s only 4 in total. I would also of like to see chaos emerald stages similar to Sonic 1 and 2 but instead chaos emerald’s are given by beating bosses and different versions of Sonic such as Silver Sonic.
The graphics while nothing ground breaking are fantastic and I really enjoyed seeing past levels of older games updated in this new graphical style, not that you’ll have much time to take any notice of them given the games speed.
As well as the main game there’s some online leader boards for fastest times and highest scores as well as one to see how far you can get through each level within 30 seconds.
Closing comments
It’s refreshing to play a Sonic game actually worth playing and being able to see some of the older levels fully realised in 3D was for me a high point in the game. There’s something here for anyone that enjoyed Sonic’s older games and for anyone that’s been turned off by some of the more recent atrociously bad games I recommend you try Sonic Generations.
