Happy 15th birthday, Sonic the Hedgehog. To celebrate, they’ve made you into an unplayable mess of a game.
On June 21, 1991, a game was released that swept the gaming world and taught everyone the name of one plucky little mammal: Sonic the Hedgehog. In that game for the Sega Genesis, you run left or right saving tiny animals from the robotic horrors Dr. Robotnic built to terrorize the land.
Since then, there have been more than 30 games starring him or his super animal friends, two cartoons, a comic book, and over 44 million games sold in his name.
Why then, with such a powerful and historic gaming franchise, would SEGA publish yet another title that puts Sonic to shame?
After the past year’s releases of Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Riders were, by and large, rejected by gamers everywhere as being graphically stunning but mechanically not worth playing, one would think the Sonic team would take some time to test their next title and make sure they weren’t setting up for another failure.
Swing and a miss, strike three.
In Sonic the Hedgehog for the 360 and PS3, you play as the blue speedster in the richly detailed human land of Soleana. Meeting old playable friends like Tails the Fox and Rogue the Bat, you take Sonic and Shadow to rescue Princess Elise from Dr. Eggman.
Also, a new ‘hog is born with this series, Silver. He has the power to glide and grab objects with telekinesis and throw them at opponents, which the erratic camera controls can make difficult to aim.
Never let it be said this game isn’t pretty. The cutscenes and sprawling environments are some of the smoothest graphics out there. However, they zoom by as you frantically try and keep a handle on your characters while they run uncontrollably along the paths, stopping only to beat up various robots.
The sound helps make the shoddy gameplay look good by comparison. The disgusting grunting and moaning noises that come out of the city dwellers as you talk to them make the time spent out of the action-filled stages worth avoiding.
You may want to rent this if you’re looking for an interesting story set in the Sonic world, but you can leave this on the shelves this holiday season.
