Although much of the time is spent fighting against the frustrating controlls, there is still fun to be had
Sonic is completely controlled using the Wii-remote.Sonic moves forward on his own, tilting the Wii-mote moves sonic from side to side, Pushing 1 makes him stop and pushing 2 makes him jump. Holding the 2 button for a short period makes him charge his jump to gain extra hight. Tilting the controller backward allows Sonic to move backward and other various ability's are unlocked to use as the game goes on. You also gain the ability to slow down time and boost Sonic's speed early in the game. How Sonic attacks is where the game presents its biggest problem.
To attack an enemy you thrust the Wii-remote forward once you have auto locked on to that particular enemy. In most cases this works just fine, but sometimes in what would seem the worst possible time, you end up locking on to the wrong enemy or sometimes no enemy. Sometimes this only equals backwards movement and trying again, but sometimes this will result in restarting the entire segment do to a frustrating death. This is equally frustrating when the same mechanic is used for much of the platforming in the game. The levels are presented in a kind of on rails style, and Sega gets a lot of credit for trying something new for the series. The levels are also very creative and varied. You've got Deserts, jungles, pirate ships and castles among others.
Another big plus is the Upgrade system. Throughout the game you collect shiny orbs that give you experience points. when you gain levels, you get ability points to spend on upgrades. This is how many of Sonic's special ability's are unlocked.
The story is another big improvement for the series. Instead of just the same stop Egg Man from ruling the world scenario, the story in Secret Rings pulls form the Arabian Nights story for inspiration. Sonic is sucked into the pages of the book by a friendly Genie and is tasked with saving the world of the book from being destroyed by an evil Genie named Djinn. Along the way Sonic will meet many familiar faces but they are not who you or even Sonic think they are. The sound in Secret Rings is mostly terrible. Sega has gathered some truly awful Alternative rock music for the game, its so bad its actually amusing. the voiced acting is also quite bad but not nearly as bad as the music.
Aside from the main Adventure mode there is a party mode that supports up to 4 players and is basically a Mario Party clone except that each mini game uses the Wii-mote Tilting and pointing and even sometimes the speaker to play them. Some of the mini games are much better than others, but the party mode is a very nice addition to the package.
As a 3D Sonic game, Secret Rings makes many improvements to the formula but some of the frustrating control issues continue to plague the overall experience.