Games To Try Before You Die: Sonic Generations (PS3, XB360) [Video]

Sonic the Hedgehog sure has had some missteps in his most recent games.

There have been a few good ones, but I think that the majority were just bad.

Mario jumped into the third dimension very well, Sonic kind of stumbled a bit. Games like Sonic R, Sonic '06, and my personal hated, Sonic and the Secret Rings.

The, this gem came around and showcased that the 'Blue Dude with 'Tude' still has some life in him.

What: In Sonic Generations, you play as Sonic the Hedgehog (go figure). This game however, is an homage to pretty much ever Sonic game. Worlds collide and New Sonic and Old Sonic have to work together to take down the evil Dr. Eggman and save the universe!

Why: It' a really unique game. If you grew up with the old Sonic, you are going to love this game. One thing that made me nervous about this game, was the control. Newer 2-D Sonic games have a very different control, and make it really difficult to platform. In Generations, you can tell the paid attention to detail. Old Sonic plays perfectly, and New Sonic is super fast and it is a blast to see how fast you can make Sonic run! That's what sold Sonic in the early 90's was SPEED, and this game has that! Seeing old levels like Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, etc in a different perspective is awesome. You really witness how much the character has evolved in his years. Hands down one of the best parts is how the programmers recognized some of their past faults with characters. For example, that stupid Bee from Knuckles Chaotix. Once you save him, he goes on to say:

"I'm a free bee! I'm a free BEE!"

Which Sonic goes on to rub his forehead and exhale in disgust, basically saying, "Man, what were we smoking when we came up with this?"

THIS is what makes this game fun! Solid control, poking fun at the franchise, unique and playable retrospective, and the final boss is a glorious battle! (Spoiler: Pays homage to the ACTUAL final boss in Sonic 3 & Knuckles connected)

If you enjoyed the original Sonic games and hinted at a few of the new ones, you'll enjoy this one.