Game: Sonic The Hedgehog
Console: Microsoft Xbox 360
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 14th November 2006
For my 250th game review, I wanted to do something special; something universally known and understood as a video game. Released in 2006, Sonic the Hedgehog is universally known and understood as a bad video game, originally intended to revitalise the entire series and make a good start for HD consoles. With various problems plaguing the game's development from the outset (including the fact that Sonic Team were forced to split in two in order to produce this and Sonic and The Secret Rings for Wii), Sonic The Hedgehog is believed to have had very little in the way of quality checking before its rushed release.
Players choose from 3 storylines; Sonic, Silver and Shadow, and are able to control a total of 9 characters throughout the course of the game, before the "Final Story" which attempts to resolve the plot. Though each story focuses on one of the three main characters, there's still a large amount of switching between characters, which can disrupt the flow of stages somewhat. Each of the characters has a different control scheme, meaning that it can also be difficult to get used to those used for only a short period of time.
I'll begin with Sonic's story as it's the main focus of most people's attention, and the only thing available to play at the beginning of the game. The first thing players will notice when starting Sonic's story is that the graphical quality of the opening cutscene is very high, especially for 2006. After that high note, the quality of the visuals noticeably decreases as gameplay begins. The very start of Sonic's campaign features a tutorial of sorts, and some very easy free-roaming before any action stages which may well annoy fans of games like Sonic Adventure 2 where players are dropped straight into the main game.
Once inside of the the action stages, the controls and overall gameplay take a turn for the worse (although it's probable that players will have already noticed whilst freeroaming that things aren't quite right). Sonic often gets stuck on the smallest of obstacles, walls and other surfaces, has some trouble locking onto the things you want him to, and makes even the "classic" style 3D Sonic stages difficult to play.
Another type of gameplay that frequently features in Sonic's stages is the snowboarding sections, which prove fairly difficult to control as Sonic gets stuck on patches of ground for no reason, jumps inconsistently and requires precision jumping between rails. The final type of gameplay are the "Super Speed" sections which are probably the worst; Sonic runs automatically and players must dodge anything and everything in their way whilst trying to get an idea of exactly where the game wants them to go. Both of these additional types of gameplay are far less enjoyable than the classic 3D platforming, broken as it is in many parts of this game.
Another issue whilst playing levels is the loading screens between sections, inside of the level. Not just a couple of seconds, but a full 30 second loading screen after 1 or 2 minutes of play to load the next section. Considering that there's 3-5 sections in each level, that's a lot of loading screens to sit through, not to mention those endured after dying from glitches or poor level design. In fact, there's one point in Sonic's story which features a difficult trial, from a set of 3, in which players accept the challenge, wait for the game to load, hear a single sentence from an NPC, wait for the game to load again, inevitably fail the challenge, wait for the game to load a third time, and then repeat the process.
As well as Sonic's gameplay, his levels feature Tails and Knuckles (and Silver, oddly) completing certain sections. Tails can fly, and send out a blast of fake rings as his attack, and Knuckles glides and punches objects as well as being able to climb. While these sections have their own issues, related to those mentioned about Sonic's control and level design, they can be a nice break from the main gameplay and are definitely preferable to giving the support characters their own storylines as in Sonic Adventure.
Bosses that feature in Sonic's story are of varying quality, ranging from the frustrating and frankly unfair fight with Silver the Hedgehog to the Egg Genesis and Wyvern fights which (if players can stand to get that far) are reminiscent of Sonic Adventure bosses. With only 5 boss fights in total, the main emphasis is on the action stages and completing the option town missions. In terms of things to do in Sonic's story, the game has good variety even if it's choosing between two substandard experiences.
The game's plot seems to take a lot of criticism for featuring a love story between Sonic and a human princess, but besides this it's pretty standard for a game in the Sonic series. Dr. Robotnik's trying to take over the world, there's some stuff with chaos emeralds and Sonic and buddies have to save the day. There's various plot holes and horrendous voice acting (as always), but if players expected any different from a Sonic game by now, I'd be surprised.
