Sonic Generations (Greatest Hits) - PlayStation 3

First, some background.I grew up a Sonic kid. I played Mario like everyone else too, but after playing Sonic 2 for the first time back in 1993, I was hooked. I played through Sonic CD, Spinball, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and even gave Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast a shot and loved them all. But as time went on, the newer Sonic games just didn't grab my attention. Occasionally I tried them, but each time I just wasn't impressed (in fact, the game commonly referred to as Sonic 2006 was practically unplayable). I still found myself playing the classic Sonic collections when they were released on each new system. I suppose that means I fit in the "Classic Sonic" crowd (Apparently there's quite a divide on the internet).So when I found out that Sega was going back to basics one more time and trying to finally make a game that brought the old fans and the new fans together, admittedly I was skeptical. But with each new trailer released, I found myself getting more and more excited for the release, and let me say, I wasn't disappointed!GraphicsThe game is gorgeous. From the level design down to the fine details like the stitching of Sonic's gloves, the game doesn't disappoint. 10/10SoundAnother one Sega hit out of the park. According to some of the videos I saw from Sega, there was a ton of emphasis put on getting the music right, without sounding stale. Classic levels like Green Hill Zone and Chemical Plant Zone sound like their originals, but are slightly remixed and in the end sound great. Playing through those levels as Classic Sonic really brought me back just by the music alone! Some of the unlockables in the game are soundtracks from all the Sonic games that can be played on any level. Sound effects are well done too, even the jump sounds are unique to each Sonic. 10/10StoryIt's a Sonic game, what do you expect? Generations stitches together enough of a story to keep things flowing, but don't expect something with the depth of The Godfather. 7/10Gameplay part 1, ControlsOk, the nitty gritty. People are always going to complain about something and the most common thing I've read about is physics for Classic Sonic. Yes, they are different, but not so drastically different like they were in the downloadable Sonic 4. It took very little time to get used to them. The other common complaint is Sega deciding to put "spin dash" as its own button, but after going back and forth between the two Sonics you realize why. Modern Sonic uses the square button (on PS3) to boost his speed and after awhile you find yourself trying to do the same thing with Classic Sonic. Luckily, spin dash is also the square button, so it makes the transition much easier. Honestly, I had more issue with trying to break the old habit of holding down when I wanted to perform a spin dash as it is no longer necessary in this game, and tends to have less than satisfactory results when you do.For Modern Sonic, I was honestly surprised by how easy he was to control. In my experience with past "Modern Sonic" games, I found myself getting frustrated when he just wouldn't do the things you wanted him to do. Combine that with poor collision detection, and you would fall to your death... a lot. With Generations, this was cleaned up quite a bit. I still seem to fall to my death frequently, but at least I'm not falling through platforms for no reason. I'm sure the kids who grew up playing Sonic Adventures onward won't have much of a problem. 9/10Gameplay part 2, Difficulty and Replay-abilityThe main levels and challenges are difficult enough to keep your interest without tempting your urge to throw the controller... Not to say the grading system won't. If anything this is the biggest thing keeping you coming back for more. Through all the levels you will receive a performance grade at the end, based off of various factors, usually time. While getting an A isn't usually that difficult, getting an S is. Trust me, nothing is more annoying than missing an S by tenths of a second. For completionist, there's quite a few little hidden things throughout the game to go back and find that will keep you replaying this thing for awhile. That being said, it's a platformer, not a sandbox game, so don't expect Elder Scrolls type involvement to complete this thing 100%. Still, I give it a 9.5/10So basically, if you liked any Sonic game, there's going to be something here you'll like too. If you loved any Sonic game, well you're going to love this one. If it isn't apparent by the review or the 5 stars, I loved it.So what are you waiting for? Click "Add to Cart" already!UPDATE 12/07/11I may have jumped the gun a bit on my initial review, but now that I've beaten the game, I figured I'd revisit this review. I still stand by my original overall score, but I'm bringing down the fun score to 4 stars. I had written the review before playing some of the final levels and bosses which sadly, seem to take a bit away from the game. I'll try and be as vague as possible in describing the boss battles in order not to spoil the ending of the game, but still address my complaints.The Crisis City Zone seems to emulate a bit too much of the disaster of a game it came from, Sonic the Hedgehog 2006. It wasn't outright bad like the original, but there were moments in the level, mostly with Classic Sonic, that weren't clear what you were expected to do, once again resulting in plenty of needless falls, that tempted those controller throwing moments I spoke about before. Bring plenty of patience with this level, especially the challenges. However, I will say that this zone and Seaside Hill were the only levels in the game that I didn't have an outright blast with.The boss/rival battles. I didn't mention them before because at the point I wrote the review, the bosses I had fought weren't very exceptional, and didn't seem (at the time anyway) to add or take away from the game. However, very late in the game, mostly the final boss, the game is very ambiguous on what you're expected to do, despite all the squaking from Sonic's friends the whole time, and the controls seem to turn to mush. I won't go so far as to call the final boss a train wreck or anything like that, but it was poor enough of an experience that it really messed with the pacing of the game, and wasn't as satisfying as I'd have liked.Still, I stand by my overall score of the game. The final boss battles and Crisis Zone are the only real blemishes on an otherwise fantastic game, and I don't just say that as a Sonic fan, but as a platform gamer. Most of the levels are very solid and are worth quite a few replays, especially the challenge versions. I'm hoping that Sega listens to the gaming community and releases patches for some of the issues, as well as downloadable content for further levels. If they do, I'll be sure to revisit this review again.Happy gaming everyone!

