HIGH Excellent handling and a lot of customization. 

LOW Lack of modes and unbalanced items.

WTF Sega needs to renew an agreement with Ferrari so we can get a new OutRun game.

Despite running faster than any car, Sonic the Hedgehog has quite a background in racing games. From his humble origins in the Sonic Drift titles to the much-beloved Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Sega’s Blue Blur knows his way around a set of wheels. Now, six years after his last racing experience (Team Sonic Racing) Sonic returns to the starting grid with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. 

As an arcade racing lover and Sonic superfan, the idea of playing a brand new Sonic racer had me excited. What also piqued my interest was the fact that it was being developed by the internal Team Sonic studio (English studio Sumo Digital developed past racers) and would that it would receive contributions from developers of Sega’s Initial D arcade cabinets. 

The presentation grabbed me right away. Par for the course for any great Sonic title, players are presented with an awesome opening cutscene set to some bombastic pop-rock. The bright aesthetic permeates throughout the menus and gameplay, with characters modeled exceptionally well, and even fully-voiced. I loved how talkative everyone is, with bits of dialogue in the character select screen and the beginning and end of each race. There’s also a jukebox full of great songs, including tracks from Sonic Riders and Sonic Frontiers. 

In motion, CrossWorlds is a visual marvel, and the main gimmick comes from its titular mechanic. Basically, on the second lap of a race, the character in first place sees two portals in front of them and they choose the path they want, transporting them to a new track for that lap, and returning to the main track in time for the third and final lap. This results in a random new world appearing in every race. 

No matter what’s chosen, each course has something awesome to look at, whether it’s a herd of dinosaurs running, a mysterious pirate ship shrouded in darkness, or wide-open fields of green grass in the distance. Sure, it’s almost expected that Sonic games feature a vibrant aesthetic and kickass music, but I’m happy to see Sonic Team didn’t slack off with this racing spinoff. 

However, aesthetics aside, the driving is what’s key in in racing titles.  

Played from a third-person perspective, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is a kart-style racer that sees players control one of 18 characters taken from across the larger Sonic series before competing in a variety of events and courses. Right off the bat the driving is exceptional, with a great sense of speed and weight in all the vehicles. 

Cars and drivers are separated by different types: Speed, Acceleration, Handling, Power, and Boost. Each offers various strengths and weaknesses and the variety in both default and unlockable of cars is solid. There are also plenty of options to customize vehicles with different parts.  

Rather than feeling bouncy or floaty like most kart racers, I’d say this falls in line with something like a pure arcade experience, like Cruis’n Blast (owing to the devs’ arcade roots) thanks to the cars feeling heavier than I would have expected. Drifting is responsive, with a meter building up if players can hold their drifts as long as possible. Tricks can also be done while jumping in the air, resulting in a boost when landing. 

While I enjoyed the driving overall and trying to outmaneuver my opponents on the track, one thing I couldn’t enjoy was its use of items. Like Mario Kart or other mascot kart racers, different items can be collected and used offensively or defensively. They’re mostly standard stuff like speed boots or items that can be thrown at players. 

Sadly, most of these feel horribly balanced and seem to break the flow of most races. I get that rubberbanding is the name of arcade titles like this, but I played through some ridiculous instances of the AI catching up at the very last second thanks to a poorly-timed item hitting me. 

A major surprise of CrossWorlds has been the overwhelming amount of options players have, even before setting foot on a track. Things like the customizable car parts and various combinations of items for use in a race (like offensive weapons or speed boosting gadgets) strategy to what could have been a standard kart racer. For example, my main racer was Tails, who falls under the “acceleration” subclass. I centered my build around improved speed, boosting, and drifting.

Another cool thing is the inclusion of rivals. Throughout each of the grand prix modes, a random character will be made the players’ rival. At the start of the cup, there’s a cool bit of dialogue between the two, which makes for some humorous interactions for fans of the series. Things like hearing Dr. Eggman complain about being forced to settle for battling Tails instead of Sonic is a nice treat. 

Speaking of fans, I think absolute best part of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has to be the sheer amount of love for Sonic and Sega as a whole. Courses like Radical Highway are ripped straight from Sonic Adventure 2, complete with the music from the original, and I could have sworn one track is one ginat reference to After Burner. The ‘stage complete’ music from the mainline Sonic series plays after every race, and the guest characters from other related franchises are cool, with faces appearing from Yakuza, Persona, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Pac-Man coming soon via DLC.

With all of that said, at this point in the review I have to say that I do wish there were more to CrossWorlds than just racing. The main grand prix is enjoyable and the Race Park adds a lot of variety by offering things like events that reward bumping into others for a speed boost or trying to collect the most rings. However, a few more events or some supporting content like minigames or perhaps things taken from Sonic’s long history would go a good way towards making the experience feel richer.

