Sonic Generations can provide some incredible thrills, but it does so inconsistently over its remarkably short length.
+ Wide variety of challenge types
+ Offers 2D "classic" and 3D "modern" stages
+ Controls work well with a console controller
- Level and boss quality is inconsistent
- Some of the challenges are terrible
- Story mode is short and without a real story
- Keyboard controls are essentially unusable
- Occasional frame rate issues
- Camera and level design can hinder sense of speed and control
Sonic is back in Sonic Generations, and he's brought his friend.... Sonic. In this jack-of-all-trades Sonic game, Sega's fast-moving blue mammal finds himself thrown through time and space, forcing him to join forces with a past version of himself in order to restore order to the universe. The ensuing adventure has some remarkable highs along the way, but some glaring inconsistencies and some time-honored problems with the Sonic formula keep Sonic Generations from being all that it could have been.
The heart of the game is the "story" mode, which is a generous title because the plot behind the game is quickly established and then ignored. However, the setup, which sees Sonics past and present teaming up to save the world, does what it was meant to do: it justifies having two different Sonics with two different playstyles. You'll spend the mere 4 to 5 hours it takes to race through the story mode swapping between classic Sonic, who plays entirely in the 2D side-scrolling fashion from his Sega Genesis days, and Modern Sonic, who plays largely in 3D sections.
However the classic Sonic sections pale in comparison, as they are essentially lesser versions of the modern sections. Classic Sonic has a less interesting boost mechanic, lacks modern Sonic's air dash, and most importantly, doesn't create the same sense of speed as his modern counterpart. The side-scrolling camera doesn't offer a lot of visibility, which can make it hard to really get going and stay going without running in a spike or a bit or a laser-shooting bumblebee robot. The modern sections fare much better, putting the high-speed sections in 3D where you can see what's ahead of you and reserving the 2D sections largely for more traditional platforming, which feels better in the modern sections anyway due to modern Sonic's ability to air-dash across gaps and lock on to enemy targets. In short, modern Sonic does everything that classic Sonic can do, except he can do it better and can work in 3D as well. Modern Sonic also spends less time in boring underwater sections and his sections are generally less confusing to navigate.
However, modern Sonic does have a tendency to suffer a bit of a frame rate hit from time to time, which is unfortunate because it can ruin what is otherwise an incredibly exhilarating sense of speed. Sometimes, however, there's no sense of speed to begin with. Some stages are so stop-and-go and filled with tricks and traps that it's hard to get into a rhythm, which instantly turns Sonic from the blazing blue ball of fun that he can be into a poor man's Crash Bandicoot. All of the stages are pulled from previous Sonic games, and while choices like Green Hill Zone or Rooftop Race are inspired picks with great speed runs and an awesome soundtrack, some of the level choices have nothing to offer, just ugly backdrops, irritating music, and clumsy, speed-phobic design.
After you've completed a stage with both Sonics, you'll be offered a series of challenges to complete with either Sonic. Completing at least one challenge from each of an area's three levels opens up the area's boss fight. Both the challenges and the boss fights fail to hit the mark with any sort of regularity. Some of the bosses are drab and uninvolved; some are fast-paced and exciting. Some of the challenges are novel and challenging; some are just plain atrocious. At least you'll have your choices with the challenges, as there are 90 of them (45 for each Sonic), so you're bound to find a few types that you like and simply do that type of challenge each time you need to unlock a boss.
In addition to unlocking bosses, completing challenges awards you points which allow you to buy upgrades which you can slot into customizable skill sets a la Call of Duty. It's a largely unnecessary process made a bit tedious by the obtuse interface that surrounds it, and it makes you wonder if we're past the days where game designers create a game based on what actually works, not on what has worked in other (and entirely unrelated) games.
So for $30 you're getting an incredibly short ride consisting of some incredible speed sequences, some mid-range platforming, levels recycled from old Sonic games, a few cool bosses and challenges, and a lot of stuff that doesn't quite make the grade, such as some obtuse bosses and challenges and some side-scrolling gameplay that is neither fast nor sharp. Even for this discount price, its hard to feel like you're getting your money's worth with Sonic Generations.