A gamer who is even somewhat familiar with Sonic the Hedgehog knows that 3D gaming has not been kind to the blue hedgehog. While not all his 3D games are bad, he has always struggled in three dimensions, starring in games fraught with either too many side characters and their respective unfun gameplay modes, camera issues, questionable level design, ill-advised gimmicks, or a general lack of polish. Quite simply, those in charge of Sonic's legacy have never really known what a modern Sonic should play like. And when they came close to finding an optimum way to incorporate speed into a 3D gamespace in Sonic Unleashed, they found a way to ruin it with an awful tedious overworld and clunky, badly designed Werehog levels that made the game a miserable chore to play.
It seems that the obvious solution would be to remove all non-Sonic levels all together and make a game filled with only speedy Sonic levels. And that is precisely what Sonic Colors is. It takes the high octane speedy level design of Sonic Unleashed's daytime stages and makes them a little more dynamic by throwing in some precision-based platform segments, and wisps, which give Sonic temporary abilities like the ability to drill through the earth or hover to previously unreachable platforms. This, along with the glorious fact that the game is all Sonic stages, all the time, results in a 3D Sonic that finally feels like a Sonic game. Sure, the level design is not excellent nearly as often as the 2D classics, but in this day and age, to get so close to the spirit of the classics is to be commended.
The levels are broken into seven acts per zone, with a boss at the end. All part of an intergalactic theme park, these zones are visually imaginative and flashy. You'll encounter a star fleet, a series of aquatic levels that put one in mind of a Japanese garden mixed with an aquarium, an asteroid belt, a mountain made of sweets and junk food, and more. Unlike the uninspired Sonic the Hedgehog 4, these levels have the sort of space-age psychedelic feeling of many of the Sonic stages of old, but don't feel recycled (there's no boring imitation of Green Hill Zone in this game). They feel fresh and lively and are designed in such a way that exhilarating speed and spectacle are balanced out with more deliberate platforming sections, which largely stop the game from feeling completely on rails. The wisps are not always incorporated into the experience in an entirely smooth way, but they also help change the pace of the game.
The level designs are exciting and well done for the most part, but there are some moments in the game where you'll encounter a really short and lazy stage that has the unmistakable stench of filler. These don't occur too often, which makes it all the more striking when you encounter one of them. However, the rest of the levels range from decent to awesome. The best levels have a constant sense of momentum, are visually dazzling, and have plenty of tense moments. When everything clicks, and you're seamlessly segueing from 2D to 3D, flying through the level with an unstoppable flow, you'll feel that this is what 3D Sonic games should have felt like from day one. It's just too bad that the boss fights couldn't be more exciting. They're serviceable and get the job done, but are a bit uninspired and could have done with the same imaginativeness of the stages that proceed them.
Another thing that is clearly improved from other 3D Sonic games is the controls. While there are still moments where the controls are finicky and you'll die through no fault of your own, there's no doubt that they largely have been tightened, so that they are more responsive and less prone to failure. Furthermore, the "on rails" nature of the levels insure that camera problems hardly ever rear their ugly head. However, this is not at the expense of depth. Like the older Sonic games, there are lots of secret areas in the levels, many which can only be accessed once the player obtains a certain wisp. This gives one plenty of incentive to replay levels if getting better ranks wasn't incentive enough.
As I mentioned earlier, the game is beautiful due to plenty of visual flair and enthusiasm---not to mention vibrant colors and a great sense of speed---but the game's sound might be even more worthy of a mention. The effects are standard, but the music is, in true Sonic form, brilliant. Each track fits its zone perfectly and the music itself runs the gamut from from funky and futuristic dancey tracks to sunny surfer rock to lonely gorgeous piano themes. Sonic games hardly ever lack good stage music, but this game's soundtrack is especially well executed.
Sonic Colors does have a story, but it's not really worth spilling too much ink over. Like most Sonic stories, it's pretty corny and light, and really only amounts to an excuse to zip through flashy environments. There are a few cute moments, but you won't really miss anything if you simply decide to hit the skip button.
Sonic Colors still has room to grow, but this release finally shows that Sega is starting to come to terms with what made Sonic games so great in the first place: exciting level design, flashy visuals, and a unique sense of speed. Hopefully forever gone are the days of putting Sonic on the sidelines to hunt for treasure, pilot clunky mechs/werewolves, or fish for lost frogs.
GAMEPLAY: 4/5
DESIGN: 4.5/5
STORY: 2.5/5
VISUALS: 4.5/5
PLAYABILITY: 4/5
VALUE: 4/5