For the first time since Sonic & Knuckles I feel like I'm playing a real polished Sonic Product.
I was dreading the Werehog...why because I could only imagine how poorly it play because of Sonic Team's last efforts with normal platforming and combat (What I'm i saying with all there recent game efforts). Strangely the Werehog is highly highly polished and features well designed platforming levels yes the fighting is unnecessary for a platformer but it's well designed, deep and polished combat system that never becomes a wall for you to hurdle over for the next good platforming segment. Also even though the Werehog is slower than Sonic the levels seem to keep a steady pace with just a few lasting 5 minutes to long.
It does take a bit to adjust to a few of the control quirks for the werehog like holding B down to grapple to ledges (don't tap B hold it down and let Werehog do the work) and double jumping off poles but you quickly get into the rhythm and loose yourself to the platforming.
The Sonic stages are what you came for and they are designed to be mastered you'll be coming back to them just to see if you can make better time and preform prefect. Memorization is a big part but with the generous amounts of extra lives and check points things never become to annoying. Is memorization a bad thing...no not at all and next to games like Mega Man 9 this game is a cake walk.
The Sonic stages are such a blast though you'll be replaying them for a very long time. The only issue I had with frustration is a extra stage which you have to boost across the water...though the boost doesn't turn on after jumping some times...this is the only stage which you have to jump while on water though so it's never a issue.
The hub worlds are very streamlined and there is A LOT hidden in them and it's all optional beyond walking to the level gate. While the game doesn't come right out and tell you, you have to talk to Professor Pickle often (he opens new levels for you!) and you have to collect medals to open stages. By the end of the game you'll find yourself 20 or so short for the last level but all it means is replaying the first 4 easy werehog stages to collect them.
Camera issues are almost null there a few awkward low angles in a few werehog stages and like nearly all 3-D games it get's itself behind a tree or some other obstacle a few times though I only encountered this during the combat sections. One other issue which may annoy you is the camera rotates when reaching corners of tight rope sections it well throw you off...but after the first time you should actually know to wait for it to change and it never becomes a issue again.
Graphics are stunning nothing seems generic and everything seems rather colorful and creative. The optional NPCs are never copy and pasted and have a very creative look to them which bring the hub worlds to life. Slowdown rears it's head during some fighting sections has Werehog (blame the fur) never enough to break the flow though. One Sonic level features some nasty slowdown in the last 20 or so seconds of the stage. I'm surprised there isn't more slow down in the Sonic stages...the frame rate is most solid during Sonic's speed stages.
Music sounds rather nice, there are a few dull tracks and the werehog battle song plays to often but over all it sounds good. Voice acting is the usual 4kids! style but is this really any worse than Adventure 1 and 2...nope. In fact this game offers the least amount of lame dialog in a voice acted Sonic game.
Story...well do you really come to a platformer for story? Even so it's decent enough and the cut-scenes are the most polished and well directed scenes ever seen in a Sonic game so far.
The game isn't prefect but at it's core is a good game that is a must play for any platformer fan and for Sonic fans this is frigging amazing.
Do yourself a favor and try this one out for yourselves before taking reviews seriously...be sure to give it time though because the game only gets better with practice like most fine things in life.
Yep this game takes a degree of skill.