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Sonic The Hedgehog

Published: Sat 26 Jul, 2008 | On:

Let's get this over with. It hurts me more than you'll know to say this, but Sonic The Hedgehog is a bad, bad game. Not the original Mega Drive version; that game is brilliant. No, I'm talking about the new Sonic The Hedgehog, the one that was supposed to return to Sonic's roots and reinvigorate the series.

There are two reasons why Sonic The Hedgehog sucks and I do mean sucks. The first reason is an issue of design. You see, if Sonic The Hedgehog was supposed to be a return to Sonic's roots, then Sonic Team has obviously forgotten about the Mega Drive and feels that said roots lie in the Dreamcast title Sonic Adventure.

You see, Sonic The Hedgehog is Sonic Adventure trying even harder to be Mario 64. The Sonic Adventure influence is obvious; the first action stage, Wave Ocean, even includes that famous killer-whale-smashes-the-pier scene. However, as stated, Sonic Adventure was also trying to be Mario 64.

The obvious influence was the overworld that acted as a hub between stages. It seemed jarring to suddenly see Sonic running through a city with a bunch of humans who regarded nothing odd about a small, blue, supersonic hedgehog, but it was even more jarring how un-Sonic this gameplay was.

And while it was hard to not be impressed with Sonic's fully 3D return, once the novelty value wore off, the game was exposed as a poor Mario 64 imitation. It was all filler and little content; too many random wanderings in the hub and not enough action stages. And I mean really, did anyone honestly enjoy fishing as Big?

Sonic Adventure just wasn't a good Sonic game. And unfortunately it has served as the inspiration for Sonic The Hedgehog. The hub returns, but this time it's even more salient and even more obnoxious.

The first thing that happens is that you are dumped into the city of Soleanna and you're told to investigate. I actually looked at the box to make sure this was a Sonic game. After finding Tails and realising you can't cross the ocean, you are told that you need to buy the light dash from the shop in town. Except you have no rings to purchase it and there are no rings in the town.

This is when you realise that you have to take part in one the first of many mini-games in order to proceed. It's tedious. Later on, you'll actually have to engage in some silly mini-game where you must question five guards to find out which one can let you past the gate. I'll save you the agony now: it's the person who initiates the quest.

The problem is that this just isn't very Sonic. In fact, apart from the obvious Mario influences -- Soleanna is Isle Defino without the charm, there are mirrors holding the portals to the different action stages, and there's even a freaking princess to rescue who keeps getting whisked away to "another castle"! -- there is just too much crappy filler and not enough action stages, even with Shadow and Silver. In my first 40 minutes of playing, I had completed one 5-minute action stage and one boss battle.

And that's a shame, because when the action stages occur, they can actually be pretty fun. Sure, often you'll be forced to play as support characters like Tails or Blaze, but for the most part the action stages of Sonic, Shadow, and newcomer Silver can be pretty fun. Sonic stages, especially when he picks up the speed, really show you what could have been accomplished if this game tried to be more "Sonic". They really do give a great sense of speed and they are really enjoyable.

And, you know, if you can stomach finishing the game once, you can then enjoy the action stages in trial mode. Unfortunately, it's here you realise that there is actually only about 40 minutes of real gameplay per character, which means Sonic The Hedgehog is largely cheap filler. You also cannot replay story mode without deleting your previous save. It's beyond disappointing.

The other problem is that Sonic The Hedgehog is a poorly made game. The graphics are pretty lacklustre, yet there is heinous amounts of pop-up and draw-in, and the framerate can often chug for no logical reason. While the character models are all nicely done, the environments are very, very poor.

The game is also full of glitches, and Sonic and company can often become stuck in scenery or just start spazzing out and losing total control. There's nothing more annoying than finding your character totally ignoring your input.

Not that you'll have much control in the first place. The controls are overly sensitive, and the camera will often reverse itself, meaning that holding forward will now be as if you were holding back, and this means characters will come to a grinding halt.

The loading times are also atrocious. It takes longer to load a cutscene than it actually plays for, and the loading times between stages breaks any sliver of fun into segments, and that really spoils any fun that is found in the game. One tedious mini-game actually has about four minutes of loading for one minute of gameplay.

The music and voice acting are probably the only redeeming technical qualities. With the exception of the Wave Ocean and Soleanna themes, the music is really good. The theme tune especially is wonderful. The cast of Sonic X also supplies the voice acting, although this might actually turn off more people than it impresses. Unfortunately, you'll be hearing the theme of Soleanna more than the excellent action stage themes.

The bottom line is that people used to buy Sonic because it was everything that Mario wasn't. Now people will ignore Sonic because it's everything Mario isn't. If you want a game like Sonic The Hedgehog tries to be, you're better off getting a cheap Gamecube and Super Mario Sunshine.

Still, as stated, the action stages can be fun if you have patience. And if you're a diehard Sonic fan, you might find something to like here. However, everyone else will probably hate it, and the fact that it's $130 is actually insulting. I would only feel confident in saying that out of 10 people, only 3 people would find enjoyment of any kind in Sonic The Hedgehog, hence the score. And I feel I'm being generous. Unless you're a diehard Sonic fan, avoid this one; don't even rent it.