Oh dear.
However, this is a much more story driven experience than that of Sonic Heroes - one which, if you have been following the story over the previous games, is particularly interesting and does fill in some answers to the Shadow backstory that weren't highlighted before. To say one thing, the CGI work is nothing short of stunning, really setting the mood and plot of the game well. It's sad that this, in all fairness, is the highlight of a very mediocre game. Shadow is a very hateful character I feel, simply that of a rebellious gothic teenager, complete with monotone voice and trademark angst. For a lifeform that's supposed to be 50 years old...grow up.
This game was simply oozing potential with the addition of Karma, in which your actions in a stage, whether they be good or evil, would affect your course through the story toward one of the 10 different endings. An annoying feature of this however is that even if you have picked a particular dark or hero path, your allies will still attack you (and you can still attack them) regardless of if you've left them alone, and running into them will still cause you to lose rings. This just gets downright annoying, and something that really should have been fixed. This has also been extremely poorly implemented in the form of various missions - most of which include "kill X amount of enemies" or "Activate X number of switches." This gets extremely repetitive after a while and causes many levels to drag on much longer then they should do. It's very easy to backtrack through an entire level just to find one Alien or one Soldier you may have just missed charging through the first time. A format based more upon your Karma meter and score at the end of the level would have suited much more in my opinion - perhaps even a wider variety in what hero and dark missions you can actually take part in that have you actively engaging with the plot.
Graphics can be quite impressive is some places, while in others they can be bland and extremely basic - particularly on vehicles and enemy characters. Levels such as the ones set on Space Colony ARK rival the impressiveness of Sonic Adventure 2 in terms of scale and detail, whereas levels such as Westopolis seem dull and lifeless. Would have been nice to see a bit of continuity in the graphical quality. The models on the characters are the same as Sonic Heroes, and again, seem to be made of rubber, which is an exteremely annoying style, compared to that of Sonic Adventure 2, and it looks absolutely ridiculous when Shadow is carrying a Rocket Launcher or Rifle 2 or 3 times his size one handed. A little realism with the weapons and how they affect you (for example, rockets limiting your jumping skills, etc) would have been excellent.
Sound, for a Sonic game these days, you never really expect much from. The soundtrack is pretty much all rock based as usual, and very dull compared to some tunes from the Adventure games. The voice acting has been done by the same cast as Sonic X, rather than the voices from the other games. Traditionalists will hate the fact that Ryan Drummond no longer does the voice of Sonic, however Mike Pollock is fantastic as Eggman. Other voices are very much hit and miss - with the high pitched whines of Amy, to the ever loathful Charmy. There is also a little profanity, which is completely alien to the Sonic universe, however it's used in moderation, and not just for the sake of it, which is nice.
Gameplay is a very hit and miss affair. Shadow handles and moves around like a greased up drunk trying to find his footing on an ice rink. You have very little control over him initially, especially when he can go from 0-60 in about 2 seconds. If you're willing to give the controls the time of day though, the controls do become easier to handle as you get used to Shadow's movement. This game is not based on speed as much as other Sonic games, and to me, there is too much stopping and starting as you stop to kill enemies to open a door. The only real sense of speed you get from this game is from your trademark loop-de-loop and corkscrew sections, and when you use Chaos Control. Other than that, it's a very slow paced 3D platformer and shooter. The camera is the worst seen in a Sonic game, which seems to try it's utmost to be as unhelpful as possible. Many a time I have been struggling to find a camera angle in a closed space to help me fight an enemy, all the while said enemy is happily pummelling me. Homing Attacks are still very much broken, with many deaths coming from you hurling yourself at an enemy, only to find you completely miss him and go flying off the edge of a cliff. The Gunplay doesn't add much to the game at all, and the vast majority of the game can be completed entirely using Shadow's own traditional moves. Commandeering vehicles is also just as poinltess - Shadow can move faster on foot, and they are only used really to help get past areas you couldn't on your own.
Much like the previous Sonic games, if you're willing to give this one a bit of patience, the game will most likely appeal to you as you become accustomed to it's flaws. If you're after a Ratchett and Clank beater, it's best to go look elsewhere. If you're insistant on getting a Sonic game this year, get Sonic Rush. You won't be disappointed.