The Sonic Generations Review Topic

[Detective Shadzter]

Funny how people complained about Sonic Generations not getting perfect scores before they got their hands on the game and now after they have, they say it doesn't deserve a perfect score. No offence, just saying.

[Ferno]

Actually getting the game kinda does that I guess. Now we're no longer only seeing it through hype-goggles and we're seeing it for what it is.

I think it's a great game with awesome gameplay that deserves to be praised, but with a disappointing plot that sorta takes some points away. I kinda figured that it'd be that way before I got the game, but I was hoping to be proven wrong. Can't speak for everyone else though.

Though I must admit that the rabid Sonic fan in me is going crazy over the thought of a Sonic game getting Mario Galaxy-esque perfect scores. That's awesome no matter how you stack it.

Edited November 5, 2011 by Modern Inferno

[Detective Shadzter]

Actually getting the game kinda does that I guess. Now we're no longer only seeing it through hype-goggles and we're seeing it for what it is.

I think it's a great game with awesome gameplay that deserves to be praised, but with a disappointing plot that sorta takes some points away. I kinda figured that it'd be that way before I got the game, but I was hoping to be proven wrong. Can't speak for everyone else though.

I completely agree. I do think it has many good points, but I would rate it down for the poor story and a disappointing final boss.

I just think that people shouldn't let hype blind them when reviews come in before release. These people have played the game. I mean, for one thing, they were obviously correct in the end when they rated the game down for its story.

[Milo]

Funny how people complained about Sonic Generations not getting perfect scores before they got their hands on the game and now after they have, they say it doesn't deserve a perfect score. No offence, just saying.

I just said the same thing a page ago.

Actually getting the game kinda does that I guess. Now we're no longer only seeing it through hype-goggles and we're seeing it for what it is.

Now this is reminding me of a thread back at the Sega forums:

http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?384972-When-We-Take-Off-The-Nostalgia-Goggles.../page3&highlight=nostalgia+goggles

Anyway, I guess I can't really complain, because of course I don't have the game.

[Emmett L. Brown]

Getting a superficially exagerrated positive score should help balance out some of those superficially exagerrate negative scores.

So it all works out.

[NintendoSoul]

Hahaha, wow, people are complaining about a 5/5 review? Never change Sonic Fandom

[Scar]

A score reflects on how much the reviewer enjoyed the game. If he or she loved the shit out of the game then they are going to give the game a 100% or similar. The story while empty and underwhelmng isn't enough to drop a game down buy 15% or more. If it is, then you place far too much weight on a part of the Sonic series which has never been better than 'slightly above average.' The final boss, whilst poor, again isn't enough to drop the game down by 15%.

Those two combined would drop the score no more than around 5%. The rest would be from technical problems. Still slightly iffy level design and some control issues, which are of course much more important.

Edited November 5, 2011 by Scar

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Hahaha, wow, people are complaining about a 5/5 review? Never change Sonic Fandom

Okay let's look at these elements:

Fans bitch at a 7.5

Fans RAGE at a game that gets a 6.5 or less.

Fans complain about a score that gets a 10.

Honestly, with this being the case, I think a number of folks have taken off their rose-tinted glasses. The fact that some are skeptical of a 10/10 (or 5/5) should be a bit of a testament to that, as you would expect them to want to kiss the reviewer after the series hit such a dark age.

Edited November 5, 2011 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Detective Shadzter]

Guardian Xbox 360 review: 4/5

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/nov/04/sonic-generations-game-review-sega?newsfeed=true

[frokenok3]

Nice! Another good one! Thanks Shadzter.

[Ferno]

Gamespot still doesn't have theirs up. Though their usually always the last to get their stuff up so that's nothing new.

[DaN]

I'm not complaining about perfect score, I'm loving this game, and I'm trying to be objective. I'm not a fanboy, I praise the good and also criticize the bad.

my final score is 9-

[NiGHTS]

I completely agree. I do think it has many good points, but I would rate it down for the poor story and a disappointing final boss.

I just think that people shouldn't let hype blind them when reviews come in before release. These people have played the game. I mean, for one thing, they were obviously correct in the end when they rated the game down for its story.

[Ferno]

Why can't we have great gameplay and great well written meaty stories to go with it? Why is the pursuit of a decent story such a bad thing? Sorry that I didn't grow up playing Sonic in an era where stories weren't a big part of the game as a whole and it was just getting from level to level and getting high scores, but it's just what I'm accustomed too.

Though if turning into Mario is what'll bring in the high scores then so be it. :l

[Scar]

Why can't we have great gameplay and great well written meaty stories to go with it? Why is the pursuit of a decent story such a bad thing? Sorry that I didn't grow up playing Sonic in an era where stories weren't a big part of the game as a whole and it was just getting from level to level and getting high scores, but it's just what I'm accustomed too.

Though if turning into Mario is what'll bring in the high scores then so be it. :l

I'm not against story. I think its about time Sonic actually had a good story. So far, the plots have been, at best, above average. So Gens' thin plot isn't such a problem for me. I'm happy it isn't saturated with unecessary dialogue and cutscenes out the wazoo. Its as boring and bland, but no less refreshing than a ice-cold glass of water.

Edited November 5, 2011 by Scar

[Kuzu]

I'm not against story. I think its about time Sonic actually had a good story. So far, the plots have been, at best, above average. So Gens' thin plot isn't such a problem for me. I'm happy it isn't saturated with unecessary dialogue and cutscenes out the wazoo. Its as boring and bland, but no less refreshing than a ice-cold glass of water.