NOTE: This is a very detailed review. If you don't have a lot of time, you can scroll to the bottom and see a simplified checklist of pros and cons.If you've played any Sonic game before, the premise will be instantly familiar: you have to race through levels at high speed to defeat the evil Dr. Eggman (or "Robotnik" as people who grew up with the earlier games know him as). This game has a bit of a catch, though: you play through levels from the other Sonic games as both classic and modern renditions of both Sonic and the gameplay they represent.In total, the game has 9 stages, each from Sonic 1-3, Adventure 1 and 2, Heroes, the 2006 "Sonic The Hedgehog" (called Sonic 2006 by some), Unleashed, and Colors in that order. Each stage has two "acts", the first of which is done in a classic style and the latter of which is done in a 3D style akin to his recent games.For example, the first stage is Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic game on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. You play it with the same old Sonic you used to play it as, side-scrolling 2D action and all. However, in Act 2 of the stage, you play as "modern Sonic" who races through the stage in 3 dimensions, just like in his more recent adventures. If you've played Sonic Unleashed or Sonic Colors, the gameplay should be instantly familiar to you for these sections as well."Classic Sonic" can use his spin dash move from older games while "modern Sonic" has many more options at his disposal. He can jump off of special walls, slide, slam into the ground while in mid-air, do an air dash/homing attack, and boost forward while destroying everything in his path. That said, classic "Sonic" can also unlock special shields to use such as the ones from Sonic 3, allowing you to do such maneuvers as double-jumping, doing a fire-powered air dash, and bouncing.At this point you might be wondering if the game is a re-hash of older content that doesn't do anything new, but you'll be happy to know that you'd be wrong if you thought that. Every single level in the game is not only rendered in glorious 1080p graphics with optional 3D support, but the level designs are all refined and improved upon. I don't mean that lightly, either. For example, the popular City Escape stage from Sonic Adventure 2 is now playable in a completely new 2D format like an older Sonic game. When playing in the normal, modern format, the level is made much more challenging and exciting and feels almost like a completely different stage for the better! Even the GUN truck at the end that chases you has some not-so-subtle improvements that make it much more dangerous and thrilling (think saws and rockets).Then comes the music, my favorite of the upgrades. Nearly every stage has completely remixed music. This is especially noticeable in the older stages where the difference between older music and modern electronica is like night and day, and I mean that in the best way possible. Sonic games have always had great soundtracks (even the rather iffy Shadow the Hedgehog had an amazing soundtrack) and Sonic Generations is no exception to this rule. Not only that, but the actual selection of music in this game is much larger than you would expect. As you play, you can unlock the actual music tracks from older Sonic games, including some of the lesser-known games and handheld titles with the ability to play any track on any stage. Finally, I can go through City Escape with music from Sonic Rush!The actual gameplay itself is also similarly well-polished. "Classic Sonic" plays almost exactly like he used to in the older games, while "modern Sonic" has been incredibly refined from his already excellent controls in Sonic Colors. Moving around in 2D is just as smooth as ever, but in 3D it feels slightly hard to control due to the sheer speed that you move. It's hard to fault the game on this, though, because the levels themselves are so well-designed that it's rarely a problem. As with the older games, there are multiple paths through the level with various rewards for more skilled players such as more rings and powerups. You can also collect five "Red Star Rings" (previously in Sonic Colors) in each level, each of which are cleverly hidden and fun to search for. Each one you collect gets you an unlockable item such as concept artwork for each of the stages. In addition, you can complete several dozen extra challenges in each level such as races, sub-bosses from other games in the series, and ring challenges in order to unlock other items and even music.Overall, this is a fantastic game for Sonic fans with lots and lots of replay value. In addition to everything mentioned above, you can compete with your friends and the whole world online with competitive leaderboards. That said, the core game itself is rather short and you can face the final boss in only a few hours. With everything there is to unlock in the game, including the original Sonic The Hedgehog, it will be worth playing for a very long time.PROS:* Great re-imagining of old stages* Amazing graphics* Remixed soundtrack including many old favorites in their original form as bonuses* Many hours of replay value* Nearly perfect classic and modern Sonic gameplayCONS:* The main story is very short, similarly to older Sonic games* Controlling Sonic in 3D is sometimes very timing-sensitive due to the high speed