Don’t get me wrong, though — while Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds might not dethrone Mario’s racing adventures, it’s a solid racing title in its own right thanks to great handling and an overwhelming amount of options. I would have liked to see a little more supporting the package as a whole, but what’s here must surely rank among the finest arcade-style racers from the last few years. 

For those who absolutely gotta go fast, this one is an easy recommendation.  

Rating: 8.5  out of 10

Buy Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds – PC – PS – XB – SW

Disclosures: This game is published by Sega and developed by Sonic Team. It is available on PC, XBO, XBX/S, Switch/2, PS4/5. This copy was obtained via the publisher and was reviewed on PS5. Approximately 10 hours were spent in single-player, and the game was not completed. No time was spent in multiplayer.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E for Mild Fantasy Violence. According to the site: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB with Mild Fantasy Violence. Also includes In-Game Purchases. This is a kart-racing game in which players compete in whimsical racing events with characters from the Sonic universe. As players race against other drivers, they can use cartoony power-ups (e.g., spike balls, boxing-glove missiles, saw blades) to slow opponents’ progress and knock them off balance. Being hit by a power-up causes characters’ karts to blink red and slow down. Characters emit small cries when hitting or being hit by an obstacle (e.g., t-rexes, trucks).

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are not present in the options menu.

Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Gamers: There are plenty of visual cues during races. All of these can be adjusted in the menu. Subtitles are present and can be resized. As no audio cues are needed for gameplay, I’d say this is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The controls cannot be remapped and there is no diagram. On PS5, X is used to accelerate, R2 is used to drift, L1 is used to activate items, and Square is used to look behind.

The post Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH An ambitious change to the Sonic formula.

LOW A few technical issues.

WTF Tails making me cry.   

I just turned 25 and I already have two Sonic-related reviews posted at GameCritics this year. In the summer, I took a look at Sonic Origins, a solid compilation of Sega Genesis-era Sonic games that reminded me how much I loved the series. There’s no sense denying how big a fan I am at this stage of my life.

And now with this, the first new fully 3D Sonic game in five years, Frontiers changes the formula in significant ways. The most prominent comes in the form of level design. Frontiers feature large-scale, open-ended islands that act as hub worlds for Sonic to explore. Played from a third-person perspective, Sonic is tasked with saving his friends after being separated by them via a wormhole. 

The worlds are structured like standard, free-roaming 3D areas, and players are tasked with exploring the islands for specific collectibles that move the story forward. The end goal of each level is the same — save Sonic’s friends, collect the chaos emeralds and defeat a final boss.

Along the way, players will interact with different elements across the game world. For example, Sonic can solve puzzles and play minigames that reveal secrets across the map. At first, it’s weird seeing the standard triple-A style open world in a Sonic game. I mean, I was basically doing the same thing I was doing in games like Assassin’s Creed or even Far Cry, but now as a mascot platforming character. However, it never became grating or boring, and part of the reason why is because the traversal is just so damn good. 

Similar to how intuitive it feels to swing as Spider-Man in the Insomniac Spider-Man games, throwing Sonic into an open world and giving him some space to run rules. Zipping around large swaths of land and covering them in seconds never gets old, and catching some air to do tricks adds spectacle to the whole thing. The simple act of moving is enjoyable in its own right, which is something that few games nail. 

Scattered across the map are various towers that allow Sonic to enter “Cyber Space.” These play out like the standard “boost” segments that have been prominent in the last few 3D Sonic titles. These sequences have players running in a straight line toward a goal. Every level has set parameters and goals such as completing the level under a certain or collecting a set number of rings, and each one unlocks a key ultimately used to collect a Chaos Emerald located in a tower on the map. 

Another major activity comes in the form of fishing, which might be my favorite part of Frontiers. Here, Sonic joins fan-favorite character Big the Cat in an angling minigame. It’s a nice little distraction that nets (pun intended) some great rewards, like keys to the Emeralds and more. Not only is it enjoyable to catch these creatures, but I also love how expressive Sonic gets every time he catches a bizarre one, like a giant squid, golden bass, or even an alligator. 

I am definitely underselling just how big and packed the world in this game is. After about 20 or so hours, I still have a few Cyber Space levels to complete, side quests/minigames to seek out and so many collectibles left to find. Hell, I still need to replay the game on the hardest difficulty to see every phase of the final boss. There’s truly enough here to keep anyone busy for a while.

One of the other major changes aside from the open-world format and sidequests comes in the form of combat. Frontiers puts a major focus on fighting and even includes a dedicated skill tree full of new moves. It’s simple but effective, offering a lot of flashy visuals reminiscent of character action games. There’s even a combo meter that builds up and allows Sonic to unleash a flurry of finishing moves on enemies scattered around the map.

That solid combat translates into the bombastic boss sequences. Each island has a main foe called a Titan. These titans are giant, robotic enemies that require Sonic to use the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic in a very Dragon Ball Z-like energy-filled powering up. These bits were a highlight for sure, as seeing a golden, flying hedgehog unleash hell on anime-style giant robots is just about the coolest thing in the world. 

