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| Review by Gamerguy |
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To many longtime Sonic fans, Secret Rings is the final chance. Plenty of people have said "if this game sucks, then the series is doomed." Well, the good news is that it doesn't suck. The bad news is that it's also not the "perfect" 3D Sonic game we've been waiting for. Although it's not without its flaws, Sonic and the Secret Rings is a step in the right direction.
I was extremely skeptical with the "Arabian Nights" theme, but it works. Sega managed to take a series of stories that many of us are familiar with and integrate them into a relatively coherent plot. The best part, though, is that the plot takes a backseat to the gameplay for the first time in nearly a decade. Secret Rings is fun to play. The game is on a basic rail system, meaning that you can't freely roam the environment like in the other 3D Sonic games. You simply move Sonic left and right by tilting the remote as he moves forward automatically. The level design is outstanding, especially the final stage. The biggest problem is that there are really only seven of them. The game artificially extends its length by requiring you to complete various "missions" in the stages you've already played. Some of the missions pertain to the story, such as "Open Sinbad's Cell," but the majority of them are completely stupid. That said, a lot of stupid ones are still entertaining. There are missions that require you to race, destroy a certain number of enemies, or finish a level in a certain amount of time. But for each of those, there are missions with ridiculous requirements like "finish with no rings" or "don't destroy any enemies." Not all of the missions have to be completed, but about half of them do, and you can't always choose the fun ones. There are still bottomless pits and cheaply-placed traps, but it's not as annoying as in Sonic Heroes or other recent games because of one huge change: Sonic no longer has a "lives" counter. If you die, you simply restart a little ways back in the level. It's also worth noting that Secret Rings adopts the ring-loss system originally introduced in Shadow the Hedgehog. If you get hit, you lose only 20 rings, but you can't pick up the rings you lost. The catch is that there's a limit on how many rings you can pick up, because Sonic now has an RPG-like leveling system. You gain experience by completing missions, and that experience increases his maximum ring count, fire soul capacity, and soul gauge size. The fire souls are attachments you can make to Sonic's titular ring that give him new abilities. There are 99 in all, but some of them are simply upgrades of each other. Still, it's a level of depth I've never seen in a Sonic game. Sometimes, if a mission is too hard, you need to level up Sonic or equip different fire souls to pass it.
Ever since Sonic Adventure, Sonic games have begun to feature over-the-top CG cutscenes to push the story along. Although Rings has a couple CG movies, most of the storytelling is done through a refreshing picture book style. This new design uses great hand-drawn art with minimal animation, and despite the simplicity, it has a much bigger effect. It fits the game's theme perfectly. The music in the recent games has been awesome despite everything else being bad. Unfortunately, the soundtrack in Rings is awful. It's amazingly cheesy even for Sonic's standards, but regardless, you'll find yourself humming "SEVEN RINGS IN HAAAAAND!" over and over because it's so damn catchy. The sound effects are the usual Sonic fare, but the voice acting is unusually good - at least for Sonic. This game uses the 4Kids cast, but Jason Griffith has been replaced by Adam Caroleson. I think Caroleson is the best voice actor Sonic has ever had. There's actual emotion in his voice. When he sounds stupid, bad writing is to blame more than anything else. Shahra's voice is over-dramatic, as is the Erazor Djinn's, but the other Sonic characters sound fine.
The Wii may not have the graphical muscle of the Xbox 360 or the PS3, but Sonic and the Secret Rings is proof that it can still set itself apart from the last generation of games. Every part of this game looks at least as good as the best the Gamecube could offer. There are a few areas late in the game that really surprised me because I didn't know the Wii was capable of such effects. The art style is firmly defined because of the Arabian Nights theme, and although we DO jump from a desert palace to a jungle full of dinosaurs, it's all acceptable because the game's design justifies it through the 1,001 Nights. |
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I said the gameplay was fun, but it could have been so much better if the contols were properly tweaked. Tilting to move left and right is fine, but it could have been done with an analog stick. Homing by thrusting the remote is a cool touch too, but it could have been done with a button. The Wii Remote works fine for those controls, but it's moving forwards and backwards that presents the problem. Sonic automatically moves forward. As a result, you'll crash into traps, walk right off ledges, and bump into enemies over and over again. But this game is supposed to be like a roller coaster ride, right? Let's say that's all part of the difficulty. Even then, the game's mechanics for moving backwards are horribly flawed. If you see something and you pass it because the game automatically moves you forward and the brake button doesn't work right away, you have to tilt the remote backwards. It doesn't sense how hard you're tilting - there's only one speed, and that's slow. Sonic moves backwards very slowly, and he turns a lot slower while moving backwards too. The camera stays behind Sonic while going in reverse, so you can't see what you're backing into. This means that once again, you'll back into traps and enemies, etc. This could have been easily fixed. It's one of the few careless errors in the game's design, but it's a big one. It makes the game a lot more difficult than it was meant to be.
Aside from the main game, there's a multiplayer "party" mode. I think the mainstream media were a bit too harsh. It's not as good as Mario Party, but it's a mode tacked-on to an already developed game. It's fun in its own right. Some of the mini games are really cool, others we've already seen in the one of the abundant mini game compilations for the Wii. There's no reason for me to go in depth, because pretty much everyone has played Mario Party.
What will keep you coming back to Secret Rings? There are tons of missions to complete if you so desire, but the biggest attraction is in the "special book" menu. As you earn medals on missions and progress through the story, you'll unlock new items in special book such as concept art, cutscenes, early-development videos, and various relics from Sonic's history. It's more interesting than any of the other "Sonic Museum" modes the series has seen, and fans will find it well worth their time.
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Sonic and the Secret Rings is very different than the other 3D games. It has simple gameplay, and an even simpler story. That's why it works. This is a very promising step in the right direction for the series, but the concept can still be perfected.
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Gameplay
Fun, but often too repetitive. |
16 / 20 |
Sound
Annoying yet addictive soundtrack. Voice acting is better than usual, but still not great. |
15 / 20 |
Graphics
Shows that the Wii truly has more power than the Gamecube. Props to Sega for taking the extra step. |
20 / 20 |
Controls
The game's biggest flaw. Would probably be better without the Wii Remote. |
6 / 15 |
Replay Value
Tons of missions to keep you occupied plus a fairly entertaining multiplayer "party" mode. |
15 / 15 |
Expectations
Easily the best 3D Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2, possibly better for some. |
9 / 10 |
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FINAL SCORE |
81 / 100 |
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02.20.07
03.30.07
2007
