Despite it's age, Sonic Adventure (DX) returns with the same fun gameplay, now in downloadable form!
NOTICE: REVIEW IS OF THE PSN VERSION OF THE GAME (I own a PS3, not a 360)
Graphics: 7.0 out of 10
"I was on a Snooze-Cruise I guess..."
This is probably the area of the game that has aged the worst. The graphics do not hold up very well for today's standards. While the updated character models look okay, the rest of the game could use an improvement. Most of the textures are kinda blurry and there isn't a whole lot of detail on them either.
Most of the other character models appear as if they haven't been changed AT ALL since the original DC version. The best example of this is Dr. Robotnik/Eggman's model. He seems blockier than say for example, Sonic's model,and his mouth doesn't even move when he speaks! I know this game is more than 10 years old, but Sega could have AT LEAST given us some updated visuals. But I'll be fair here, since IT IS an old game.
Controls: 8.5 out of 10
"Yeah, Not Bad!"
Controls are fine for the most part. While each character has different controls, most are responsive and work fine.
I do have a couple of complaints though. When playing as Knuckles, and can be tricky to get him to Dig Underground or into a wall he's climbing. You're supposed to press Jump+Action (or X and Square/Circle at the same time) to dig. This shouldn't be difficult, but sometimes I just can't get him to Dig! It always take me a couple of tries to get it right!
Another complaint I have are with the Camera Controls. See, in order to move the camera left and right, you need to press the shoulder buttons (L1/R1 or L2/R2). This is usually something I have to get used to once I switch to this game after playing another for awhile. Moving the Right Stick (or camera stick) also causes the camera to go into some First-Person mode rather than move the camera, which can also be annoying. Despite this, the controls moslty work just fine
Sound: 9.5 out of 10
"Aww Yeah!....THIS is HAPPENIN'!"
The Sound...in this game....is awesome...mostly. The Awesome part of said sound is the Music. It's like a smorgasbord of very different rock-styled songs rolled into one! Station Square (one of the Hub Worlds) has a sort calm, Rock-influenced theme to it that sounds like music you would hear in a shopping mall, which is good considering it plays in a downtown city area. The first stage in the game, Emerald Coast, has a great island-rock vibe going with it. Jun Senoe and his crew have also mixed in a few remixes of songs from Sonic 3D Blast in there as well.
The not awesome-part of the sound is the voice acting. It's good and fun at times, but for the most part it's just plain CHEESY (look at the quote right under the sound category header...who even says things like that?!?!?!?). All in all the Music is great, and the voices are cheesy, but that's forgivable. It IS an old game, after all.
Story: 8.0 out of 10
"That wasn't TOO bad!"
(WARNING: POSSIBLE STORY SPOILERS)
After the Genesis games having not too much of a detailed plot, it was about time that a Sonic game had REAL STORY going on (well S3&K had a good plot, but that's not the point).
Our story starts with Sonic coming home from a vacation ("Aww yeah....THIS is HAPPENIN!"), when he spots several Police Cars chasing something, which prompts the Blue Blur to investigate. He stumbles upon a group of Cops attempting to take down a strange monster that looks as if it was made of water!
The Cops are unable to wound it using ordinary bullets, so Sonic jumps into the scene to take it down ("Aww yeah! This'll Be Fun!"). But after their Brawl, the monster escapes!
Later on, Sonic is resting by the beach when he spots a certain Two-Tailed Fox having trouble piloting his Plane, ("Huh...Tails?" "You're gonna crash! AAH!"). After witnessing his best friend crash his own plane, Sonic decides to speed off to the crash site in order to make sure his best bud isn't hurt...or worse, ("Tails.....Aww what am I gonna do with you?").
And thus the story begins! Cutscenes are shown through various points of views based on which character you are playing as, and certain situations may change based on which character you choose. Personally I really enjoyed the story, but it is hindered by the cheesy voice acting mentioned above.
Gameplay: 9.0 out of 10
" (whistles).....Swwweeeeeeet!"
And now onto the most important part:
I'll do this section by the gameplay for each individual character
Sonic the Hedgehog: Undoubtly has the best gameplay. Sonic's stages are platforming areas with tons of speed thrown in that are reminiscent of the Sega Genesis Games.
In typical Sonic Flair, the goal of the Blue Blur's stages are to get to the end of the level as fast as possible, all while collecting as many Golden Rings has he can carry (and don't worry, they still make that lovely chime upon being picked up).