All of this great stuff is complemented by the exceptional soundtrack. The series has always been known for great music, and Frontiers might be the peak of both the series and gaming soundtracks for the entire year. The audio includes everything from ’90s-sounding Cyber Space music, the first major boss song, and the kick-ass end credits music. It all adds so much personality, and even the mellow, incidental music that plays in the open world is great, perfectly setting the tone for discovery. It’s a shame that there are no new Crush 40 tracks to jam out to, but what’s included in the package is excellent.

The overall presentation is fairly good, though a few graphical elements are less than stellar. Some textures are rough, and there’s pop-in as Sonic is cruising through the world. I assume this is an issue because the devs had to scale the game back for the Nintendo Switch version, but it doesn’t look great. I played on PS5 for this review, and while the art style was exceptional, I feel like there’s a better-looking version of this work coming in the future. The framerate was rock solid, thankfully so I couldn’t complain too much. 

A lot of past Sonic games have some solid (if a bit weird) stories. The narrative ambitions in Frontiers truly caught me off guard, however — but in the very best way.

Without spoiling anything, it takes a much darker and more serious approach to the usual world-ending stories the series is known for. Sonic and his friends are well-written, and while there are still clichéd and anime-esque elements common to these titles, this one made me emotional. In some ways, it feels less like just another Sonic story and more like a celebration of the series. The callbacks to other entries like 2017’s Sonic Forces are a nice touch, and I especially appreciated that they didn’t all explicitly rely on nostalgia. 

Sonic Frontiers is the best 3D Sonic of the last decade, and it’s easily one of the best platformers I’ve played in recent years. The changes to the classic formula, coupled with some of the best music video games has to offer makes it a real gem, but what made it truly noteworthy is the ambition on display. I believe Sonic Team and Sega have finally made the game they wanted to make ever since the failure of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and we now have a worthy successor to Sonic Adventure.

It feels good to have our Blue Blur back in the spotlight. 

Disclosures: This game is published by Sega and developed by Sonic Team. It is available on Switch, PS4/5, PC and XBO/X/S.This copy was obtained via publisher and was reviewed on PS5. Approximately 20 hours were spent in single-player and the game was completed. There is no multiplayer. 

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E10 for Fantasy Violence. The site reads: This is an action platformer in which players follow Sonic and his friends as they battle mechanical Titans. From an overhead perspective, players zoom through an alternate dimension while collecting items (e.g., rings, power-ups) and battling enemies (e.g., bouncing on them). Boss battles prompt players to climb giant robots while targeting weak spots and engaging in timed button presses for specific actions (e.g., energizing a punch, prying a robot’s jaw open, pushing back against a giant sword). Some sequences depict slow-motion effects and explosions.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are not present in the options menu.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: Subtitles and visual cues representing sounds are present, but neither can be resized or adjusted. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The controls cannot be remapped and there is no control diagram, though there are tutorials to show off how movement and combat controls.  On PS5, the X button is used to jump and select menu options, square is used to attack and confirm an action, circle is used to dodge and back out of menus, triangle is used to active the Cyloop, the left and right bumpers are used to sidestep, the right trigger is used to boost and the left is used to unleash an attack during a combo.

The post Sonic Frontiers Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Some of the best gameplay in the series.

LOW Oh boy, those cutscenes… 

WTF Sega, drop a 4K remaster of Sonic Generations, please. 

GameCritics readers may notice that I mention Sonic Heroes in my bio as a fairly important game in my development. I know that 3D Sonic games tend to have a negative reputation among fans of the series, but I share a different opinion. Growing up during the heyday of the Blue Blur’s 3D exploits, I vividly remember my obsession with them. However, as a kid, I missed out on a few titles — Sonic Colors, for one.

This 2010 Wii exclusive received fairly positive reviews and is generally regarded as one of the best in the franchise. In it, Sonic and Tails must help free an enslaved alien race known as Wisps from the clutches of series antagonist Dr. Eggman in a large, intergalactic theme park. 

Now 11 years later, Sega has enlisted Blind Squirrel Games (the devs behind the excellent Mass Effect: Legendary Edition) to remaster Sonic Colors with the subtitle Ultimate. This Wii platformer now sports a fresh coat of paint for modern consoles, allowing a new generation of Sonic fans (and old ones like myself) a chance to play one of the best entries in this long-running series. 

As usual for Sonic, gameplay revolves around running fast. Colors belongs to a period in Sonic’s history called the “boost era” in which most levels involve the player running straight through, occasionally gaining a momentary speed boost. Whizzing by environments at blistering speeds is a thrilling thing and memorizing stage layouts for subsequent playthroughs is a must in order to find new collectibles and hidden paths that were missed the first time. The main hook that differentiates Colors are the Wisps.

