Sonic Generations Coming to the PC

As a big Sonic the Hedgehog fan, I hate to admit that it’s been ages since I last bought a new release. Nowadays, it takes a special kind of ambition to get me to turn on a console, as I’d rather just load up a game on the PC. It’s for that reason that Sonic Generations has my interest. When it launches in a couple of weeks, it’ll be the first true Sonic game that will be released for the PC at the same time as the consoles.

The game’s interesting for other reasons as well. It’s been developed to help celebrate Sonic’s 20th anniversary, and as the name suggests, we’ll be experiencing multiple generations of Sonic games throughout. Sega touts the use of both “Classic” and “Modern” Sonics, with mixture of both 2D and 3D gameplay.

The game’s premise is simple. Sonic and his friends are celebrating his 20th anniversary, and a time hole appears and sucks everyone in. This results in everyone being thrown to different time periods, and of course, it’s up to Sonic to go find them.

Making this game a bit more special, the history of Sonic games is strewn throughout. Each one of the levels is inspired by a level in a previous game, such as Green Hill in Sonic the Hedgehog, Sky Sanctuary in Sonic & Knuckles, Speed Highway in Sonic Adventure and so forth. In total, there are nine levels according to Wikipedia, though it could be that Sega has more up its sleeve.

Though Sonic Generations is going to be available for the PC, don’t expect PC-level graphics. Judging by the screenshots, this is going to be a console port in the truest sense of the word, but for the most part that’s fine. Sonic has never been about extreme detail, but rather more about eye candy and a fun, colorful world.

PC gamers do get a bonus though: a lower price. While Sonic Generations will be sold at around $49.99 for all consoles, it’s being sold for $29.99 through Steam.  Sega sweetens the deal by giving pre-order customers a free copy of both Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic 3 & Knuckles.