Oh dear lord, WHY! Why is Sonic the Hedgehog cursed to live in so many awful games! The fans have made it quite clear what they want, and it’s so simple to deliver, they want Sonic, running fast through roller-coaster like levels, THAT’S IT. Sega has decided that this isn’t enough, there has to be swords, guns, werewolves, crappy control schemes, human/anthro romances, and/or a cast of cheesy characters. There have been enjoyable parts of all of these games, but for the most part, they are RUINED, by otherwise unnecessary components, like treasure hunting, mech-battling, and raising Tamigotchi-like creatures. The original Sonic the Hedgehog had sales of over 4 million, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 over 6 million, more recent, gimmicky additions have trouble breaking the 2 million mark. Doesn’t Sega want to make money anymore!? Are they just using Sonic as a figurehead to push their game ideas that they don’t think will sell? Have they given up completely!? I don’t know. What I do know is that Sonic Generations appears to be a step in the right direction, including levels that hearken back to the original Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as the more liked portions of recent games (you know, the parts where Sonic runs fast). But still, you wouldn’t think it would take SO MANY failed attempts for them to realize that people just don’t want the gimmicks. They buy the Sonic games, hoping that this one will be different, and it never is!