Colored Wisps populate each level, and each color of wisp has its own special ability. White Wisps allow Sonic to boost at any time, blue ones allow him to turn certain blocks into rings, yellow ones allow him to burrow into specific places like a drill and there are a few others thrown in for good measure. These Wisps add variety to the standard running and jumping of most levels, and they offer a chance to toy around with different mechanics. For example, it feels good to slow down in a game that’s usually fast, and using Wisps to explore the maps is great for replay value. 

While the addition of the Wisps is great, the real star of Sonic Colors is the presentation — Eggman’s space-themed park looks gorgeous thanks to a resolution boost on PS4. One of the most impressive areas was one where Sonic was running on a rainbow-colored track floating in the middle of space with an armada of space ships flying below him while another was full of sweets, snacks, and the occasional fast food item. This added detail looks great during gameplay, but the cutscenes are a different story. 

Since the Wii didn’t output to HD back in 2010, many of the cutscenes are in a lower resolution thanks to the fact they’re pre-rendered CG as opposed to being graphics being rendered in real-time. While the art style and voice acting are great, the actual quality of these scenes is quite muddy and unpleasant — they’re a stark contrast to the rest of the experience. 

Disappointing cutscenes aside, Sonic Colors Ultimate offers a solid package that finally gives modern console owners a chance to play one of the best entries in the Sonic catalog, and any hedgehog fans out there who haven’t tried it yet should track it down.

Disclosures: This game is published by Sega and developed by Blind Squirrel Games. It is available on PS4, PS5, XBX/S XBO, Switch, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 8 hours were spent in the single-player and the game was completed. No time was spent in multiplayer.

Parents: According to the ESRB this game is rated E for Cartoon Violence. The site reads: This is an action-platformer in which players assume the role of Sonic the Hedgehog as he zooms across fantastical landscapes collecting gold rings and power-ups. Sonic can use spin attacks to knock over several robot enemies, resulting in punching sound effects, grunts, and brief explosions. Boss fights involve more protracted combat with larger robot enemies; combat can involve avoiding laser fire and pursuing and dashing at enemies from a third-person perspective.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. 

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: Subtitles and on-screen instructions can be adjusted and audio is not needed to enjoy this game, thanks to the abundance of visual cues. This game is fully accessible. 

Remappable Controls: Yes the controls are remappable.

The post Sonic Colors Ultimate Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Final Rush is still one of the coolest video game levels ever made.

LOW Mad Space is still one of the most tedious video game levels ever made.

WTF How does the military mistake Shadow for Sonic? They're completely different colors.

After my Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations reviews, I'm sure it's clear that I have some fondness for certain 3D Sonic games. I don't deny the series took a large drop in quality when it switched away from its 2D platformer roots, eventually leading to one of the worst games ever made in the process (Sonic the Hedgehog 2006) but dismissing every 3D title as garbage is judging some genuinely good gaming too quickly.

The peak of the series's switch to 3D is, in my eyes, Sonic Adventure 2. While I never played the original 2001 Dreamcast version, it was re-released eight months later on the GameCube as Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. This introduced an already-popular franchise to a new audience, resulting in the best-selling third-party title on the GameCube. While I had some history with the series beforehand, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle was the game that made me a huge fan of the blue blur, and to this day, I still consider it one of my favorite games ever.

Many of the problems found in the first Sonic Adventure are nowhere to be found in the sequel. The pointless, confusing hub worlds have been dropped, and there aren't as many out-of-place peripheral play styles. Remember the original Sonic Adventure's mandatory fishing mini-game? It's gone here.

Sonic Adventure 2 has three primary gameplay styles that are alternate between during the campaign: one focuses on speed, one on mech shooting, and one on treasure hunting.Given that it's a Sonic game, it's unsurprising that the speed stages are the best, providing some of the most precise 3D platforming I've ever played.

Mech missions focus more on destroying enemies with lock-on homing shots. This makes for a lot of carnage, though it doesn't demand nearly as much skill as the speed levels. The weakest of the bunch are the treasure hunting missions, which start out fine but suffer from excessively large areas to search in the later stages. Despite a few bumps, the variety this 3-tier gameplay system provides more than succeeds at keeping the game fresh. It also helps that every one of the 31 levels has its own unique music, all as part of what I consider one of the best video game soundtracks.

Entertaining gameplay is the most important part of making a good platformer, but the biggest surprise of Sonic Adventure 2 HD is how good the story is. It's not something one would expect from a game about colorful rodents that run through loops, but the plot plays these aspects straight. While the same Sonic versus Dr. Eggman story at its core, the big change comes with Shadow the Hedgehog. His backstory is surprisingly dark given the fact that this is a game for kids, and makes his intense hatred of humanity somewhat understandable. It's far from being the deepest story out there, but I would take the ambition of this one over the rehashed, barebones plot of Mario games any day.

