LogFAQs > #914064675

GrindcoreShark posted...

Antifar posted...

This was basically lost in the transition to 3D; the upper and lower paths of levels were now just one. Which makes it feel very linear and less satisfying as a platformer.

They had it right with the Adventure games. It was just ruined with Unleashed and their garbage Boost gameplay

You spend a lot of time either figuratively or literally on rails in the Adventure games though. Not to mention the camera is awful and the physics suffer from weird hiccups. I mean, they're not bad, don't get me wrong, but they're not great either.
I actually liked most of the Modern levels in Generations, because it felt like they finally managed to make Sonic somewhat maneuverable. That's one of the huge problems of the Modern formula in 3D: it's really hard to both have Sonic screaming around at the speed of sound and allowing the player to meaningfully control him.
The 2D games have much less of a problem with it in part because there's one less dimension the player has to move in, and also in part because they spend a lot more time on platforming sections and gadgets that encourage the player to slow up a little while usually allowing an experienced player to navigate these things quickly.