Game: Sonic Generations
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Sonic Team/SEGA
System: Steam/PC
Total Score: 96/100
Value Score: 9.6/10
• Story: 9/10
o Sonic the Hedgehog was having a birthday party with all the friends he has made in over the past couple of years. However something off in the distance a dark ominous being appeared and sucked everyone up and leaving both Sonic and Tails confused at what happened in a unknown mysterious space void. There they find themselves in a familiar location and as they traveled around they managed to find younger form of themselves. Now both Sonics and Tails will be going on a new journey to save their friends and their own respected times and worlds.
• Characters: 10/10
o Almost every single Sonic series hero and villain appear in this game. There are some ones who do not make an appearance but all of the major characters from the past few generations do appear. You have characters like Sonic and Tails from both the past and present, Dr. Eggman of the past and present, Amy, Shadow the hedgehog, Rouge, Knuckles and the rest from Colors, Unleashed and etc. The enemies are also the same depending on the level of which game it reflects off from. Some of the notable bosses as well from the past games also make an appearance. Sonic Generations is pretty much like a reunion for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
• GamePlay: 9/10
o Sonic Generations plays differently from the older Sonic games. For one thing levels and stages are divided into different areas from past Sonic games and you can access them through as Classic Sonic or Modern sonic in a world map like sidescroller style. Playing as either sonic will alter the gameplay and changes the whole design of a level/stage. Classic Sonic's gameplay style is more old school 2D view while Modern Sonic's is mostly 3D view like recent Sonic games. There are three levels with each area having a mini boss and a boss at the end of the three levels. Defeating each mini boss and boss earns you a chaos emerald which is used to fight the last boss at the end of the game. Each level consists stages from different eras of Sonic - in the PC version which is the same as the home console versions, the levels and stages are included as : Classic Era - Green Hill from Sonic the Hedgehog, Chemical Plant from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sky Sanctuary from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. The Dreamcast era includes Speed highway from Sonic Adventure 1, City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2 and Seaside hill from Sonic Heroes. The Modern era which is the last era has Crisis City from Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, Rooftop Run from Sonic Unleashed and Planet Wisp from Sonic Colors. The usual gameplay rules apply to both modern and classic sonic - collecting rings and racing your way towards the exit marker at the end of the stage after avoiding all sorts of enemies and obstacles. For Modern sonic you can super speed dash upon a limitation bar which can be increased by collecting rings while classic sonic mainly plays like the old Sonic games with little to no difference. The level designs for each type is completely different even though it may be in the same stage. You have the usual power ups such as invincibility, shields which range from the regular green shield, the electric shield which absorbs rings, the fire ring which can make Sonic shoot like a fireball and the water shield which Sonic can use to breathe underwater or to have a extra bounce. Upon completing stages you will get access to additional missions which base around the level of where these missions are located (which is above each level entrance). These missions also vary depending on which Sonic you play as and will have a different requirement or goal as well which can range from completing a level, fighting/competing with a rival, collecting certain number of rings or simply surviving amongst other things. Completing these missions will earn you a point towards the achievement of completing all the missions and allows you to unlock a artwork or a music track which can be used optionally on other stages. Red stars also make an appearance in which goes towards your achievement scoring and is counted towards the completion of the game. A new feature introduced to the Generations game is the ability to buy power ups or abilities which can be equipped upon purchase with a limitation on how many you can equip by the number of points it requires compared to how many you have in total. Abilities and power ups range from simple power ups depending on certain situations happening automatically, the inclusion of new speed abilities or the ability to protect yourself with some bonuses such as keeping a few rings even after taking a hit instead of losing all your rings. There's also a special room where you can go and check on character profiles, listen to the game's OST or to even look at some promotional artwork designed for the game. The online feature of the game introduces you to a competitive circuit where you are forced to do a level and are ranked by the time and score upon completion which then gets displayed in a leader boards for bragging rights.
• Graphics: 10/10
o Sonic Generations use a new style of visual design and fluidity for its cutscenes however the in gameplay seems to be similar to what you would expect see in a HD version of Sonic Colors and of Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The new cutscenes seem reminiscent of a typical western influenced platformer which isnt a bad thing. The visual designs for the characters look great especially on the older versions of characters. The environments re-done from past Sonic games look incredible with the new style and brings a whole new depth to whatever the player had imagined beforehand in the past games. There are some slow down and FPS drops but that is only because you would need a stronger CPU than what is recommended but by not that much and not very noticeable.
• Sound: 10/10
o Sonic Generations have managed to keep majority of the voice overs for their characters from all eras including the eras without voice overs are nicely done and you can tell the difference in the quality/type of voice. However even though Sonic doesnt talk might be a bad thing - what was worse is the fact that Shadow and Rouge's voice actors were changed but it isnt bad to the extent where they sound completely off. The sound effects which were made famous in the older sonic games and all of the other games make a complete return.
• Music: 10/10
o Sonic Generations consists of a mixture of old classic tracks, original tracks from modern games and remixes of all of the songs with a bit of new tracks exclusive to the game. The remixes are actually quite well made and some of them are even BETTER than the originals. Another nice thing that they added is the ability to change the music when you play in a stage. Simply upon clicking to start on a stage change the music to whatever you have unlocked via playing missions.
• Length: 9/10
o Sonic Generations although might seem a bit short but it takes a lot of time and dedication to get all the red stars, perfect score points upon completion and to get every single music/artwork unlocked. At the most you will complete at least 12-15 hours on a straight way playthrough with minimal missions completed. For a platformer that is a pretty decent amount since most platformers are usually done within 7-10 hours.
• Replay Value: 10/10
o Sonic Generations most powerful aspect is possibly its replay value aspect. With the ability to play in over 50 different stages over the choice of 7+ maps that seems to be a pretty hefty amount considering if you add the mini bosses and the bosses you fight along the way along with some of the things you need to collect such as Red stars which will eventually make you play through the levels multiple times. If that isnt enough you also have the choice of doing stages against other people's ranking and completion time in a competitive scale to put yourself in the rankings of the leaderboard.
• Player Value: 9/10
o Sonic Generations is a great game for both old and new sonic fans although it is highly recommended for old fans of the series due to the fact that there several characters, storyline moments and stages from older Sonic games which may put some people in a confused state of mind. Regardless the gameplay styles, the visuals, the music and the abundant content involving music, artwork, and challenges it is truly worth a purchase - the game also comes with a DLC called Casino Night which allows you to play a pinball machine game similar to Sonic Spinball but with better mechanics relating to an actual pinball machine.