By Jesse Wind
April 5, 2007 - 16:00
Gameplay
Sonic’s control scheme is very simple, and as previously stated, is executed very well. The use of the motion sensing technology throughout the game is not awkward or over-used like in Marvel Ultimate Alliance, in fact it plays just like Excite Truck. The downfall of this is that the controls where sloppily done and feel rushed. You hold the Wii Remote horizontally then tilt it to the left or right to move Sonic, just like driving in Excite Truck. The major malfunction with the Sonic control scheme is its inability to do precise movements. When you are trying to collect rings, and you need to be accurate, turning is very difficult because it twitches too the far left/right. To move in reverse you tilt the Wii Remote back (( towards yourself)) which is fine, but when you tilt it too far forward it also makes you go backwards which is an inconvenient glitch, something that should have been caught before mass-production. Besides those two flaws the controls are rather smooth, and truly work well with the game mechanics.
Environment and Graphics
Speaking of 3-D, the graphics are great, besides some awkward looping animations and a few random camera or frame-rate problems it runs smoothly. The cut-scenes surpass those of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as do the in-game graphics. The animations are fluid and the environments are lush and detailed, it all comes together very well. I would say Sonic has the best Wii graphics to date.
Sound
The audio is crisp but nothing revolutionary, the same coin sound-effects you have been listening to since the Sega Genesis. There is a new theme-song, which plays way too much, is an edgy punk re-mix of some horrid band. It is ridiculous how many times they loop that throughout the game…can you say “Over used”? The style of the song just doesn’t work with a Sonic game. Nice try though Sega.
I
would say overall Sonic and the Secret Rings is a rent at best. I
would consider purchasing it if the price dropped, but for what you
get with Sonic it is not worth the full
retail value. Good luck next
time Sega.
Gameplay:
7.5
Environment
& Graphics: 8
Sound:
7
Story:
6
Fun:
7
Overall:
7.1
Verdict: Rent it or Buy it Used