Its only refreshing because its coming off the heels of 06, as a standalone Sonic game not compared to anything else; yeah its plot is really weak, even by Sonic standards; and no this game had pointless cutscenes and dialogue too, there just weren't a lot of them this time around; Half of the cutscenes in this game amount to nothing, nothing is developed, nothing is gained. I mean there's no explanation for why Classic Tails just appears, The Rival battles are pointless and lack any background, and the character interactions are lacking despite the huge cast. I give it points for not shoving the plot in your face like 06 did, but really its plot is just as bad, the only thing Generations has over it is writing, and it really isn't used to its full potential due to the lack of plot, so eh.

[Mark1]

Was this posted? http://videogames.virginmedia.com/xbox360/sonic_generations/review.html 8/10

[Crazizzle]

It's not that Sonic fans hate the idea of an engrossing plot that is well written, it's that Sonic games have never really had a plot that was well written and put together. SA2 was fine, but it also lead into Shadow and later '06 plots that Sonic fans felt was overdramatic and poorly conceived. I personally enjoyed Shadow, but we're talking general consensus here.

If you assume people are incapable of writing a decent plot, then you'd rather have a shallow self referential plot that can be narmy than a "deep", ""complicated" plot that takes away Sonic's charm and makes him too serious. Sonic should always have his humor and snark, even when the plot is dark...but games like '06 kind of took that away.

I have to say, I thought Unleashed was the perfect model. I know some people hate it, but it just needed better writers. You had an "epic" plot against a real threat, real character development...but Sonic was snarky and the game remained light hearted throughout. Despite the Monster of the Week and planetary disaster, I went through the game smiling and feeling as if it didn't take itself too seriously.

That's how Sonic plots should be. The world can have real story and real disaster, but Sonic must remain fun. That's what makes his interaction with Knuckles, Shadow and Silver types fun...

Edited November 5, 2011 by Crazizzle

[SilentDoom]

To be honest, I'm one of those guys who plays games vastly for fun, and it confuses, perplexes and disappoints me that so few reviewers actually take how fun the game is into account. If I wanted something truly deep and grand and engaging, I'd read a book or better yet watch a film. A good story offers immersion, but good gameplay offers fun. I can get immersion from a film or book or piece of music, but I can only get this type of fun from a game.

[Crazizzle]

FUN...in MY games? Didn't you know this is serious business?

[CanofEpicSauce]

UGO.com:

B

http://www.ugo.com/g...erations-review

Edited November 5, 2011 by CanofEpicSauce

[Kuzu]

To be honest, I'm one of those guys who plays games vastly for fun, and it confuses, perplexes and disappoints me that so few reviewers actually take how fun the game is into account. If I wanted something truly deep and grand and engaging, I'd read a book or better yet watch a film. A good story offers immersion, but good gameplay offers fun. I can get immersion from a film or book or piece of music, but I can only get this type of fun from a game.

Dude, people thought 06 was fun, does that make it a good game? i admit most reviewers are making up bull shit excuses for reviewing the game, but others probably, genuinely, didn't find it fun at all. Fun is Subjective and not something that every one has when doing something, so it really shouldn't get to you that much when people don't share your views on something. Just because gameplay is fun, doesn't mean they should just neglect the story in its entirety, like you said immersion is a factor too, some people actually want a reason to go through these levels and why we're destroying everything, without it the game just fees like a bunch of levels slapped onto a CD with no connection between them. The fact that Sonic is a video shouldn't mean a damn thing, its a form of media just like everything else in the entertainment industry that has a narrative.

Edited November 5, 2011 by Shadic93

[Johnny Boy]

So any of the new reviews going on metacritic?

[CanofEpicSauce]

Did anybody notice that 1UPs score on Metacritic was 75 when it's supposed to be 85.

[SilentDoom]

Dude, people thought 06 was fun, does that make it a good game? i admit most reviewers are making up bull shit excuses for reviewing the game, but others probably, genuinely, didn't find it fun at all. Fun is Subjective and not something that every one has when doing something, so it really shouldn't get to you that much when people don't share your views on something. Just because gameplay is fun, doesn't mean they should just neglect the story in its entirety, like you said immersion is a factor too, some people actually want a reason to go through these levels and why we're destroying everything, without it the game just fees like a bunch of levels slapped onto a CD with no connection between them. The fact that Sonic is a video shouldn't mean a damn thing, its a form of media just like everything else in the entertainment industry that has a narrative.

I think you're missing the point of what I'm trying to get across completely. I'm merely expressing how I feel about video gaming. And I wasn't saying that story should be neglected entirely. I'm saying for a videogame, it doesn't need to be grand to be good. Granted, Generations' story was lacking because there was too little of it, but unless the game is designed to be cinematic and focused around the story (games like Heavy Rain for example), then I really don't feel that storyline should contribute to such a huge factor as far as video games go, especially since there are SOOOOO many other factors that affect what make a game good and fun.

For me, I find fun when I feel a sense of fulfilment in a game. When a game offers me a fantastic gameplay experience. One that is invigorating. Yes gaming is a media form and yes it has a form of narrative, but there are so many other factors in gaming comparative to basically every other kind of media that the focus shouldn't be this narrative.