The opening sequence is spectacular gorgeousness that gave me a serotonin-high flashback to Sonic 2's thrilling finale. I was literally in awe, thinking: this is the Sonic game I've been wanting since S3&K. However, it still manages to disappoint.
The werehog sections are slow, clunky, and frustrate me endlessly. I'm not a fan of God of War (shush, peanut gallery, it's a fine game, I just don't like that style of play) and didn't buy a Sonic game for slow 3D combat. It's a little Kingdom Hearts-y, but with worse camera angle, slower, messier combat and generally frustrating button-mash controls.
The daytime levels are good, hardly "traditional" Sonic, but close enough to feel right and be fun to play. Yes, he's too fast if you constantly hit boost, but if you recall the old games it was pretty hard to stay at full tilt constantly too. Of course, in the old games, he could precision-jump just as easily as he could accelerate to max speed. The camera-behind sections tend to have frustrating, hit-a-wall-and-stop moments. Sega needs to hire a level designer worth his salt, not whatever cack-handed moron they're currently getting, the levels encourage constant linear speed, yet throw in obstacles that halt you completely. In the old games, slowing down was never a problem, and when you needed to go fast, the paths were available to you without obstruction. You just had to keep your eyes open for alternative paths and end-of-path hazards.
I don't own it myself - and certainly won't buy it - but I may play quite a bit more of the daytime levels on my friend's copy. They're not that bad.
and runnig as fast as ever
