Sega delivered a well-needed jolt into a stumbling franchise, as well as just a great game to take home and play.
(-) useless multiplayer; occasional use of trial-and-error; it's over before you know it
Everyone knows that Sonic used to be a well-known hero in gaming, but has been having a hard time standing his ground sense the revolution of 3D in interactive entertainment. He used to be among the very best selling of video games with his debuts on the Genesis, but you wouldn't know that playing about any number of his latest games. Granted, not all of them were offensively bad (like Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic Unleashed) and a few of them actually turned out to be exceptional (Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing), but even the best ones just didn't hold a candle to the foundation that the spiky blue hero has created. And worse, many of the latest projects have been allegedly so terrible that they practically tarnish everything that made Sonic so great in the first place.
But if Sonic Colors is any indication, we're headed for a light at the end of that tunnel.
Years after what happened in Sonic Unleashed, Eggman has captured thousands of happy and colorful alien lifeforms known as wisps, and used the energy contained inside of them to build a theme park. But while Tails is hesitant to believe that he's still up to no good, he makes bluntly obvious hints that he's still up for trouble (for example, saying something over a speaker along the lines of "any unauthorized photography, filming, or stopping of any evil plan is prohibited by law". Sonic and company make repeated puns throughout the story, and while none of it would be vastly different than your typical Saturday morning cartoon, it's still different enough to hold your interest. The voice acting has also improved significantly, and you'll spot that from the very beginning. The voices of Tails and Sonic especially sound more natural and confident, and believable, so you never suspect that the lines were just read off from paper, which is something that couldn't be said for a very long time.
Many people moaned after playing Sonic Unleashed for Sega to make a new game consisting of just the daytime stages, and one play through will convince you that they took that advice to heart when developing Sonic Colors. The platforming is viciously fast, rail grinding, loop running patented spirals and twists that usually make up a Sonic game. The game uses an improved version of the Sonic Unleashed engine, so anyone who has played it will feel immensely welcome. You'll see many of the same jumping hoops and 3-railed running sessions that you played through in the former, and the levels still have smooth transitions between 2D and 3D, all without that certain Wearhog dwelling.
While the wisps can be thought of as a story device, they also offer a drastic change to the gameplay. Gathering energy from any one of them will give Sonic a unique temporary power up. For example, one of them shoots Sonic into a zig zag laser, one allows him to step up on a ceiling with spikes and spin-dash along the ground, and another allows him to drill through the ground or water at high speeds. Many of these power ups are required to correctly use at the level at one brief point, but for the most part they're only optional for if you want a quicker route to reach a platform or destroy some baddies, or perhaps grab a red ring hidden in the level. These power-ups shake the gameplay a good bit to give it some interesting unpredictability as much as it can without overdoing it.
All the levels are smartly organized in worlds resembling what you see in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Super Mario Bros. Wii, each world and each level all quickly and easily navigated. The similarities don't end there either. Sonic Colors looks and feels very inspired by Mario Galaxy, from this hub world concept, to the visuals and level designs. But they didn't completely ape it; all of it is still pure Sonic. You have the same green meadow and casino park that has been reserved for every Sonic game, along with new ambitious locations like the scrumptious candy land, aquarium park and a festival in the outer space. These levels are speed running from start to finish, but they also throw other objectives at you, like falling the distance through a canal, gliding at the surface of the water, and jumping across some dangerous roller coasters.
For the most part the game plays fair, the controls feel right and there's never a moment where anything feels damn near impossible. But there's a few moments where the game can be kind of hateful. Like the part when Sonic is running from the purple machine that punches forward. The game makes no indication how to dodge his attacks, which is odd considering it has a feature where Tails can give you an insight on how to use a power up or follow another simple action if you touch a question mark icon in the level.
The game is fairly short, but has plenty of additional objectives and re-playability to keep players interested. There's a healthy amount of different galaxies to explore, and the later ones are not pushover by any means.The game does seem to recycle its bosses, having circular orbs, vehicular battleships, and bouncing vegetable soldiers, which is a bit disappointing but it doesn't make much of an impact when put into context with the wide variety of the levels themselves. The game took me around four and a half hours to complete, but there are still a truckload of hidden red rings to collect. And getting an S ranking in the levels isn't a cakewalk like it was in Sonic Unleashed. There's no g-spot in the level design this time around, so you can't just take a certain round and win indefinitely. It takes some serious reflexes and platforming skills, and hardcore Sonic fans are going to eat it up. And aside to the single player adventure there's some 2 player support, which is a novelty at best. This is done in the form of Eggman's Sonic simulator, where you're stuck in much simpler levels with no personality in the music or visuals. You can either play these alone, with tag-team co-op, or competitive two player. But there's little point in doing it at all. It just isn't nearly as much fun as the actual game, so it's hard to take it seriously.
It's been Sega's tradition to produced good-looking games, and for the Wii, Sonic Colors just might be their strongest entry yet. The levels are deep and varied, with lots going on, and the dizzying speeds never looked better. The music is equally impressive, some energetic and happy tunes that never come off as too cheesy or too punky. The entire experience flows together so well that you really don't need a controller to enjoy the game. Just observing the sights and sounds can be enough for some people.
Sonic Colors is all it's cracked up to be. Possibly the best 3D Sonic game to come along in recent memory. If you only check out out Sonic title this generation, make it this one. Many of the earlier titles did nothing to establish the greatness that was Sonic in the late 20th century. But the team at Sega are still trying their best, and they learned from the in's and out's of their former releases, and finally delivered the game that many people have been waiting for. Let's hope that we see more games like this.