Sonic team has forgotten why people brought sonic games in the first place
This game is indeed split into 3 parts and while most of this review will have been said before im in a very bad mood after playing. The night time warehog stages are bog standard slow platforming, you jump or swing from ledges before entering an arena and fighting abit. I actually didnt mind the fighting, the combos look pretty and suitably devestating and while you probably wont care to memoriese them, simple button bashing gets a good result. There are some lock on issues and at one point i was forced to consult Youtube for an alternate route when the main one simply failed to work. While this isnt sonic in any way it is at least pretty and colourful, gets old fast but works most of the time.
Hub worlds...Ohhh the hub worlds. For me these represent by far the worst aspect of the game. Now most games progress automatically, as you complete one part you carry on to the next. Thats just common sense. In SU however progression relies on the collection of medals. These are found anywhere in any type of level or behind plant pots. Without these the game wont progress since you cant enter stages. This is POSSIBLY THE WORST GAME MECHANIC EVER CONCIEVED. This means that while you might know you have to go to one area to progress, you must first re trawl previous areas to locate medals. Why? the hub worlds are populated by cartoony peoples who vomit inane babble. Very little of what they say is relevant to anything, who cares if whats his name has asked out whats her name?! The people dont talk, just mutter with subtitles and after afew mintures you will want to masacre them. The hub worlds ensure that the story becomes fragmented and that just getting the game to progress becomes a primary goal. These worlds exist merely to increase the length of the game.
The day light stages are the best of the game. And the closest Sonic team has come to recreating the fun of the 90s. At least the early ones are. These stages capture the speed of the old games brilliantly, its sometimes startling just how fast you can go. They dont last long which is a shame and take up much less of the game than they should but they do offer a quick blast and can be real fun. Unfortunatly they get harder. And not in a satisfying way. Early on bottemless pits are rare and the mechanics are tight. Later you will be falling to your death almost constantly. Moves like drift dont really do what they say and rails arent always as reliable as they are in the first levels. These levels were the only thing keeping me playing but after god nos how many attempts at one level ive decided that it cant just be me, im a better gamer than that.
Technically the game is competant, which is surprising. The graphics are bright and detailed, some of the environments really merity a 2nd glance, some even a 3rd. Water, grass, explosions all look good in a disney pixar way. Overall good work with that. Its not enough though is it?
So there you go, the 3 parts of SU brought up and knocked down. Nevertheless this is an important game. The daylight stages show a glimpse of what 3D sonic might be one day. Unfortunatly Sonic team has lost the plot, they have become so obsessed with bolting on lame extras that they have forgotten why people played sonic games in the first place. Time for a new team me thinks.