Sonic's first Wii adventure is an enjoyable but flawed experience.
The story goes like this: you (Sonic) are pulled inside the world of the book '1001 Nights' by a ring genie called Shahra to defeat another, evil genie named Erazor Djinn from taking over the book's world and Sonic's aswell. Strange? Hell yes, but it does the job fine for the most part, and it's enhanced by storybook-like cutscenes.
The basic gameplay of Sonic and the Secret Rings is completely on-rails. You hold the Wii Remote horizontally and tilt it from left to right to move side to side. You also press the 2 Button to jump, and again while in the air to homing attack. While you might not immediately get a hold on the Remote-based controls, they'll soon become second-nature.
To progress through the story, you have to complete numerous missions. While some are fun, others are unenjoyable, repetitive and unfairly hard, with the difficult often spiking suddenly. You also have to move backwards occasionally, and as the camera mostly stays fixed, you often run into something, losing rings.
Speaking of rings, you can equip several abilities to increase the amount you hold, the amount you lose, and the amount you start with. You can also equip numerous other abilities too, such as speed boosts and element-based moves. The game's speed depends entirely on the abilities you equip, so if you want to be a speed demon and rip through the stages, you have that option.
There's a party mode too, similar to Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. Also like that game, however, few are really that fun, leaving it as yet another failed attempt by Sega to pad the gameplay,
The game's graphics are a high point, and another place where the Arabian Nights setting impresses. Impressive water effects, lighting and a consistent framerate result in one of the prettiest Sonic games yet.
A low point, however, is the game's audio. The soundtrack is filled to the brim with godawful cock-rock BGM, most of them infuriating. The voice actors also mess up again, with OTT 'acting' fed by an unbelievably cheesy script.
Still, despite its issues, Sonic and the Secret Rings is a definite step in the right direction for the Sonic franchise, and a thoroughly enjoyable game.