Hands-On Preview: Sega’s furry speedster hasn’t lost one step…look out Speedy Gonzalez
Before the transition to 3D gaming, Sonic the Hedgehog stood at the upper echelon of side-scrolling platformers, but gaming is now played in an entirely new perspective. That said, Sega’s build of Sonic the Hedgehog is still eerily similar to the same franchise that was so popular on the Genesis.
The level we played had all the same elements as the games of old, from the speed-boost conveyor belts to the bothersome robots. This hedgehog hasn’t lost a step, and with the 3D environments, it’s easy to run yourself right off a ledge. If you’re able to catch yourself from plummeting to your death, Sonic will balance himself on one leg as if he’s trying to fight the momentum of tipping over. Unfortunately, we weren’t always able to catch ourselves.
Sonic the Hedgehog is just as easy to pickup as before, with a simplistic button configuration. In fact, the game only utilizes half of the 360’s buttons, and three of those buttons are merely to control the camera angle. The two commands of significance are jump and attack, which can be strung together to perform additional moves, such as a cannon-like ramming attack.
The level was replete with elevated platforms of various heights, which demand timely jumps. Sega did a good job of preventing any monotony, however, by offering a number of jumping tools. We had to latch onto the feet of an eagle to reach one area, and in another situation, we had to use a suspended rope as a catapult. Not only can Sonic burn rubber with his feet, he isn’t too bad of a snowboarder either. A number of situations in the level had us ramming a special pole, which created a path of wind for us to stylishly ski across. Also, we were able to reach the same areas using different jumping paths and sequences. If the level in this build is any indication, it seems as though Sega is striving for variety. And the jumps seemed to present more of a challenge than the cookie-cutter robots.
While the jumps are a bit more challenging than those in a 2D world, the premise is virtually the same: you race through levels, collecting coins and ramming robots along the way. Like always, collecting enough coins will grant you an extra life, but an enemy can instantly strip them from you with one hit. If you’re out of coins and get hit again, you have to start from the beginning, unless you had reached a checkpoint. Clearing checkpoints seems to be more of a saving grace for the difficult jumps, rather than the robots. The enemies were fairly slow and anything but intimidating. Giving Sega the benefit of the doubt, this level is an introductory piece, so the artificial intelligence will presumably buckle up as players delve further into the game.
Sonic has never before boasted so many polygons. The colorful backgrounds aren’t the most impressive textures, but are adequate within the context of this sort of title. As fast as Sonic can move, the frame-rate and controls never skipped a beat. The camera angles can tend to become problematic, but only temporarily, as you can maneuver it with the shoulder buttons. Even with this 3-dimensional perspective, the game still rests on the laurels of its predecessors. The sound effects and background music also stay true to past titles, and the game’s straightforward controls made it easy to pick up and play right from the start.