With its everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to gameplay and a surprisingly engaging story, it's easy to forget that Sonic Adventure 2 is over ten years old. Some of the bad design choices are more apparent now than they were when I was a kid, but the solid gameplay styles aren't terribly hurt by some of these rough edges. Now that this great title is available with high definition graphics, it's a great way for fans of 3D platformers to spend ten bucks. Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Disclosures: This game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Xbox 360. Approximately 25 hours were put into both the story mode and replays of levels to achieve better ranks. (completed one time) No time was put into the multiplayer.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game contains mild cartoon violence and mild lyrics. There are some surprisingly dark aspects to the story, and the ending is actually pretty sad in some ways. That said, I loved this game as a kid, and I don't think there's anything parents would find objectionable.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing: All lines in cut-scenes are subtitled, and the gameplay is always very straightforward. You shouldn't have any problems.

The post Sonic Adventure 2 HD Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH The sense of "flow" the flying sections encourage.

LOW Being forced to take human form and walk around levels.

WTF Trial and error boss encounters.

Dreams of Flight

After the ruler of Nightmare land hatches a plot to take over Nightopia, the world populated by the dreams of people, a young boy and girl join forces with a rebellious flying jester named NiGHTS to thwart the evil wizard's villainous plan. Though NiGHTS was never beloved for its simplistic story, the reason it remains a cornerstone of retro gaming is the fanciful flight sequences it offers, accented with bursts of speed and agility. The beauty of NiGHTS can be summed up in three words: Flight. Flow. Nostalgia.

NiGHTS gives players the choice between playing as Elliot or Claire, two children who go from having bad days to equally bad nights as they work with the titular NiGHTS character to save Nightopia. The game features a total of seven levels, referred to as "dreams," three unique to each child and a final stage they share.

Although the game may seem like it's about whimsy and freedom, it's actually a tightly-structured and surprisingly complicated thing that's similar to doing time trials or speed runs. Each dream is split into four segments, and the goal of each segment is to collect 20 blue chips and release the imprisoned "Ideya"–a glowing orb representing the personality traits of the dreaming Claire or Elliot, before the clock ticks down to zero. After completing the four segments, the player must once again race the clock to defeat a boss.

Bosses here are more like exercises in timed puzzle solving than any kind of actual battle. If the player runs out of time while collecting blue chips as NiGHTS, she reverts to the sluggish, terrestrial form of Elliot and Claire and must either finish the segment on foot or return to the starting point to regain control of the adroit jester. However, if the player runs out of time during a boss encounter, the level ends and must be restarted from the beginning. With only seven levels to explore (eight if you count the unlockable Christmas NiGHTS world) NiGHTS can be described, like a dream, as fleeting and short. Yet like any good dream, NiGHTS can also be seen as mysterious and complex, contemplative and alluring.

Flow

The game works best when the player forgets the timer; when the soaring acrobatics of the NiGHTS character become as playful and creative as twirling sparklers in the black of night on the Fourth of July, or when the game becomes not a race against time or a collect-a-thon of glowing objects but a seamless flow from hand to screen, like tracing your fingertip through water. In fact, NiGHTS does flying as well as 2011's Rayman Origins does swimming. Both offer the feel of slick, multi-directional freedom.

The concept of "flow," drawn from psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, combines an intensity of energy and focus with corresponding pleasure and fulfillment. Jenova Chen and the folks at thatgamecompany have used flow as a structuring principal in all of their games, starting with flOw and used most recently in the transcendent adventure Journey. I would suggest "flow" is the quality that gives NiGHTS its lasting appeal.

Unfortunately, the game only manages to accomplish this ideal for fleeting moments, rather than being a structuring principal for the entire experience. In fact, the flow here seems more like an accidental consequence of the designers' dedication to making the flying portions of the game feel as seamless and dream-like as possible. Nonetheless, these are the moments that make NiGHTS a classic. In contrast, when the player runs out of flight time and is forced to control one of the children, the game screeches to a halt and the experience changes from joy to frustration. When not airborne, the ahead-of-its-time gameplay instantly becomes the maladroit, poorly animated 3D platforming the mid-to-late nineties was known for.

Nostalgia

NiGHTS cannot be separated from its original historical context and platform. It was released on the Sega Saturn in 1996, and like Super Mario 64 at the time, NiGHTS represented a technological and imaginative leap in console video games.

First, the saucer-like controller that came packaged with some versions of NiGHTS offered smooth, precise analog controls similar to those championed by the Nintendo 64 controller. The oneiric, otherworldly environments, with their upside-down islands and twisting architecture, brought a whimsical feeling to the third dimension that had not fully been realized outside of Nintendo's newest Mario title. Whereas Super Mario 64 largely defined the 3D platformer and its franchise, NiGHTS arguably represented the evolution of the Sonic franchise that we've still never quite received; something that should be propelled by a kinetic pulse and a sense of disorientating but liberating inertia. In essence, NiGHTS defined the Saturn the way Super Mario 64 defined the Nintendo 64 and each game remains an important piece of software for that generation of consoles.

