Sonic is back...again. This time on the wii. Is this the sonic game that sega fans have been waiting for?
The story for this game has Sonic literally going into an Arabian Nights book to restore the pages that are being erased by the new villain Erazor Djinn, that’s right, although you will see a cameo from Eggman he is not the “bad guy” in this one. Besides for sonic, you will see cameos from other sonic characters but none of which have important roles in the game. The story in this game is told through comic book style cut scenes. These cut scenes are better if you skip them, since the story is uninteresting and the voice acting is extremely bad.
Sonic on the wii is graphically impressive for the system. It’s refreshing to see a game that’s not just a Gamecube or PS2 game ported over to the wii with tacked on controls. Not that I’m pointing any fingers at a particular company for doing that (cough. Ubisoft). The environments in this game a very diverse, and full of detailed environment. There are only seven levels, but each level holds it’s own and has many objectives for you do to within them. You will see a range from deserts, pirate ships, Arabian palace, and dinosaurs. Each level has new and interesting game play techniques, for example riding a bullet shot from a cannon, riding a magic carpet, or barely escaping the jaws of a dinosaur. Sonic and the Secret of Rings takes full advantage of the wii remote, having you hold it sideways and tilt to steer sonic as he speeds through the environments, and simply shoving forward to attack. The controls work very well, and actually give you much more control over the game. This is a huge improvement in the series because in the other 3D sonic games I felt like I was just pressing forward and watching the game play itself. This Sonic game has a new experience point, RPG style to it. When you level up you get access to new techniques and improvements. When you first start the game, Sonic will move very slow, but once you get levelled up, Sonic will live up to his speedy reputation. The RPG element is a great addition, and keeps you playing to see what you will unlock next. Even the camera in this game works well, with the exception of when you need to back up. When you need to back up, the camera stays facing forward, leaving you to walk blindly into enemies and other dangers. The game actually has enough unlockables that will keep you playing, especially if you’re a Sonic fan. With so much good going for this game, the game is still flawed. Team Sonic decided to keep the sonic tradition of lame music. I mean the music is really bad in the game menus, and you will here it over, and over again since there is only one track for the menus. Another problem is the difficulty, I wouldn’t say this is a hard game, but it is challenging. The problem is you will find yourself dieing very stupidly, and repeatedly. This is because the game makes you have to memorize what’s going to happen to avoid it. With a fast paced game like Sonic, trial and error game play doesn’t seem to fit. Also some of the challenges in the levels (that your forced to do) are very tedious and not fun. Some may frustrate you to the point where you would like to throw your remote, always wear your wrist strap. They have put a multiplayer component in this game as well called party mode, the problem is these minigames are not planned out very well and was obviously thrown in late in the games development stage.
Overall I feel this game is a step in the right direction, and a sequel could fix a lot of this games problems. When that happens you will have a truly amazing plat former, but for now, you still have good game, just not as good as it could have been. This game does keep you entertained, and will give you hours of enjoyment. I think that most gamers will enjoy the games overall experience, especially Sonic fans. Sonic fans will love the games unlockables, such as a history of Sonic section. For Sonic fans or gamers looking for a good plat former to tide them over until Mario Galaxy, I say go out and buy this game, you won’t be disappointed. For the rest of us I say this game is well worth a rent.