Sonic Generations

In game, Sonic is living as he would be outside of the game, by celebrating his 20th birthday with friends. Just without any illict substances. All of a sudden, some giant, smokey LOST-style monster with teeth comes out of nowhere, kidnaps all of Sonic's friends, and buggers off into the sky, sucking out all of the colour and life of Sonic's world as he goes.

What a shit.

Sonic inevitably sets off on his adventure to rescue his friends, cos it'd be a bit of a pointless game if he didn't, and ends up running into himself from 20 years ago. It's a bit difficult to tell the two hedgehogs apart; one is slightly taller and slimmer than the other, but that's it. Having two Sonics creates two possible playthroughs of every level, which can sometimes be a blessing, but other times... not so much.

Although the more 3D Sonic levels can look pretty epic, they are often not particularly satisfying to play. Most of the challenge lies in pressing the jump button at the right time, which if you don't manage to, you're usually given infinite chances to have another bash. As for the old Sonic... aside from getting some of the worst music we've ever heard in our lives, most of his levels consist of running to the right, sometimes left if the game is feeling sassy, until completion.

But perhaps we're missing the point? The game looks lush overall, it's essentially good fun to play, even if it does lack challenge. Revisiting some old areas that have been revamped can be cool, and some of the new levels aren't half bad either. There's enough replay value, provided you're a bit of a completionist, to go back and redo levels with whichever Sonic you need. Boss fights aren't bad, but again are a little too easy, and unless you're a major Sonic buff, you won't have a friggin' clue who half of the people are that you're attempting to rescue. Tails was one of the only ones we knew, and who wants to rescue him?!

It's been a while since Sonic has had a game worth playing, and Sonic Generations is definitely bucking the trend... but unless you're a massive Sonic fan we think you should hang back a bit and get it on sale. Or for Christmas!