As a visually-renovated trip down memory lane, NiGHTS into Dreams largely succeeds. Unfortunately, the game design has two competing forms: one is breathless, invigorating, and fluid, while the other is lumpy, broken, and boring. However, in the moments when the game's flight, flow, and nostalgia combine, it's difficult to think of a more satisfying experience. Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Disclosures: This game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Xbox 360. Approximately five hours of play was devoted to single-player modes and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game contains comic mischief. This game is appropriate for all ages.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing: No sound is necessary to enjoy the game.

The post NiGHTS into Dreams Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Chemical Plant Zone is still awesome.

LOW "That looks like a homing shot! Careful, Sonic! That looks like a homing shot! Careful, Sonic! That looks like a homing shot! Careful, Sonic!"

WTF Who's the genius that thought leaving out Launch Base Zone was a good idea?

I have a lot of respect for Sega. They have absolutely no shame in displaying every one of Sonic's missteps, regardless of how poorly received they may have been. Sonic Generations is no exception, featuring loads of fanfare for lovers of every major title in the franchise. While paying homage to the more polarizing games in the series may sound strange, what Sonic Generations does right is acknowledge these mistakes while spinning them in a positive light through the implementation of design that's actually functional. Sega's dedication to this series seems to be paying off, as the hedgehog finally seems to know what he's doing.

Bordering on nonexistent, the story in Generations is incredibly simplistic and only serves to spur the gameplay: Dr. Eggman is causing different timelines to overlap each other, resulting in both Genesis-era Sonic and modern Sonic being twin stars of the show. This also means levels from throughout the series show up with new designs and updated visuals. It's a silly way to set up the game, but it serves its purpose for a title that's not about plot as much as it is about gameplay.

On paper, Sonic Generations should be exactly what I want from a Sonic game–Classic Sonic is absolutely timeless, and I could play Sonic 2 for the rest of my life and still not have found every secret area or shortcut. It has the best level design of any 2D platformer I've played. Modern Sonic? It's got some some of the lowest low points a franchise can have, but in recent years the green-eyed hedgehog has shown a great deal of improvement, particularly in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors. Since Sonic Generations combines all these elements, my expectations were high. Does it live up to that hype? Yes and no.

Things start off strong. Both Sonics show off their unique gameplay styles with some of the best design and controls the series has had in the post-Genesis days. Classic Sonic sticks to sidescrolling, while modern Sonic switches between 2D and 3D perspectives with a large dose of speed added to the mix. Running through the beautiful new Chemical Plant Zone brought about the wave of nostalgia I was expecting ever since the game was announced. Even without the nostalgia factor, the game still works as a strong platformer in its own right.

As I continued playing, my opinion of the game took several hits. The first was the sparse, unfunny cut-scenes. Gameplay may be the prime concern in Sonic games, but Sonic Colors showed that clever dialogue can find a way into the formula. Sonic Generations's writing is disappointingly weak, which is surprising given how many jokes could've been made about a series that's had such ridiculous plots. It's not a huge loss, but mixing up fun gameplay with consistent, well-written cut-scenes certainly couldn't have hurt.

The second red flag was the boss fights, or lack thereof. Considering that every level in Sonic Generations represents an entire game from the series, it would make sense to have a boss fight after each one. Instead, there's a mere four boss battles, some of which are strange picks. Why is Egg Dragoon (a sub-boss from Sonic Unleashed) representative of the entire modern era of Sonic? The fights themselves are functional but forgettable, and I can't think of a good reason to not have a boss fight after each level.

What's especially shocking about the boss fights is how bad the last one is. It feels rushed, with weak music, dull graphics, and a completely uninspired structure. This isn't helped by Sonic's friends yelling at Sonic to be careful after literally every single one of the boss's attacks. It feels very anti-climactic, and certainly not fitting as the culmination of the series's 20-year history.

While these flaws hurt the experience, Sonic Generations suffers most from how little content it has. For all the excitement made about the original Sonic's gameplay returning, there's a mere nine levels with the old-school hedgehog, half the number found in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The modern Sonic helps make up for this, but even after earning every achievement in the game, (no small task) I couldn't help but feel that a major opportunity had been missed with Sonic Generations. This game was built up as a celebration of Sonic's legacy, but instead, players only get a small slice of it.

Sonic Generations is five hours of fun. The gameplay has more excitement than most other games I've played this year, and it sets a template that future Sonic games will hopefully pay attention to–it's just a shame that Sonic Generations, like Sonic himself, goes by very, very fast. Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Disclosures: This game was obtained via retail and reviewed on the Xbox 360. Approximately 15 hours were devoted to single-player modes. (completed 1 time) There is no multiplayer.

Parents: This game is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB for mild cartoon violence. It's a kids game, with no more violence than a Saturday morning cartoon. Parents have nothing to fear.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing: The only issue I can think of as far as sound cues go is the beeping to indicate Sonic is running out of air while underwater. When the panic music starts, there will be an on-screen countdown, but before that comes several beeps to indicate that that's coming. Fortunately, only two levels have water, so this shouldn't be a big issue.

