Ah Sonic, what times we’ve had together, some good, others completely dreadful. So when I heard that the Sonic of old was joining the Sonic of new I was intrigued. Combining the two Blue Blur styles into one game is Sega’s bid to bring all the fans of the series in. So in the end is this one complete game or two halves that should never had met.

Oh Sonic… why do you try to have a story? Mario does just fine with the whole evildoer doing something evil (for instance stealing all the forest animals and sealing them in robots) and the hero going in the save the day. In this case you have the Sonic who is just out to stop Dr. Eggman (who else could it be?) and the Sonic who is out to save a bunch of his friends who got kidnapped during his birthday party. In either case the two Sonics end up in “White Space”, a place between time and space where they must run through levels from previous games to save the new Sonic’s friends, because for whatever reason Classic Sonic only has Tails as his buddy.

They soon discover that it isn’t Robotni-er I mean Eggman and it’s some demon, that upon researching comes from Sonic Colors, and is trying to destroy the fabric of time and space. The two “Tails”s use their smarts to come to said conclusion and the Sonics use their speed to save the day. The story is way more complicated than it needs to be and honestly just makes you appreciate the Classic Sonic (who stays silent) more than his Modern self (who is still annoying as always).

I’m not sure what could have been done to solve the issues at hand with the story, but it needs to be simplified even more and maybe take all the voice work out. And it’s never fully explained if Classic Sonic is the younger version of Modern Sonic or if they’re from two different dimensions altogether. The Modern characters seem to hint at the fact that they vaguely remember certain levels that are from the Classic era. If they are from the same timeline it would have actually been interesting to see the growth of Sonic in the game and if they are indeed from different dimensions then that should have been played up way more.

In either case this game fails in the story department mostly for just trying to have one in the first place. Sega should take a page from the Mario franchise and just keep things simple.

A bright light at the end of a tunnel? Well in certain levels there are. Ahem, okay enough with the jokes; Graphics in this game can be stunning and they can be enjoyable. At no points was I overly disappointed with the look of this game. The Modern Sonic levels could be somewhat odd at times with pieces of the level “missing” and they can seem incomplete, but you go by them so quickly that you only really notice when you die because you fall off the edge of the level where there should have been ground. The Classic Sonic’s levels are filled with stuff that can be overwhelming at first but after some adjustment time they really come alive and look great. It’s also really cool to see the levels from the two perspectives that the game offers and to see some of the levels redone (City Escape as a side-scroller for instance). Also the Classic Sonic done in 3D looks not only cute and pudgy but so awesome and much more fitting than the skinny Modern Sonic.

You might be starting to see the trend in this review at this point. I have been picking on one Sonic in particular and there is a reason for that. As I stated earlier there have been pieces of Modern Sonic games that have done very well and parts that have gone poorly and it’s the same in this game. Parts of the Modern stuff are really fun to play and others are just frustrating. But when it comes to the sound quality of the game both Sonics have something to offer. The music is fun and fast-paced and both versions of the Sonic levels have a remixed version of the music. And there is a ton of music to be had. By completing different challenge levels you unlock music that you can use in other levels, it’s great that they’ve included so much.

Most games I review I mention the great voice work within the game and as I mentioned before Modern Sonic’s voice just seems to get on my nerves. Eggman sounds like Eggman should, so not all is lost and Tails (both versions) sound appropriate. In all honesty it’s just Modern Sonic that is the issue in this category.

So in the end the presentation is pretty great, but can it save this game?

The game is split into sidescrolling Sonic and third-person Sonic, the first being Classic and the second being Modern. The Modern Blue Blur will sometime switch to sidescrolling for no reason other than to look cinematic at times, but he still controls the same way, with his homing attacks and such. Classic Sonic is just that, he runs sideways, jump and spin-dashes. He also has his power-ups which he can pick up throughout the levels, shields of different sorts and even a skateboard in City Escape. Classic Sonic feels like good old times and it just goes to show that Sega can still pull off a fun Sonic game where he only goes sideways.

Then there is Modern Sonic, with homing attacks and levels that can really impede his speed. Some of the levels are built better than any other Modern Sonic game I’ve seen to date and you really get a sense of Sonic’s speed and agility. And then there are the levels that twist and turn in ways that just slow Sonic down no matter what you do. He has his homing attack as stated before and boosting to go faster in parts of the levels that aren’t going to get in the way of your speed. Boosting also allows you to pile drive through enemies, a skill that does make you feel way more Sonic than anything else. Some of the Modern levels are fun, but others can be frustrating and it seems like Sega could have spent more time on them to really get the balance right.

There are also challenge levels such as time trials and mini-bosses (like Metal Sonic). These challenges unlock special tings that you can purchase in the upgrade shop or enjoy in a collectables room that exists within “White Space” (I know it’s odd). There challenge levels add some extra fun to the game and can sometimes be a challenge, but are mostly just there to be extra fun things to do after you’ve beaten so many levels. The game actually contains a lot of cool extras for players to enjoy.

I didn’t hate this game and at the same time I didn’t love it. The Classic levels made me want to keep playing and even some of the Modern ones, but when this game is bad it’s noticeable to the extent where I just had to put the game away. Sonic Generations is available on Amazon for the Xbox 360 for only $25 and in my opinion it’s worth that.

There are pieces of the game that need work, but all in all it’s a decent game and the Classic Sonic’s levels are really fun to play.