Other than the issues I've mentioned above there's also various camera problems which can lead to players plummeting to their deaths, framerate issues that see the game shudder into slow motion if anything exciting is happening onscreen, and my least favourite part of the controls; the fact that Sonic can't be moved forwards after jumping/being launched into the air. Unless players perform a homing attack, he'll land exactly where he took off from, which makes several sections of the game needlessly difficult.
Although I didn't play through Silver and Shadow's stories as comprehensively as Sonic's (which I managed to 100%), I got a good idea of what they were like. Shadow's levels are most similar to Sonic's in playstyle, but with the addition of a combo attack used by pressing A several times after the homing attack. This makes it harder to attack with precision, but easier to do massive damage to stronger opponents. Many of Shadow's stages also feature vehicles which can be driven or flown to access new parts of levels.
Silver's controls revolve around his mind control powers and being able to levitate. His levels are far more puzzle based than the other two, and as a result are somewhat slower to play, unless you know what you're doing. Both Silver and Shadow's levels feature segments with other characters, for example Rouge appears in Shadow's first and second level, searching for keys in a Sonic Adventure 2-esque style, though there's no proximity indicator which doesn't help things. Another issue with Shadow and Silver's levels and bosses is that they're essentially in the same locations, and fighting the same characters as in Sonic's story, meaning more repetition than replayability.
Though it's often a frustrating and broken game, Sonic The Hedgehog isn't devoid of positives. There are often multiple paths through levels, giving players a choice of where they want to go (though I mostly discovered these thanks to the game not doing what I wanted it to). There are also a few references to moments in earlier games, especially Sonic Adventure, and as previously mentioned some of the bosses give off a classic 3D Sonic vibe.
Overall the difficulty comes mostly from poor controls and level design choices; super speed running sections and other slightly obtuse level sections make gameplay harder than it needs to be at points, and often trial and error plays a large part as players press on through the game. At various points, players are given hints for somewhat easy parts of the game and it feels like there's a poor balance between not getting help when it's needed, and being given hints when it's blatantly obvious how to progress.
Graphically the game features a mix between fairly impressive visuals in its pre-rendered cutscenes and the lower detail gameplay with its frame rate issues. It's also worth considering that Sonic tends to disappear completely at times, get stuck on kerbs whilst vibrating violently and Shadow's feet actually go through the floor in most levels. I'm not quite sure how to sum the visual side of the game up; perhaps it's best to say that 'It's good, when it isn't being bad'.
Musically the game is good, though not as good as other Sonic games in some places. There are some odd choices for music in some levels; a techno piece in the snow level, and more orchestral pieces than I'd have liked mean that the classic Sonic style hard rock that Crush 40 made a trademark of the series is difficult to find. The voice acting is particularly poor, and many of the cutscenes were unintentionally humourous.
Overall I'm on the fence as to whether Sonic '06 deserves to be quite as hated as it is. Once players are past Sonic's first stage and somewhat used to the brokenness of the game as a whole, there are glimpses of fun every now and then, between the frustration and swearing at the game. Although much of the stage design is generic and uninspired, and the locations are reused throughout the game, The three stories, and final uniting story seem like a mix of the Sonic Adventure games way of doing things, with appearances from many of the supporting cast, but also defined and character specific plots. While the overarching plot is fairly weak, it's not surprising for the Sonic series, and gives players enough incentive to continue, even if the gameplay doesn't particularly.
Obviously this isn't the best game in the Sonic series, in fact it may well be the worst (though there's plenty of candidates for that title). Had Sega taken the time to fix all of the glitches and bugs in the game, it might have been acceptable but the overall control and camera issues in the game are unforgivable. The glimpses of fun are just too few and far between to be significant and the game adds very little to the Sonic series as a whole, besides more doubt in Sonic Team's ability to produce good games.
Rating: 40/100
Grade: E
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