Sonic Generations (also for computer) -> best Sonic 3D?

[Deeforce]

Hey guys,
soon Sonic Generations will come out for computers (November 25th). For consoles the game is out now:

What do you think from what you see? I had "Sonic Adventures 1" and I was disappointed, because of the puzzles, but Sonic Generations is different and I think it will be the best Sonic 3D game! I also have the old Sonic 1-3 and "Sonic and Knuckles" for console.

[AirRaid]

It's also out now on Steam.

I'm going to pick this up at some point. Not willing to lay down £20 on a new sonic game though.

[DoomUK]

Wasn't even aware that this existed until seeing this thread. Looks beautiful, but like AirRaid said £20 is a bit steep for what it is. It's not like it's a whole new reinvention of the Sonic franchise with brand new gameplay mechanics. Might get it when it's on offer.

[Mr. T]

Damn that looks good!

[AirRaid]

DoomUK said:

a whole new reinvention of the Sonic franchise with brand new gameplay mechanics.

This is exactly what I DON'T want from a new sonic game.

[The Pursuer]

Just finished playing this actually. If you ask me it's worth the full price tag. There's tons of challenges available for you to do and the rival boss fights are quite good. In fact, i think this is how sonic team should use those extra hedgehog characters from now on. My only gripe with this game is the final boss (ugh) and the classic sonic controls take bit getting used to, otherwise it's a solid 8 out of 10. in my book

[Scripten]

I'm a long time Sonic fan, and I'm also a picky, whiny classic Sonic fan. However, Modern Sonic's gameplay in this game is superb, and the level design is much, much better than anything I can remember from Colors or Unleashed. It is a little lacking in level variety, but for $30, you really can't go wrong.

On the other hand, don't buy it just for the classic gameplay, as you will be disappointed. It's a scripted mess early in the game, and, though it gets much better later on, they still haven't quite nailed it. Better than anything since Sonic Advance 1, though.

[yellowmadness54]

This looks really good!
Hopefully this computer can run it whenever.

[geo]

Sonic 4 episode 2 will be out in next year too.

My friends have told me this is the best Sonic game in a decade.

Are there any enemies in Sonic Generations??? It does look fantastic.

[yellowmadness54]

geo said:

Are there any enemies in Sonic Generations???

In the trailer, I saw a lot of enemies. Those crab things, especially.

And... why wouldn't there be?

[geo]

I didn't notice any enemies but maybe I missed them all. I did see the fish and this is probably the 8th time I've seen the trailer or gameplay since E3. And yes why wouldn't there be...

[Technician]

I've heard good things about Colors as well. The only real complaint I'm hearing about Generations is ridiculously short.

If only they spent a quarter of the effort on Sonic 4. That game is a steaming pile of shit.

[yellowmadness54]

geo said:

I didn't notice any enemies but maybe I missed them all. I did see the fish and this is probably the 8th time I've seen the trailer or gameplay since E3. And yes why wouldn't there be...

Well, in truth, I did only spot a few enemies at a time, and the only ones I saw were those cyber-crab things.

[geo]

Thankfully the enemies were hard to spot. And to be honest a lot of that level shown seems to be like a memory game... but I'm sure the other levels will be different.

I heard mixed things aboug Sonic Colors from friends... but I still heard that game was the best in a decade even if it wasn't perfect.

Personally I like all the Gameboy Advanced Sonic games. 1 - 2 - 3. I don't think people realize just how much the Sonic franchise sucks even with the Genesis days... Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Spinball. Those were both really bad games that I can't justify paying $50 bucks for.

[Vordakk]

geo said:

I don't think people realize just how much the Sonic franchise sucks even with the Genesis days... Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Spinball. Those were both really bad games that I can't justify paying $50 bucks for.

I don't think that 2 bad games that were cashing in on the whole Sonic craze equates to the whole Sonic franchise sucking. Sonic 1, 2, and 3 for Sega Genesis(Mega Drive) were fantastic. Sonic CD for Sega CD was brilliant. I'm sure there are others as well that I haven't played that came later, for example the Gameboy Advance titles you mentioned which I never got a chance to play.

[yellowmadness54]

Quite a lot of the sonic games have been very bad or disappointing. He listed those two as examples, not like they were the focus of all of sonic's negativity.

[lupinx-Kassman]

I actually liked sonic adventure 1 and 2. I just didn't try to equate them so much with their side-scrolling predecessors and they seemed like decent games. For some reason I couldn't stand anything after that though, except maybe sonic colors which looked alright but I only played momentarily.

With colors, sonic 4, and generations, I think they are slowly getting back on the right track. Although quite late.

[Technician]

lupinx-Kassman said:
With colors, sonic 4, and generations, I think they are slowly getting back on the right track. Although quite late.

I'd fight that example with my last dieing breath.

[geo]

Other sucky sonic games in the Genesis era came out for Gamegear... like Sonic 1 for Gamegear... just go right... that's it. Sonic Drift a Sonic driving game. Can't even say racing. Sonic Labarynth... probably the worst Sonic game there will ever ber!

But most of the negativity are on the middle sonic games like when he becomes a Were Hog.

[TheDarkArchon]

geo said:

Sonic Labarynth... probably the worst Sonic game there will ever ber!

That will only be the case if Sonic 2006 is somehow removed from all time and space with absolutely no traces left.

[Vordakk]

Anyone ever play Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Master System? It was really cool because it was similar to the Genesis version but had different level layouts. So it wasn't really a port but rather a new game, albeit not as flashy as the Genesis version(because it was 8-bit). I bought a copy years ago and it's worth checking out if you like good Sonic games.

