REVIEW - SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2006)

Okay, I'm not going to write a normal introduction for this game like I would any other review. I'm going to say this right now: There are way, way worse Sonic games than Sonic '06. The fanbase don't seem to realize that since 2006 there has been an onslaught of poor Sonic games, such as Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood and the Sonic Boom games. So, why do people STILL think that 2006's SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (yes all caps) is not only the worst Sonic game, but one of the worst games ever made? Simple: It was overhyped.

This game....this game is the template for how a game should not be rushed to meet a 15th Anniversary. I still find it funny how people blame Microsoft for the games rushed release, when it was SEGA and SEGA alone to blame. Going into the games developmental history, Sonic '06 was announced at the Tokyo Game Show in 2005 with a pretty fine trailer showing off the sense of speed the game would have and the art style. It would be released on the upcoming Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. E3 2005 had a demo that was played behind closed doors, showing off the Physics engine. E3 2006 came about and people started to get both pretty damn hyped and slightly worried, particularly when they saw Dr. Eggman's redesign. The game was going to look photo-realistic, something strange for Sonic the Hedgehog standards, although with the series already becoming more 'serious' after 1998, SEGA then made the decision to split Sonic Team in two. Half would work on this game and another Sonic game for the Wii. The game was released in November 2006 on Xbox 360 and March 2007 on PlayStation 3.

And boy, did people hate it.

Sonic '06's story is probably the only part of the game that SEGA couldn't fix if they had actually tried doing what they originally wanted to. The writing and characterization in this game is bastardized beyond belief and it's one of the most confusing and poorly written things to have ever have come out. For fucks sake I'm not even going to properly go into it but basically, there's a girl called Elise who's the princess of a place called Soleanna. She possesses some shit called the Flames of Disaster which Dr.Eggman wants to rule the world. And so Sonic being the do-gooder decides to help protect Elise and by doing this the girl develops a ROMANTIC INTEREST IN A THREE FOOT TALL TALKING BLUE HEDGEHOG. It angers me to no end that SEGA actually thought bestiality was a good thing to put in a goddamn Sonic game. The story is the worst I've experience in a video game and considering the shit I've seen in some games that's saying a lot.

The gameplay varies on what character you play as, but the physics engine glitches out a lot. This leads to the game causing some deaths that you can't control. Sonic runs 'fast' (I use quotations because he doesn't really go fast) and has all his trademark moves along with a few broken upgrades (which enhance the fun to be honest.). He has special sections of certain levels which allow him to go at Mach Speed, and these sections, while thrilling in a sense, are completely broken. The control is stiff, you can't stop and the collision detection is so goddamn picky. The other characters are all weird but the worst is poor poor Knuckles, who ain't chuckling anymore. The engine allows him to get stuck on walls, leading to innocuous amounts of frustration and annoyance. The bland hub world and severe load time issues really defile the experience, but I have to say....Sonic's levels are actually a guilty pleasure, to me. The levels are wide and open to explore and it isn't really that bad minus the speed sections. I'd replay the levels if I were bored.

Grpahically, the game is alright for an early 7th generation game. Apart from a bland looking hub, the environments in this game have good colour schemes and are detailed to a good degree. it's nothing amazing, but the game does run at 60 FPS....Mostly. The game does framedrop a bit which does annoy me but it's nothing too bad.

The soundtrack is fucking amazing. Legit one of the best soundtracks to any game ever. His World, All Hail Shadow, Dream of an Absolution, Solaris Phase 2, Wave Ocean, White Acropolis, Kingdom Valley....so many good songs on this OST and I love them all so goddamn much.

Overall, Sonic '06 is a very mediocre video game that I would barely call playable. The story is shit, the gameplay is bad-okay at best, the graphics are okay and the soundtrack is eargasmic. It's a mixed shitty bag, but there are way...WAY worse Sonic games, trust me.

STORY: 0

GAMEPLAY: 5

GRAPHICS: 6

SOUNDTRACK: 10

PERSONAL ENJOYMENT: 3

FINAL SCORE FOR SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2006): 4.8/10