Right when you think the Sonic franchise is finally on the right path, Sonic Team has to shoot themselves in the foot yet again. There are so many things wrong with this game, it's not even funny. The very few good things it has going for it (the music, the entertaining cutscenes, it's not as bad as Sonic '06) are nowhere near enough to save this game from being shunned into below average mediocrity. That being said, here are its problems.
First, the level design. Much of it is just flat and bland compared to other games in the series, while some of it just screams Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D land. The small, spherical planets; using the Rocket Wisp to shoot Sonic to another part of the level in place of a cannon; the way Sonic looks and controls on ice, the fact that there is now a time limit that decreases instead of increases, it's obnoxiously familiar. There is such thing as borrowing another franchise's idea and having it work (Halo 4 using Call of Duty's custom class system is one), but this is pushing the boundaries of borrowing and just flat out cut and pasting. Also, fair warning, Sonic Team apparently had a fetish for instant death hazards in this game.
Second, Sonic's gameplay. Sonic now has a run button, which doesn't really bother me that much. In this kind of game, he pretty much needs one. Sonic can now charge up his homing attack, but I still can't figure how to make him do it. It's all about making the homing attack reticle highlight an enemy more and more until it's supposedly charged up. The Wisps make a return, but not for the better. Three new Wisps are introduced; the Asteroid, the Eagle, and the Rhythm Wisp. The Rhythm Wisp is the most pointless Wisp of all because it's basically a touch screen mini game. The Eagle Wisp uses the Gyroscope, meaning you have to twist and turn the gamepad to go where you want. The Asteroid Wisp is just there, you absorb chunks of the level and rings are attracted towards you. What's even worse is now 100 rings doesn't grant you an extra life anymore. Why would you have so many rings in these levels and give the player nothing in return other than an extra hit for getting all these rings? That's a dick move, Sonic Team!
Third, the boss fights. "The Deadly Six" aren't so deadly. They are boring, stereotypical one dimensional characters. What's worse is their battles with Sonic are literally the same fights; run and boop him/her on the head. Their attacks are so telegraphed it's almost to the point of being insulting to the player. These have to be the most pathetically easy boss fights in Sonic history. It takes two charged up homing attacks to kill the final boss. Calling that awful and lazy is the "G" rated version, you don't want to know what I really think of them.
Fourth, the way they have nerfed Super Sonic. Of course when you collect all seven Chaos Emeralds and collect 50 rings, you can turn into Super Sonic, who's supposed to be invincible, right? RIGHT?!? Nope. Bombs and a spotlight from one of the bosses can now instantly kill him. You heard right, a spotlight can instantly kill Super Sonic. What in the world were they thinking?
Overall, this is a game you shouldn't really buy, unless you're a die hard Sonic fan. Rent it and nothing more. Stick with Sonic Generations and Sonic Colors, and most of the other old school titles, and pass this one up. Magikmike39 out.