Where has the magic gone?

User Rating: 5.3 | Sonic the Hedgehog X360
By spidermanc2k | Review Date:
There used to be a time in which the names Mario and Sonic were synonomous with the phrase "platform gaming." In the good old 16-bit era of gaming, these two icons could be considered equals on a highly competitive playing field. However, as time went on, while the Mario core series and numerous spinoff games have continued to see success, Sonic and his friends have been slowly dying for the past few years. It was hoped that this next gen Sonic game would be the one game that could finally put this fan favorite character and series back into stardom. Sadly, those looking for the rebirth of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise will not find what they are looking for here.

If you've played any of the Sonic Adventure games for past systems dating all the way back to the Dreamcast, then you already know what to expect here. You'll be able to play the game as different characters besides the one the game should really focus on, and you'll have to do so in order to get the complete story for the game. Although this is an entirely new game, you're still playing the same game that you've been playing for the past 5+ years. And because its basically the same, you basically get the same problems as well.

I can appreciate Sega's attempts to add more variety to the Sonic games by using different play styles and characters to flesh them out. However, this method hasn't stuck on players before and it won't stick now. The Sonic franchise has been (or should have been) about speed and clever level design. Although this game shows hints of that at time, when you start throwing in characters and segments that slow down the pace, you really start hurting your product instead of relaunching it. Controls are still wonky, and the camera still sucks. This game feels rushed in every way. And despite how georgous the FMV cinematics look, the in game stuff looks far less than next gen, and might be mistaken for PS2 or Xbox grade graphics. And if all this weren't enough, this game has some of the worst loading issues I've seen, even trumping those of the PS1. When you have to sit through a load screen to see a short in game speech (with no voice) just to sit through another load screen 3 seconds later, then something is seriously wrong. The constant load screens really ruin what little flow this game has, including in the middle of levels. This was not a problem last gen for Sonic games, so why is it now? When there are games of higher quality that push the system harder than this garbage does, there is just no excuse for this. None at all.

As a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, this game really pains me. It is without a doubt the worst of the recent titles. Even the most rabid Sonic fan should be wary of this title, and buy at your own risk. Just remember, you have been warned.

Buy if: You really want a Sonic game, no matter how crappy it is.

Rent if: You know its crappy, but want to play anyway and just want some more of those gamerscore points.

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