I've been a Sonic fan since the day I got my Mega Drive. Sonic 1 was my first game. So, I judge myself as pretty able to review a new game when it comes out.
When Sonic's first Next - gen outing came out several years ago for the 360 and PS3, I, like most fans of the franchise, was disappointed. Actually, disappointed is probably an understatement. It was shockingly bad. For a company with the background and resources like Sega, to produce a game of such unutterable c**p was pretty Lame. We were treated to three different Hedgehogs, and three mind - numbingly bug- ridden adventures, annoying sub - characters and poorly crafted maps.
So, nearly three years on, what's changed? Is Sonic unleashed onto the world for the better? Or dare I say it, has he got worse?
Well, the good news is that for the most part, it's better. Sonic Team have managed to make good use of 2.5D, bringing Sonic back to the glory days of his side - scrolling past, whilst merging seamlessly into the modern world of 3D. The levels are beautifully designed, fast - paced, and just feel right in a Sonic game. Even the pain - in - the- a*** humans of the hub - worlds look like they're more or less meant to be in the game, with a more cartoony look out of Rare's books than before, when they looked like Zombies.
Sonic has never moved faster. Though, admittedly, the Sonic levels almost play themselves, the sheer pace of them is a joy to behold. Your eyes will hurt as everything moves past you, and you'll be going back several times to collect all the goodies in store in each level. Sonic looks different too, from the last game and though in my opinion, he looked more fluid and 'lifelike' in the previous game, with his spikes moving with the wind and movement, the new sonic is a proper, solid character, and suits the speed and side -scrolling nature of this game. All in all, this is an amazing improvement on the last attempt. The buggy nature of the previous has almost completely disappeared, meaning there's less annoying deaths caused by the game engine - though thy are there if you look hard enough.
But for all this improvement, there's a catch. Sonic Team as ever, with an insatiable need to shoehorn a new gimmick and character into their games, have tacked on a new feature to this, the newest of Sonic games - a werehog. Yes, that's right. Sonic is hit with some eggman laser energy, and as a result, turns into a were-hog upon nighttime. Cue slower night -time levels, with fluffy sonic beating random monsters to a pulp whilst using his stretchy (yes, stretchy) arms to navigate a precarious array of platforms and pillars. Whilst these levels are playable, they are completely out of context with the rest of the game. When playing these levels, I just wanted to get back to the super - fast superhero we bought the game for.
With this werehog comes a new rat - like character.... Why Sonic needs more characters in his world, when the ones in it already are annoying enough, I'll never know. Give me Tails, Knuckles and, at a stretch, Amy anyday, but please, leave out the Creams, Blazes, and all the other tag alongs! His gimmick is that he has lost his memory after Sonic lands on his in were-hog form, and so accompanies the hedgehog on his quest, in the hope of finding his memory again. He loves chocolate, and offers it to everyone he meets. Interesting.
The hubs that link zones together are much improved, but feel more or less pointless. You just want to play the levels, rather than run around talking to gormless humans. But at least they are better, with designs modelled on different parts of our own world, and characters to match. Fir the most part, this time round, the mini games are skippable.
So, as ever, I'm left feeling slightly deflated with this newest Sonic title. But for once, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. The speed levels are amazingly good, with only a few bugs to niggle. The werehog levels are also playable, being crash - bandicoot like in their approach, but feel shoehorned in and interrupt the smooth flow of play. But it seems, at last, like Sonic Team are taking note of the public. Perhaps, in another three years time, they'll hit the bullseye.