Each stage also has it's own twist too. Emerald Coast is a beach/seaside level where u must run away from a Killer Whale who would love to have a Blue Hedgehog for supper! In Windy Valley, You must find your way out of a Tornado. My personal Favorite moment comes from Speed Highway, where Sonic must RUN STRAIGHT DOWN A BUILDING!!!!!
These are also where the game shows a little bit of age. The stages can be a little glitchy sometimes. I have literally fallen through the ground in one part of one level, however that has only happened a couple of times and is never a problem. But overall Sonic's stages are great fun, and are still fun today! This gameplay style also returned in Sonic Adventure 2.
Miles "Tails" Prower: Sonic's sidekick returns to help the Speedster in his latest quest to defeat Dr Robotnik/Eggman. Tails' levels are actually race levels. In them, Tails must race and beat Sonic to the goal in hopes of winning a Chaos Emerald/opening a capsule etc.
These play a lot like Sonic's levels: your goal is still to make it to the end of the stage as fast as you can with a ton of rings. However Tails' flight ability plays an important factor in your success. You can take massive shortcuts by flying around, giving Sonic absolutely no chance of winning. Cheap? Sure it is, but it's still God-Dang fun to fly around and explore the level, all while sealing your victory!
Knuckles The Echidna: These are some of my LEAST favorite levels in the game. In Knuckles' levels, you must search for and collect 3 pieces of the Master Emerald. You do this by scouring the area with the help of Knuckles' Gliding/Climbing/Digging abilities, as well as his Emerald Radar. The Emerald Radar is an icon at the bottom of the screen that flashes and changes color as you get closer to an emerald shard. It's very convenient, and vital to finding those shards!
However, I just don't find these levels all that fun. It's too slow and boring compared to the high-speed gameplay of Sonic and Tails' levels, and there will be times when you simply cannot find an emerald shard for the life of you. This gameplay style also returned for Sonic Adventure 2.
Amy Rose: Amy returns to seek out Sonic and finally make him her Boyfriend. But she has other things to worry about here.
Amy's levels are similar to Sonic's, but much slower and with a twist. In every level, ZERO, a robot built by Robotnik/Eggman, stalks Amy and tries to kidnap her. This adds a unique twist to her levels: The goal is not just to get to the end as fast as possible, but to also avoid being caught by Zero. These levels aren't as fun as Sonic's or Tails', but they're enjoyable overall.
E102-Gamma: Now here's a unique one! E102 (or Gamma) is one of Dr. Robotnik/Eggman's robot creations. He was built as just another 'Bot sent to eliminate Sonic once and for all. But soon enough, Gamma learns who the Real Villian is, and Rebels.
Gamma's levels are fast-paced shooting arenas where the goal is to "save" one of the other E-Series robots, (or Gamma's "brothers") at the end with enough time left, (note that by "save", I mean "destroy the robot and free the animal that's inside"). In every level, shooting a target adds and extra second to the clock. By locking onto multiple enemies at once, you can gain even more time! Gamma's levels are great fun, and are a nice diversion from the platform/speed based gameplay. This shooting gameplay was also brought back for Sonic Adventure 2.
Big the Cat: Oh god......not Big! These are,without a doubt, my LEAST FAVORITE levels in the game. In Big's levels, you must seek out and retrieve Big's best friend, Froggy (a frog, obviously).
Big is a fisherman, you see, and Froggy is located in one of the pools that are placed in each level. Your goal is to fish for and catch Froggy in every stage. You can also catch other fish that you see in the water to get extra points once the level is over. I'd describe more of it, but that's really all there is to it! It's incredibly dull, and kind of a pain to play through.
Then there's also the "Chao Garden", where you can raise and train your own Virtual Pet (called "Chao", pronounced "chow"). In "Chao Gardens" you can play with, feed, and pet your Chao, as well as enter them in races. I won't go farther than that, but the Chao raising system is very deep and definitely boosts replay Value
Replay Value: 10 out of 10
With the Emblems to collect, Chao to raise and train, and Missions to complete, there's no shortage of things to do. even I haven't done EVERYTHING.
Rent or Buy: Buy!!!
With the amount of levels, Missions, and Emblems to collect, there's no way you could complete this in a Rental Period!
Besides,$15 Dollars is a small price to pay for one of the best games out there!
Even if it's a little old.....