Game Review – Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

by Ian Dean

2005 saw the introduction of the High Definition gaming generation. Pictures were clearer, sharper, and graphics were finally reaching a level where games could tell stories that were not only epic or fascinating, but visually cinematic. After the abysmal spinoff that was Shadow the Hedgehog, Sega realised that steps needed to be taken to revitalise their now flagging flagship franchise. A bold, ambitious plan was enacted that would launch Sonic the Hedgehog into the new generation of consoles, enriching the visual appeal and evolving the characters and narrative to a more intriguing level.

Unfortunately, we got this instead.

Sonic the Hedgehog (often referred to by its release year as Sonic 06) was not the game that Sega had in mind. A menagerie of glitches, bugs, and poor coding are indicative of the game’s unfinished state; it’s obvious that the developers needed more time to polish the game but Sega didn’t give it to them.

So where do we start? Let’s go over the basic plotline. Akin to previous 3D games, Sonic 06 features multiple stories, each following a different hedgehog: Dr Eggman kidnaps Princess Elise of Soleanna for some evil purpose, so Sonic tries to rescue her; Silver the Hedgehog, a telekinetic from the future, comes back in time to kill Sonic because he brings about the apocalypse; Shadow inadvertently releases some guy called Mephiles from a container and spends the game tracking him down. Along the way, you get to play as various other characters from the franchise, including Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Rouge, Omega, and fresh from the popular Sonic Rush series, Blaze the Cat.

Unfortunately most of these characters are their worst playable incarnation to date. Tails is depressingly slow, his flight time is strangely reduced, and his only method of attack is to throw exploding ring boxes at the enemies. That’s right, no spin attack, no tail whip, and no fun whatsoever. And he isn’t the worst of the lot. The only bright light among the sidekicks is Blaze. With a fairly decent speed and some fun attacks, Blaze can be entertaining, but she doesn’t crop up that often.

Newcomer Silver is fun to play with, too. Despite being a bit on the slow side, his telekinetic powers add an enjoyable variety to the gameplay. Shadow and Sonic are the most entertaining of the bunch, with their speed based gameplay a lot of fun (when it works). However, even these two aren’t exempt from issues. Shadow’s vehicles from his spinoff return, an annoying feature because Shadow actually seems faster and tougher on foot, whilst Sonic’s new Mach Speed sections are difficult to control, and will undoubtedly be a source of frustration for players. All three, however, suffer from a poor camera. Slow and awkward to move, it forces pauses in the gameplay, a really big problem in a game primarily based on speed.

Of course, it’s not all terrible. When the game works, it can be fun. Sonic still runs fast, there’s a variety of challenges, and a decent selection of level types to race through that are distinctive enough to avoid repetition. The soundtrack is great, though there are a few misses, and though many don’t like the visual design, the actual graphics quality was more than acceptable for a 2006 release. When things aren’t glitching out and you aren’t shoehorned into playing as one of Sonic’s less entertaining friends (Amy Rose and Tails, for instance), then the game can be as entertaining as any of the hedgehog’s 3D titles.

The real issue is that the game will force you to play as one of the less interesting characters, and you will undoubtedly encounter a glitch or coding issue on almost every level. Whether it’s Sonic missing a pre-programmed, coded jump (that the player has little to no control over) or Knuckles getting caught on a wall, these issues just add to the frustration. I could continue to list the various glitches and control issues (I haven’t even gotten to the ball puzzle yet), but let’s bring it all down to one point: cheap deaths from bad design or programming is one of the most frustrating things a game can do. Add in copious amounts of extremely lengthy loading screens, and this game is a bit of a disaster.

Now I want to be fair to the game. After all, a lot of the issues are down to the rushed development cycle forcing an unfinished game onto shelves.  However, this is the game that Sega sold us, the game that was printed onto a disc that we paid for, and as such I have to treat it that way. Okay, it’s not an abomination to gaming; there is a fun game hidden underneath the mess, but the coding glitches and lack of refinement drags down what should have been a fairly average game. If I hadn’t actually enjoyed parts of the game I would rate this lower, but as a fan of the hedgehog I have to admit that I might be a little too forgiving: