he latest Sonic the Hedgehog game opens with an impressive evening CG festival in a city reminiscent of Venice. Realistic humans dance around, and the princess lights a classy pyrotechnics display. All of a sudden, wacky Dr. Eggman kidnaps Princess Elise and a three-foot tall cartoony blue hedgehog zips in to save the day.
This ridiculous mix of realistic fantasy and ultra cute characters permeates the entire game. There are several scenes of lovebirds Sonic and Elise prancing through idyllic green fields like Anakin and Padme. But the story later delves into some cool time travel twists and differing perspectives on the same events.
Over the course of the main quest, you can unlock Shadow and the all-new Silver, who can levitate objects for projectile and platforming purposes. These alternate character options provide a nice relief after several camera related deaths with the anthropomorphic mammal you were previously using. Speaking of cheap deaths, why does Sonic survive a dip in liquid hot magma, but dies instantly when he touches water or sand? Sand, people!
Nonetheless, there’s a whole lot of game for the hardcore Sonic set to check out. Three separate quests and a special bonus quest will keep fans busy for quite a long time.
In the end, Sonic nuts will love it. Everyone else should stay away.