For Sonic's second foray on a Next-Gen system, this one isn't a complete bust. In fact, it's one heck of a ride.
As I pop in the disc into my Wii system, you could tell the game was well-developed due to the Disc Channel's Intro. Many games on the Wii that aren't first party usually have terribly boring and completely uninspiring Disc channel intros.
As we head on into the game's main menu, we hear the games theme playing, and boy you better get used to it, because you'll be hearing it ALL THE TIME.
I, for one enjoy the games theme, but judging from other reviews, I'm in the minority in this section. I also enjoyed the voice acting in the game, its really well done and Jason Anthony Griffith fits perfectly as Sonic. Again, I am apparently in the minority here, so if your picky about this sort of thing, you could knock a point off the score. You have four choices in the games first menu. I'll explain each of them in detail:
Adventure: This is the main game right here, with Sonic being the only playable hedgehog. In this mode, you follow the game's plot while playing in the Various worlds of the game. The plot is loosely based on the story, Arabian Nights. The story begins with Sonic napping, he reaches to check his clock upon awakening, accidentally bumping a ring, Shahra the Ring Genie, pops out of a book of the Arabian Nights and into Sonic's world. She reveals that an evil genie known as Erazor Djinn is absorbing the power of the book and causing pages of it to disappear. If he is not stopped, his power will be unleashed onto the real world unless the "Legendary Blue Hedgehog", told of in the stories, can stop him. Yeah, the story really isn't exactly ground breaking, but it fits. The story is told in "Story Book" cutscenes, which are not completely animated, and are fully voiced. This is really unique and gives to the games storybook style. There are also a few FMVs sprinkled throughout the game.
Now comes the most important part of ANY Wii game, the gameplay. In order to play SATSR, you have to hold your Wii remote sideways, like a NES controller. In the game, most stages are on rails, and Sonic move forward automatically. You use the Wiimote's motion sensor technology to tilt the remote to the left or right, in order to turn Sonic in that corresponding direction. You can press the 2 button to jump, and the 1 button to brake. When jumping, you can thrust the Wiimote forward to make sonic burst forward and, if there is an enemy in sight, you can do a classic homing attack. Overall, the controls of the game are pretty easy to understand, but to fully master them might take some time getting used to them. Later into the game, you gain 2 new powers, Speed Break and Time Break, which you can activate by pressing Up and down on the D-Pad respectively. Speed Break, well, makes you run at breakneck speeds and Time Break slows the the flow of time so you can make exact turns or timed jumps. The adventure mode also adds a RPG-like element into the mix, where you can level up Sonic and customize him with special rings that give him different skills and enhances others (Such as improved speed or turning). There over 100 skills you can find in this game, adding to the replay value of the game. Every stage has different missions in it, some optional and some required to continue the story. You earn medals depending on how fast you complete the mission, and some of those missions are really hard to ace. In fact, the difficulty spike in the game is so random, you get one easy as pie mission, then you get one that will keep you frustrated for days on end. The graphics are really good, being one of the first games to push the Wii's power beyond gamecube limitations. Especially the Stages, they look really wonderful. The boss fights in this game are few in number (5), but boy are they memorable.
They are really epic in some ways. Now on to the other modes.
Party is the multiplayer aspect of the game, and you can judge by it's name, its similar to Mario Party. It has over 40 Minigames, and a variety of modes, but it really isn't that impressive. Some of the Minigames have really sloppy controls. You can play with up to 4 people, and Sonic's friends are only playable in this mode.
Special Book is your little reward holder, contain tons and tons of unlockables. (Over 200!!) From concept art to the History of Sonic, it WILL take a while to get it all. The final one is Options, which should be obvious in any game. It might be worth to note you change a few settings to use the Japanese voiceovers in game if you really hate the English voiceovers.
Overall the game is very well worth the purchase, even if you're not a Sonic fan. The game is one of the best adventure/rpg games on the Wii console. You owe it to yourself to at least give the game a shot.