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Sonic the Hedgehog Review
Chris Leyton
23/11/2006
Time for SEGA to go straight back to the drawing board and start again...
Sonic, Sonic, Sonic... what has happened to you? Fifteen years ago the blue hedgehog literally burst on the scene, single-handedly reversing SEGA's fortunes in the 16-bit stakes and quickly becoming their talismanic mascot, with his faster, cooler, meaner persona - who needed plump plumbers, when you could have a hedgehog that could burst through the speed of sound? Unfortunately, the change to 3D has never been too kind to Sonic, dragging the speedy platformer into a clumsy, broken, mess with the added complexities of a further dimension.
With the bitter release of Shadow the Hedgehog still fresh in the minds of SEGA fanatics, we had hoped that the next-generation debut of Sonic would be a chance to wipe the slate clean, a promise that the game would mark a return to the simpler side of Sonic as evident by the game adopting the original title. Initial signs are indicative of a change, the first Sonic game to begin without the traditional Sonic Team logo and the first major title in the series not to be guided under the vision of the former SEGA heavyweight and the man widely held as bringing Sonic to life, Yuji Naka.
Things begin quite uncharacteristically with a grandiose CG opening that would not look amiss in the latest Final Fantasy title; running through the wilds of Green Hill Zone this certainly isn't! Instead, Sonic's latest adventure takes him to the town of Soleanna, ruled over by the Princess Elise who guards a dark secret involving the Chaos Emeralds and a power known as the 'Flames of Disaster'. Discovering this, Eggman soon makes an appearance kidnapping the Princess on numerous occasions throughout an overly pretentious storyline that revolves heavily around destroyed worlds and the consequences of time travelling.
Split into three different chapters, covering Sonic, Shadow and the debut of Silver the Hedgehog, each major character is accompanied along the way with a cast of secondary characters including Tails, Knuckles, Rouge the Bat, E-123 Omega, Amy Rose and the return of Blaze the Cat from Sonic DS. The introduction of Silver as a 'confused' opponent harks back to the same old formula that SEGA have relied on since Knuckles the Echinda first made an appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Despite suggestions of sophisticated story elements and an abundance of NPCs to share meaningless conversation, the over emphasis placed on this aspect of the game leaves you wishing that SEGA would concern themselves over the fundamental gameplay issues then telling a tale of love, confusion and the fourth dimension.
Sonic stages are largely similar to every other that has featured him since Sonic Adventure, with the addition of several "new" techniques and 'Speed Stages' that closely resemble a racing game - perhaps the most enjoyable sections of the game, with a very loose sense of the word. Thankfully, SEGA have decided to drop the weapons from Shadow's repertoire this time around, instead providing a variety of vehicles to pilot throughout his adventure. Coming form the future, Silver has psychokinetic skills that take full advantage of the Havok physics engine. An 'Action Gauge' restricts the use of certain techniques, such as Sonic's custom actions, Silver's telekinetic powers and Shadow's Chaos Boost; whilst also being used to generate a protective sphere whilst carrying the Princess through certain stages - unsurprisingly these stages are never that much fun to play.
The balance in gameplay is perhaps slightly more rewarding then the Adventure series, although each one is packed full of their own annoyances and gripes beyond the typical control/camera grievances. The major issue, however, is that SEGA have once again failed to get the fundamentals right. The camera in a Sonic title needs to be tight, dynamic and responsive if Sonic is ever going to replicate the style of his 2D adventures; all aspects that SEGA have once again failed to accomplish, leaving a system that you'll have to wrestle with continuously as it insists on presenting the most disorientating view possible. Taking control over the main characters is far too twitchy as well, leaving Sonic's movements as graceful as an alcoholic on giro day!
With some hope that SEGA would ditch the design concept of the 'Adventure' series, Sonic the Hedgehog makes an unwelcome return to a 'Town Stage' acting as a HUB and accommodating side 'Mission' alongside traditional 'Act' and 'Boss' stages.
The Town Stage plays as dire as it sounds, a level based around everything that the Sonic series shouldn't be about. Traipsing across bland levels, sharing worthless dialogue with uninspiring NPCs, buying Sonic's trademark moves via the Shop, all add up to suggest that nobody guiding Sonic's future has a shred of imagination or idea about what is needed to take Sonic forwards.
Mission stages are thwarted by some of the most questionable design we've seen in many, many years. Firstly, the quests rarely amount to anything more significant then running through a series of rings; which are all made infuriating by the unforgiving control/camera system that's made worse by the claustrophobic design of the town levels. Worse still, is the unnecessary loading screens that proliferate the challenges; loading in one-line of dialogue before every challenge that simply isn't needed and only continues to drag down the flow of the game - quick this most certainly isn't.
Although undeniably the only glimmer of Sonic's former glories, the Action stages still feature the twitchy movement and laborious camera controls that have blighted Sonic since he first stepped into 3D. Each of the three main characters appears on the 11 different stages throughout the game, though it is hard to label any of these as particularly memorable or entertaining in any significant way - they're just slightly less aggravating then the other aspects of the game.
Traditionally a highlight of any Sonic Team title, the Boss encounters are perhaps the least 'broken' out of the many aspects that form Sonic the Hedgehog, but it's still hard to find any great enjoyment. Based around the archetypal arena structure, the bosses often fail to engage any genuine interest with the lack of skill and finesse required determining the solutions - it's more a question of your will and determination to pull yourself through.
It's sad to think that the closest Sonic gets to his 2D roots is when you're doing little more then holding up on the joypad whilst speeding around a loop-the-loop; other then this, however, Sonic the Hedgehog is a glitch-filled mess that is enough to turn a SEGA fan red! Zipping across a line of rings with the Light Dash only to be constantly chucked into the ocean; speeding into the nearest wall because the fundamental mechanics just aren't up to scratch; it's an ugly mess with criticisms apparent in every section of the game.
A tired attempt at multiplayer provides the most entertainment you'll have with Sonic the Hedgehog, removing the abysmal Town and Mission sections to focus purely on the Action stages. Split between Tag and Battle modes, the game still suffers from the chronic problems that blight the single-player mode, but at least there's none of the mind-numbing tedium that's involved with the single-player modes.
For something that is supposed to be Sonic's next-generation debut, Sonic the Hedgehog is nothing but a visual disappointment that would find criticism on the previous generation of consoles. Bland textures, simplistic characters (despite claims of 1 million polys per model), CHRONIC slowdown and an overall lack of next-gen visual splendour, leaves a nasty taste in the mouth and question marks over SEGA's Japanese division grasp on the next wave of consoles. The music and voice acting is equally derivative and forgettable, employing the 30-second loops that used to characterise videogames but will probably send most people around the bend these days - although Naka-san's obsession with wailing guitar rock seems to have been left behind. Disappointing is just too smaller word for this game; admittedly if the gameplay rekindled the passion of 2D Sonic, then the lack of presentation would be easy to overlook, but as it stands it's hard to understand exactly where SEGA were going with this one.
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