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Review Roundup: Sonic the Hedgehog

Posted by Chris. Filed under Microsoft Xbox 360, Sonic. Tagged with Review Roundup.

Now that Sonic has turned 15 years old, I was expecting big things from Sega with the next installment in the series. And the fact Sega dropped any numerals off the game’s title suggested either a return to the series’ roots or a total revolution in the franchise.

Judging from these reviews, a handful agreed, while the majority thought it was crap.

• Play Magazine (85/100) - You simply can’t ask for more out of an action game. Mission accomplished. Sonic is born anew.
• Game Daily (50/100) - Atrocious camera angles lead to cheap deaths, the slippery controls make it difficult to get a handle on the characters and the game has a large problem with pacing. It tries to mix in side missions with general stages, and the disastrous results ruin the game.
• Eurogamer (20/100) - What should have been a dramatic return to form for Sonic, as signalled by the hugely promising trailer videos from earlier this year and the bold decision to use the original Sonic the Hedgehog name, has turned out to be an absolute mess.

Currently, the game has an average Metacritic score of 49, certainly not what Sega had hoped for the next-generation Sonic. I played the demo on Xbox Live and noticed a lot of problems then but held out hope Sega would rectify the problems before the game shipped. I guess I was wrong.

However, even though Sonic the Hedgehog sucked, I’m still holding out hope for Sonic and the Secret Rings.