Experience the first ambitious full fledged 3D Sonic game!
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Sonic Team/SEGA
System: Steam (PC)
Total Score: 84/100
Value Score: 8.4/10
• Story: 10/10
o Sonic Adventure DX's storyline takes place mostly in a area within a city named Station Square. One day a institution was being attacked by a strange blue creature who eventually was defeated by Sonic who was near by the area. One event led to another and Sonic found himself on a new journey to defeat Eggman who he finds out is responsible for the blue creature. Eggman is planning to take over the world again with the help of the blue creature who seems to be mysteriously powered up by the chaos emeralds. Sonic and friends must go through their own trials and tribulations to unravel the mystery of the blue creature and the unknown visions that each of them have been having throughout this adventure.
• Characters: 10/10
o Many new and old characters return in this new adventure. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Eggman and Amy from Sonic CD makes a return to the series already making the game the biggest cast of Sonic characters. Not only them but some new characters have been included such as Chaos the blue creature that accompanies Eggman, Tikal who has a mysterious connection to Knuckles, E-102 Gamma a former robotic minion of eggman, and Big the Cat a new mainstay. Ironically this is also the first Sonic game to include human characters who are nothing more than NPCs but a nice addition to the otherwise barren world that would of been if there werent any. The enemies of the game are completely new with some being a replacement for this 3D adventure which is a nice touch.
• GamePlay: 8/10
o Sonic Adventure DX's gameplay is very different from the usual 2D Sonic games that people have played for years before this game came out. The type of gameplay also varies depending on who you are playing as. In the case of Sonic you have the usual running through stages just like the older games however in 3D view. Some of the other characters you play as include Tails, Knuckles, Big the Cat, Amy and E-102 Gamma who have a alternate type of playstyle such as Tails who mostly tries to catch up to Sonic, Amy who tries to get away from a captor, E-102 Gamma who tries to find a exit or pod to release animals, Big the Cat who's levels are just fishing levels, and Knuckles who looks for 3 crystal shards of the Master Emerald. The characters all have same points of areas to explore however the level design and goal for each is different. Each character has his or her own storyline with their own set of cutscenes and boss battles. By completing each and every storyline will get you the chance to unlock an additional secret story which takes you to the conclusion of the game. Throughout the game you will find powerups for characters which will assist them in their adventures. The gameplay is also similar to any other Sonic game as well such as collecting rings to keep you alive as well. However unlike previous Sonic games, exploration is key to the game and you'll be exploring a majority of the time for certain points of the game or for certain items.
• Graphics: 7/10
o Sonic Adventure DX's visuals have greatly improved from the older sonic games. It seem like Sega couldnt at first figure out how to make Sonic in 3D after a few failed attempts but it seems like they finally got it right by completely changing the usual art style they have had for the series. The series seem to be pushing more forth a teenage like audience rather than the usual child audience they have been catering too - despite that they managed to maintain the same content they have had for years but bringing a fresh new look. The visuals are quite amazing for its time with the overall world being fully detailed such as in a GTA like game. The character models are also well done and the animation is quite nicely done with a few rough edges here and there but that was mostly because this was the Sonic team's first full attempt at making a full fledged 3D sonic game. Despite that fact even though it has been years since the original game's release and technology has far improved it doesnt seem like Sega had any intention to improve the overall visuals as the game pretty much is the same as it has been since the beginning.
• Sound: 7/10
o Sonic Adventure DX uses the same sound effects from previous sonic games when breaking a pod or collecting ring but it also includes several new effects thanks to the departure from the 2D landscape to the 3D world. Along with that for the first time the Sonic series now has voice overs for characters which gives a nice touch to the overall storyline. However despite nice additions, some of the voice acting can be pretty unbearable such as Amy's voice but other than that nothing seems too forced.
• Music: 10/10
o Sonic Adventure DX uses a completely new style of music more of a rock/indie rock type themes rather than the traditional industrial type of music that the series has used for quite a while. Along with that there seems to be some pop music added and along with that several vocal tracks for boss battle and character themes. Overall it is one of the best OSTs in the Sonic series.
• Length: 7/10
o Sonic Adventure DX so far is the longest Sonic game, there are over 5 characters to play as with their own respected storyline, the exploration in the game adds more to the length and you get the additional storyline once you finish all other character's storylines. Overall a decent length for a platformer, this game should take you somewhere between 10-15 hours at the max.
• Replay Value: 7/10
o Sonic Adventure DX lets you play stages again if you want and also includes a boss battle mode where you can fight against the bosses again. Unlike the previous sonic games where you would have to play the games all over again, you can just go back to the specific area and play that level again depending on who you play as. Of course you are also free to restart a storyline from the beginning without actually having to explore around for powerups.
• Player Value: 8/10
o Sonic Adventure DX is an amazing addition to the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game has revolutionized the series with its new look, new and expanded gameplay, groundbreaking visuals compared to older games, a decent change to the music, and a well developed storyline that revolves around each and every character with their own role in the storyline. The only main complaint is Sega's lack of work on the PC port - you are gonna have to search up some fixes for the resolution since Sega was too lazy to do an actual decent port of the game. Other than the resolution and window size mistakes, the game is pretty good.