Is a Sonic game a Sonic game without a novel twist designed, marketed and exploited for the Saturday morning cartoon crowd? So far we've seen Sonic the Gunman, Sonic the Knight and Sonic the Werewolf. You start to wonder, whatever came of Sonic the Hedgehog?

SEGA must have wondered the same as they recently promised that Sonic 4, the episodic DLC game scheduled for release this fall after a number of delays, would be a back to basics title. Stripping the peripheral characters, open worlds and the heavy weaponry, Sonic Team could finally emphasize the spins, loops and speedy routes across each tropically checkerboard-printed stage that made their blue rodent iconic.

And then there's Sonic Colors, also set for a late fall release on the Wii, available more traditionally at full price in brick and mortar retailers. SEGA self-deprecatingly, perhaps unintentionally so, dubbed this the "Sonic for kids." Fans looking for traditional Sonic - adults - would be better to stick with Sonic 4.

Fair enough. Sonic Colors isn't the traditional Sonic. Like so many flops before it, Colors has a novel twist in the form of Wisps, colorfully cute critters that look like a Chaos from Sonic Adventures but act as power-ups, shooting Sonic across the stage as a drill, rocket ship and as a beam of light through conductive wire.

Having played both, its Colors however, that feels the most grown-up. Sonic 4, while looking to be a solid Sonic game, also feels the most pandering, a plea bargain for loyalists eager to lock the hedgehog up for good.

Sonic Colors seems, on the other hand, a maturely designed mish-mash, the best parts of bad Sonics. Because hey, those mediocre games had a few redeeming qualities. The bulk of Colors is high-speed Sonic side-scrolling, switching to a behind-the-back view for sequences that call to mind Sonic Adventures famous orca chase and Ratchet and Clank's rail-grinding.

The wisps, aside from being painfully saccharin, only improve Sonic's most winning attribute: his speed. They send Sonic across the stage at pace that makes recent Sonic games look like strolls through the local antique store.

Is it for kids? Nah, that's just SEGA marketing gone wrong. Take a look for yourself in the video below and we'll keep you posted as the game nears it's November release date. Then we'll have a bigger question to answer: is Colors the Sonic fans have been waiting for?

See More: Sonic | Sonic Colors | Sega | Sonic Team