Sonic Colors – Hands-on Impressions: PAX Prime 2010

Sonic Colors started out as the offshoot cousin to Sonic 4, the Xbox Live Arcade/PlayStation Network downloadable game that seems to take Sonic back to his Genesis roots. Yet as time has gone on, it feels like Sonic Colors has become the real Sonic game of this fall, and at this year’s PAX, I was able to find out for sure. Was it all hyperbole or is this the Sonic game fans have wanted for years?

The demo I got to play had some exclusive PAX levels, revealed at the show. I chose to play some of the earlier levels, since I hadn’t played it at all. I’ve always been ambivalent about Sonic games personally, although I’ve wanted to enjoy them. I tried Sonic Unleashed, the last major Sonic console game, and while the daytime levels were fantastic and “felt” like Sonic should, the nighttime “werehog” levels slowed the game to a crawl and made me lose all interest in the game.

Sonic Colors feels like just the good parts of Sonic Unleashed with extra thought put into the levels and playability since Unleashed came out. The sense of speed that a Sonic game requires was there, and the levels were huge, but you never felt lost or stuck as a player due to smart level design. Visuals were crisp and looked great. It never felt like a substandard Wii game at all, which is a huge win for Sonic Team.

The Colors aspect of the game comes in the form of wisps, each one acting as a different power up that Sonic can use to traverse the level. The blue wisp turned Sonic into a laser that ricocheted off surfaces, while the orange wisp turned Sonic into a rocket which blasted him upwards, and as the power disappeared, he would freefall onto another part of the level. There was also a yellow wisp that made Sonic into a drill which would allow him to collect coins buried within the levels. The wisps are the part of the game that keep the game fresh and what differentiate the game from previous Sonic games; so far, they work amazingly well.

In my short hands-on time with Sonic Colors, it felt great, and it felt like the first true great 3D Sonic game. As the game nears release, the hype surrounding game only increases, as does mine. I never thought I’d be this excited for a Wii game or a Sonic game, yet Sonic Colors proves that by sticking to what makes the character work best, you can make a standout product. See if you agree yourself when the game releases this November.

Sonic Colors releases on the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS on November 16, published by Sega and developed by Sonic Team and Dimps.