[geo]

TheDarkArchon said:

That will only be the case if Sonic 2006 is somehow removed from all time and space with absolutely no traces left.

No... I still say Sonic Labyrinth. Its very unplayable and not just laugh atable.

[TheDarkArchon]

geo said:

Its very unplayable and not just laugh atable.

Sonic Labyrith didn't glitch out or simply badly designed so many times that I got a game over in the first level. That Fucking Game did.

[geo]

... but you can't get a game over in the first level of Labrynth... when there is nothing that kills you.

[Edward850]

By the way, I think Sonic Team is trying to compete with the 32in24-11 map Green Gone Wild.

[Epyo]

Finished the game and loved it! Still replaying the levels over and over, and even doing all of the side missions, which I am actually enjoying (for the first time in a modern sonic).

For background, I've played almost all of the games in the main Sonic series. The only huge ones I haven't played yet are Sonic 2006 and Sonic Colors, and I own Sonic Unleashed but haven't played more than a couple hours of it. Anyway, I'm a typical huge Sonic fan who hasn't been interested lately.

However, the promise that each zone's first act would be entirely 2d was a good enough guarantee for me to pick this up, and holy hell I'm glad I did, because it's fantastic. The level design is smart, beautiful, and fun. I'd say the biggest factor in whether a Sonic game is popular or not is how often you fall off of the world. If stupid Sega would learn their lesson and make that result in a loss of rings instead of instant death, I bet Sonic games would still be 100% popular. Anyway point is, there isn't much falling off in this game, and when there is, there's always a gigantic orange diamond street sign warning you of where there is a bottomless pit (a pretty lazy design choice, but it works well, because at least you feel like some of your death was your own fault.) Usually, however, when you fall off a cliff, and you think you're going to die, you just end up on a lower path. That's what recent Sonic flops have been missing -- the multitude of lower paths and non-linearity that the genesis games capitalized on.

There are nine zones, which is actually more than I expected. The first three are from the genesis era, the second three are from the DC/PS2/GC era, and the last 3 are from the PS3/Wii/360 era. I actually think I ended up enjoying the last 2 zones of the game the most, (the zone from Unleashed and the zone from Colors), those are some fantastic, huge environments. And honestly, even though I bought the game for the act 1 levels, the act 2 levels were just as enjoyable or possibly even better.

The act 1 levels are slightly harder, and depend much more on the player's attention and skill. They're satisfying, but I bet most players are actually going to enjoy the act 2 levels more. The act 2 levels switch seamlessly between 2d and 3d a lot, so you kind of get the best of both worlds. In addition, Sonic has a lot of different moves which leads to more varied gameplay. The air dash is extremely versatile and mastering it's different utilities is fun. His instant extreme speed boosts (first seen in Rush) are an excellent addition as well, unfortunately they're pretty much the thing that will kill you--using boost at the wrong time can easily lead to your death. Anyway, the act 2 levels are chaotic fun, while the act 1 levels are more minimal and technical.

It's a great combination.

To be fair, I'll mention that the bosses are all either too confusing or too hand-holding, and the jump-dash is as glitchy as always, but you'll probably be having too much fun to notice.

For 3d sonic, my ranking would be something like
SA2 > Generations > Heroes >>>>> SA1 >>>>> Shadow > Unleashed.

[Dragonsbrethren]

Vordakk said:

Anyone ever play Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Master System? It was really cool because it was similar to the Genesis version but had different level layouts. So it wasn't really a port but rather a new game, albeit not as flashy as the Genesis version(because it was 8-bit). I bought a copy years ago and it's worth checking out if you like good Sonic games.

The problem with the SMS/GG Sonic games was that they had lousy physics/control compared to the Genesis games. That was also the biggest flaw with Sonic 4; if you're going to have the nerve to call the game that, at least get the gameplay the same as the real Genesis games.

The last Sonic game I really enjoyed was the first Sonic Advance. That felt like a true Sonic 4. Generations looks great, so I'm kind of optimistic about it. Then again, I was optimistic about Sonic 4 and that turned out to be utter garbage.

[Epyo]

Huh, the only Sonic Advance I really liked was 2. 1 was uninteresting but pretty good, and 3 was nonstop falling off cliffs.

[Koko Ricky]

I was a Sonic fanboy in the early and mid 90s. I owned 1, 2, 3, "Spinball" and "S&K." I have a lot of fond memories attached to those gems. Then "Sonic 3D Blast" came out, a bitter disappointment thanks to boring design, sloppy collision detection and awkward controls. I lost interest in the series after that. I remember briefly playing "Sonic Adventure" or whatever that Dreamcast title was, and being completely unimpressed. I used an emulator to play one or two of the Gameboy Advance titles, and found those to be underwhelming as well.

So, after seeing some gameplay videos of "Generations," I have to say I'm really impressed. It seems to be a wonderful hybrid of 2.5 and third person 3D, the graphics are beautiful, there's use of classic music, and the physics/mechanics seem like they're trying their best to emulate the old feel. I'm getting really good vibes.

[purpleyoshi13]

This Looks Like I'm Back To The Wonder Years Of Sonic, Good Ol' Action And On The Edge Of Your Seat Levels, Technic's, Level Design & Power-Ups
This Game Is Putting Sonic Back On His Crazy Track, And That's Good!

Hope It Hits Shelves Soon.