Sonic Generations | Review

So our good friends over at SEGA have sent us the latest in the Sonic series by way of one of the coolest packages ever!  Being it's Sonic's 20th Birthday, they pulled out all the stops; this is SEGA's Mario, after all.  Coming in a large shoe-box type package, therein lies a copy of the new game.  Also, some really cool collectibles in the form of a blue 3D ViewMaster (you know the one from your childhood that you could view stereoscopic images with), a 20th Anniversary pin, a seperately boxed Gold Ring, numbered for authenticity as well, and lastly a dvd and history/art book.  Quite the presentation I must say.  But since this isn't an unboxing, but rather a review of the aforementioned title, lets get right down to it.

Old School

New School

I remember, back with the launch of the Dreamcast, (9/9/99) the new 3D Sonic Adventure.  This was the first time the franchise had made the transition to a 3D playing field, and though I imagine it difficult, they were able to keep the speed, and the frantic sense of "I'm going so fast, I'm almost out of control, but not" feeling that is synonymous with the series.  Sonic Adventure was a day-1 purchase for me, and we played the heck out of it.  Fast forward 11 years (and what seems like 20 titles) later and we're greeted with a new entry which tries to mix up the best of the 2D with the best of the 3D.

Read the rest of our review after the break

Sonic Colors | Review

Synopsis: The blue blur is back in Sonic Colors, and what do you know, Sega has sent us a review copy of the Wii version to get a review out to our Sonic the Hedgehog fans and Nintendo gamers alike. Sonic Colors is exclusive to the Wii and DS unlike Sonic 4, which is available on any handheld or console you may have. The premise this time around is that Dr. Eggman has erected an amusement park and Sonic and Tails decide to check it out knowing Eggman’s devious nature. Low and behold that troublesome villain is holding wisps captive for their energy and it is Sonic’s duty to thwart the madman and use the wisp’s energy to do so. So how will Sonic fare this time around?

Praise: Do you remember Sonic Adventures, well this feels a lot like that but much faster with amazingly fast gameplay. The environments are a blast to play and many times I had to go back and play them a second time just to see things I may have missed the first time. The story is something you would find in any typical Saturday morning cartoon, but I miss Saturday morning cartoons with their simple humor and conflicts. Though this game does have a 3D look and feel, it does not have full 3D gameplay, which I prefer with the sonic titles, it is still more of a 2.5D platformer. The addition of the wisps to the gameplay help to complete levels, and once acquired, you can go back to previous levels and use the wisps abilities to help find unlockables and create a different experience after the first level playthrough depending on the colored wisp’s ability.

Gripes: Who needs instruction manuals?!?! You will for this one as when you start, there is no tutorial, you are just thrown into the action and there is more buttons that they old school jump and spin boost you’re used to. On top of the typical jump and spin, you now have slide and a button for the wisp’s ability and I actually found gameplay easier with the remote and nunchuk over the classic remote. The controls are also not so forgiving as previous games being that you can double jump and if an enemy is targeted, you can hit jump and Sonic will take out that nearby baddy. Well the issue lies within the double jump and targeting because if you are trying to double jump on a platform and there is a targeted enemy nearby, then you will have to change your plan of action on the fly.

Overall, this is a classic Sonic game through and through, like a mashup of all the Sonic title with the addition of wisps and a deliberate exclusion of werehog, thankfully. Fans of the iconic blue hedgehog will enjoy this bright multidimensional platformer, while those unfamiliar to Sonic’s roots will enjoy this for the well put together beautiful game that it is. Thanks Sega for giving me a reason to put Hot Pursuit down to go just as fast with the blue rodent that I grew up to.

Mashbuttons.com gives Sonic Colors an 8 out of 10.

Sonic Colors is available now for the Nintendo Wii and DS.