The post Sonic Generations Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

Experience has Taught Me to Investigate Anything That Glows

HIGH Seeing Sonic swim. It's about freakin' time.

LOW "Hey Tails, you just missed the B.B.B.E. The Best! Boss! Beating! Ever!" *cringe*

WTF Why is Sonic's mouth on the side of his face?

I know this is going to be incredibly difficult to believe, but Dr. Eggman… is up to no good. If that wasn't shocking enough, then listen to this: this is a Sonic game worth playing with more than two dimensions. So to anyone who's been completely dismissing everything the hedgehog stars in for the past nine years, I submit now as the time to return to the series.

Anyone who played the Xbox 360 or PS3 version of Sonic Unleashed will be familiar with this style of Sonic game: the high-speed on-rails sections where Sonic can only move left and right, the scripted setpiece moments that the player can't control, and the fluid transition between 2D and 3D gameplay. As someone who loved the Daytime stages in Unleashed, I was happy to see this formula expanded on. It properly expresses Sonic's specific brand of platforming, with a ton of loops, curves, and vertical movement. Sonic's controls still aren't perfect, however, particularly when it comes to the floaty jump. Maybe it's because this game takes place in space, but when comparing this Sonic to that of the momentum-based originals, Sonic Colors Sonic feels as light as a feather. It's very strange considering how Sonic the Hedgehog 4 had the opposite problem, in that Sonic controlled with the grace of a boulder. Even so, this is the best Sonic has ever controlled in the third dimension.

Remember how the good Sonic games had power-ups? Remember how I said this is a good Sonic game? Sonic Colors proudly continues this trend in a big way, with some of the most enjoyable power-ups in any platformer I've played. The power-ups, which are brought on by different-colored wisps, can range from turning Sonic into a laser that can ricochet off walls to a pink spikeball that can attach to walls and ceilings. These work to mix up the gameplay and promote returning to previous stages to use new wisps to find new areas, without detracting from the game's core. There was rarely ever a moment where I saw a wisp in my path and got annoyed or disappointed. They serve more as game-changing rewards for getting that far into the level. They really couldn't have been implemented any better.

Comparing the plot of Sonic Colors to the plot of other 3D Sonic games is like comparing Kung Fu Panda to Atonement. Sonic doesn't get shot in the back and killed, (Sonic The Hedgehog 2006) transported to the Dark Ages by a witch trying to make herself immortal, (Sonic and the Black Knight) or turned into a werewolf with stretchy arms, (Sonic Unleashed) and there certainly isn't a human love interest who brings Sonic back to life by kissing his corpse. Best of all, Sonic's stupid, pointless, uninspired, game-ruining, poorly-voiced, completely unlikeable friends don't make appearances, with the forgivable exception of Tails. So now I can actually play as Sonic for the entirety of a Sonic game, something that has never happened in a 3D entry. (That's not a joke. This is the first 3D Sonic game where Sonic is the only playable character.) Sonic Team has gotten back to the original formula: Sonic versus Eggman. I wouldn't change that one bit.

With the stupidity of past plots behind it, Sonic Colors keeps it simple with Sonic running through an amusement park in space to save a race of aliens called wisps. This allows for Sonic to explore an impressive number of colorful levels. They all maintain an amusement park theme, from ferris wheel bosses to the least-safe roller coaster ever. This may make it sound like every level has the same visual feel, but there's enough spin on that theme in each level to justify it. The aquarium level is particularly refreshing, mainly because it displays that Sonic doesn't insta-drown when he touches water like he's done in his other recent 3D games.

Sonic Team seems to have finally caught on to how much everyone hates both the writing and voices of recent Sonic games, and has approached this problem with the purification strategy: get rid of all of them and replace them with people who don't suck at their jobs. The new voice cast consists of voice-acting veterans Roger Craig Smith (Resident Evil 5, Assassin's Creed II) and Kate Higgins, (the voice of Sakura in Naruto) both of which nail the voices. The new writers previously worked on MadWorld and Happy Tree Friends, and provide Sonic with one-liners that are actually funny, and not annoying. Sure, they're still cheesy, and some are downright cringe-inducing, but I'm not afraid to laugh at lines like "Come on, let's make like Eggman's hairline, and recede." Even though gameplay is what matters in a Sonic game, greatly improved presentation is appreciated, and Sonic Team deserves a round of applause for making cut-scenes in a Sonic game that are actually a joy to watch.

Sonic Colors manages to bring out a more whimsical type of fun than I've come to expect from modern games. The series has largely returned to its roots, and the result is a game that is a joy to play in just about every aspect. Put good graphics, (especially for a Wii game) inventive platforming, fun power-ups, clever writing, and fantastic music onto a disc, and Sonic Colors is the result. Minor control issues, wimpy boss battles, and a length of only about six hours keep the game from reaching the levels of the Super Mario Galaxy games, but it still stands as one of the best third-party titles on a Nintendo console in recent memory. For anyone who has been looking for a reminder of why they ever liked this damn hedgehog in the first place but is tired of replaying the Genesis classics, it may be time to dust off the Wii. Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

–by Eric Bowman

Disclosures: This game was obtained via rental and reviewed on the Wii. It was completed with the Nintendo Gamecube controller. Approximately 7 hours of play was devoted to single-player modes (completed 1 time).

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game contains cartoon violence. It's basically the equivalent of a Saturday morning cartoon in terms of language and (lack of) violence.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing: The game provides subtitles that are automatically enabled when you start the game. This game should be quite accessible.

The post Sonic Colors Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

Sega wants so badly to fit Sonic into a large 3D world that it has forced him into games with hover boards, wolf transformation, giant swords and even guns. Fans on the other hand just seem to be begging for more of what they grew up on–2D platforming levels.

The compromise seems to be Sonic Generations, a game that is supposed to be an homage to the blue hedgehog in time for his 20th anniversary. Fans gets the 2D aesthetic and Sega gets to keep Sonic current with the 3D graphics and gameplay it has been working on for the past decade.

We'll only know when the game is released later this year just how successful Sonic Team has been trying to please two masters.

Source: YouTube

The post Video: Sonic Generations official gameplay trailer appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

Last year Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, episodic fan service created to please disillusioned Sonic fans. It failed to live up to expectations because, like most recent Sonic games, it demonstrated that A) its original creators were long gone, B) even they had long forgotten what made the franchise so popular and C) new people put on the series have a hard time recapturing that Sonic magic. (Incidentally, there has been recent talk of doing an Episode II.)

Despite its failures, Sega just keeps on trying and this year, just in time for that 20th anniversary, Sega has come up with Sonic Generations. Not a lot is known about the game, but the teaser video making the rounds has sparked some discussion.

The question (or questions) is should we temper our expectations? Can Sega actually release something that will do the franchise justice after so many tries? How many times can you reboot a franchise before it becomes clear you haven't a clue what to do?

Source: GamePro

The post Video: Sega teases reboot with Sonic Generations trailer appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH: The feeling of being almost out of control when being flung through a level.

LOW: The slow-paced underground stage.

WTF: Every stage is a re-hashed version of a stage from Sonic 1 or Sonic 2.

"Falling from grace" is putting it lightly when it comes to Sonic The Hedgehog.

After a glorious run in the 90s, the blue blur's gaming expeditions have ranged from mediocre to downright awful–they were sort of like the San Francisco 49ers of video games. The industry-wide shift from 2D to 3D hurt Sonic perhaps more than any other established gaming franchise, as its trademark brand of super-fast platforming could never quite find a home in the 3D universe. In the face of such failures, one could hardly blame Sega for taking Sonic back to his 2D roots with Sonic the Hedgehog 4. However, instead of a grand rebirth of a franchise a la Knights of the Old Republic, Sonic 4 comes off as a dated platformer with nothing more than a graphical overhaul.

Almost every single stage, obstacle, enemy, and sound effect is a straight port from something that was in either Sonic 1 or Sonic 2. The bosses are especially glaring, as they emulate their 16-bit counterparts almost perfectly save for a few new attacks. I was able to beat just about everything the game threw at me using knowledge from almost 20 years ago. Hell, I even knew what the final boss was going to be a full six levels before I got there. Something like that shouldn't be happening in what is supposed to be the defibrillator shocking new life into a dying hedgehog. Sonic 4 doesn't feel like a new game, but rather like a remake of the older titles–and even when considered as a remake, it still manages to come up short.

As his name implies, Sonic's game has always been about speed. There were times in the old Sonic games when things were moving so fast that my eyes had trouble keeping up, and I almost felt out of control. Almost. To Sonic 4's credit, the rush of rocketing through a stage at blazing speed has been captured fairly effectively. Unfortunately, the spiky devil apparently hasn't aged too well, as moving when not running is even more sluggish and difficult to control than in the old days. This sluggishness becomes a big problem in the slower-paced levels involving any kind of precision jumping. Sonic's collision detection also feels a bit off, especially on the pinball flippers in the casino stage.

I was expecting to like Sonic 4 a lot more than I did. I spent many, many hours getting those stupid chaos emeralds back when I still had summers to fritter away playing games, but the copy/paste feeling of the content and the physics problems combine to make Sonic 4 a nostalgia trip that invokes no sense of nostalgia. Rather than representing a revitalization of the Sonic brand, Sonic 4 is a failed, desperate grasp at recapturing its former glory. Rating: 5.0 out of 10.

Disclosures: This game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS3. Approximately 2.5 hours of play was spent completing the game once. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game contains cartoon violence. Everything is essentially the same as it was in the old games, so there's nothing for kids/parents to be afraid of. However, if you get motion-sick you may have to look away occasionally when things start moving faster.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing: You should be fine. There are no spoken lines and audio isn't a significant factor in gameplay.

The post Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.